ABSTRACT
This chapter is organized into three major time frames: the participants’ pre-Du Bois experience, their Du Bois experience and their college experience. Some of the subthemes that emerged from the ten interviews with each of the students included academic and family background, influence of Du Bois Charter School, college readiness and attendance and participants’ perceptions of persistence, trust and identity. The five key findings from the study include the following: (1) Trust was essential to overcoming perceived and real structural inequalities. Educational resilience can only be demonstrated when institutions are willing to provide a safe, nurturing environment that allows for failure to contribute to positive growth. (2) Seeking academic and social assistance from peers and adults was constructive in contributing to increased positive academic achievement. (3) Cultural capital and exposure to an expansive array of experiences can help minimize the negative effects of poverty if done purposefully and reflectively. (4) Family, peers and individual agency were critical in sustaining persistence throughout the identity development, which resulted in the demonstration of resilience. (5) Understanding and nurturing the social-emotional, racial and gender identity of young Black men was an essential component to positive academic and social achievement.
