Dionne Rosser-Mims & Joni Schwartz 
Swimming Upstream 
Black Males in Adult Education: New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, Number 144

Here is an introduction to salient topics and issues affecting Black males as they engage in adult basic education programs, pursue employment, and obtain higher education. The chaptersinclude academic research as well as program descriptions andpersonal narratives with a concern for the ‘livedexperiences’ and the voices of the men.

While not exhaustive, this volumne does hope to challengecommonly held stereotypes, interactions, and policies. It isdesigned to raise questions about the unique experiences of thisspecific population and to explore the sociocultural dynamics thatimpact their education.This is the 144th volume of the Jossey Bass series New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. Noted for itsdepth of coverage, it explores issues of common interest toinstructors, administrators, counselors, and policymakers in abroad range of education settings, such as colleges anduniversities, extension programs, businesses, libraries, andmuseums.

Table of Content

EDITORS’ NOTES 1
Dionne Rosser-Mims, Joni Schwartz, Brendaly Drayton, Talmadge C.Guy

1. Race, the Black Male, and Heterogeneous Racisms in Education 5
Juanita Johnson-Bailey, Nichole Ray, Tennille Lasker-Scott

This chapter explores the effects of historical and currentracism on the educational experiences of American Black males. Theauthors use critical race theory to illustrate how assumptionsabout culture and gender have subverted the egalitarian ideals ofadult education. Teachers and students are urged to use criticalreflection and open discussion about racial issues.

2. The (End)angered Black Male Swimming Against the Current15
Talmadge C. Guy

This chapter discusses the sociohistorical and deeply embeddedmyths and stereotypes that have dominated narratives about Blackmen and how these shape the educational and professionalexperiences of Black men.

3. The Good Provider: Missing or Overlooked? 27
Brendaly Drayton

This chapter explores Black men’s reasons forparticipating in an adult basic education and literacy programthrough the lens of gender identity.

4. High School Equivalency as Counter-Space 37
Joni Schwartz

This chapter is based on the findings of an ethnographic studyof an urban General Education Development (GED®) program andsuggests that, for some marginalized African American and otheryoung men of color, adult education programs are counter-spaces(Yosso, Ceja, Smith, & Solorzano, 2009) of spatial justice inopposition to previous negative school spaces. The chapter isframed from the perspective of critical race theory.

5. A New Normal: Young Men of Color, Trauma, and Engagementin Learning 49
Carlyle Van Thompson, Paul J. Schwartz

This chapter will center on the continuing impact of systemicand persistent educational trauma experienced by Black and Latinomales and how trauma affects their current learning. The youngmen’s counterstories from a phenomenological study anddocumentary are included.

6. The Reentry Adult College Student: An Exploration of the Black Male Experience 59
Dionne Rosser-Mims, Glenn A. Palmer, Pamela Harroff

This chapter shares findings from a qualitative study on reentryadult Black males’ postsecondary education experiences andidentifies strategies to help this population matriculate throughcollege and graduate.

7. Returning to School After Incarceration: Policy, Prisoners, and the Classroom 69
Brian Miller, Joserichsen Mondesir, Timothy Stater, Joni Schwartz

This chapter addresses the challenges facing men of color whoreturn to adult education after incarceration. It frames theirexperience as a war from a sociopolitical and cultural context, andthen explains the support men need to succeed both in and outsidethe classroom.

8. Empty Promise: Black American Veterans and the New GI Bill79
Alford H. Ottley

The 2008 GI Bill offers college funds for veterans. Yet Blackmale vets are not taking advantage of these benefits. This chapterexamines personal and societal problems that hinder access tohigher education for Black vets, and suggests some ways adulteducators can advocate for these young men.

9. Black Males and Adult Education: A Call to Action89
Brendaly Drayton, Dionne Rosser-Mims, Joni Schwartz, Talmadge C.Guy

In this concluding chapter, the editors offer their reflectionson the key themes of this volume and implications for futureresearch and practitioners of adult education.

INDEX 9

About the author

Volume Editors:
Dionne Rosser-Mims is an associate professor of adult education and assistant division chair of education at Troy University.
Joni Schwartz is an associate professor in the Humanities Department at La Guardia Community College, City University of New York.
Brendaly Drayton earned her Ph D in adult education from Pennsylvania State University.
Talmadge C. Guy is an associate professor of adult education at The University of Georgia.

Series Editors:
Susan Imel is director of the Eric Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, Ohio State University.

Jovita M. Ross-Gordon is an associate professor in the College of Education at Southwest Texas University, San Marcos.