Abstract
The Grad Nation community symposium is a wonderful introduction to the ethos of African American Male Achievement (AAMA). Irrespective of district upheavals, AAMA has remained on a steady course to shift the narrative and outcomes for African American male students. The voices fall into the ears and hearts of the larger AAMA family who sit raptured and applaud their children for taking a stand. As the GradNation event exemplifies, AAMA has created its own rituals, networks, and rites of passages that support African American boys on their journey to becoming healthy and successful men. Amidst the wails of the world, failure rates, nihilism, and persistent state-sanctioned murders of Black people by the police, AAMA events are incredibly uplifting, celebratory, and inspiring. AAMA lives in the eyes of Black boys in Oakland on their first day of school. These children come face-to-face with educators that explicitly love and value Black life.