Abstract
It is evident that there is a serious problem, beginning in elementary school, with the lack of success for African-American males. In addition, African-American males are not able to compete with their peers academically due to the fact that many of them are not attending and/or graduating college. The question now, and has been for a while is, how do we fix this? Hopefully through this study, a light will be shown on possible causes for these disparities and potential solutions that could help make a difference for the young African-American males currently attending school. This thesis is oriented towards conducting a survey of African American males’ responses to education for the past five decades. The struggle for their equality in education resulted in the acquisition of a vast amount of knowledge that can be utilized to close the achievement gap in contemporary society. To help African American males succeed, the following things need to be in place: the utilization of culturally responsive teaching in the classroom, parent involvement, teachers must have high expectations, African American males need positive role models, and teachers must know the students they are teaching.