A framework for rethinking about Black students and their quest to succeed in higher education is rooted in the type of services that universities provide. Many universities are in the business of attracting and admitting the brightest of the brightest. W.E.B DuBois in his writing of 1903 suggested that the “talented tenth” be educated. This article will present the various “Black Support” that leads to knowledge, skill, and ultimately the undergraduate or a graduate degree. The institutions discussed are in the Deep South. “Voices” of experiences are the underpinnings for this article that “hinge” on current research, personal interviews, and review of state graduation data. The student rhetoric for productivity and acquisition of student knowledge is interwoven into the platform for higher education for “legitimate” commitment to graduate Black students. To this end, legitimate commitment is a combination of personal efforts by professors to encourage Black students to master the academic requirements for graduation.

R.K.Merton (1972), articulated that certain questions should be asked when discussing race, attitudes, and cultures. Such as, who will present our story? Are they a member of our race? Or are they looking from the outside in? Of course these questions reflect my interpretations of Merton. Merton alluded to the place of a writer. For example, he posits that we are either an “outsider or an insider” when we speak/write. It is my contention that it goes deeper. As an assistant professor at a white institution with a population of less than 17% of Black undergraduate students, I realize that I am a “peripheral insider” because of my position. But in actuality, I am a “peripheral outsider” because of my color. That puts me in a “good” position to observe, reflect, and dissect the academic environment and answer the question, “Do white institutions really give nurturing support to our Black undergraduate and graduate students to help them through the academic maze to graduation or does that self-assigned task rest with the Black faculty?”

Even though the sampling for this article was purposeful and small, it will benefit institutions of higher education with a possible vehicle for developing an action management plan (AMP) to recruit, to retain, and to graduate Black students. When educating Black college students, pedagogical theories mean nothing. For example, R.K. Merton (1957) states:
“...the process of how students acquire the values, knowledge and skills necessary to survive in an organization [university] and ultimately obtain promotion-[Degree} depends on personal socialization?’

The university referred to in this Pro Section is called “University All American City.” It is located in a cosmopolitan area with a population of 17% Black graduate students. The Black faculty equals 3%. I spent four and half years at that institution. “University All American City” is supported by large endowments and ranks number four in the nation for teaching and learning. The members of the faculty are from the best schools in the United States and abroad. The university has old established “roots of culture and tradition.” Many scholars referred to this university as the Princeton of the South.
While at this university, I found that the professors had a commitment to students. If “University All American City” admits you, then the professors “pulled” you through. However, that did not mean that the work was easy or that professors do not hold you to high standards. On the contrary, encouragement to succeed came from professors that did not look like me. Three Black “voices” in my doctoral program suggested that they all attributed their acquisition of an Ed.D. degree to the following:

1). Professors demonstrating caring attitudes; 2). Attractive educational climates, with the latest in technology; 3). Strong linkage to at least one Black student for a study partner; 4). Study groups with white counterparts; 5). Cooperative classroom activities; 6). Self-discipline to study, perseverance, tenacity, and prayer; 7). A strong undergraduate and graduate level programs.
Out of the six doctoral students, three Black students have not completed the Ed.D. program. Two students have moved out of state and one student has major health issues. It is my contention that responsibility for learning lies with the student and the professors. It has to be a shared vision for producing Black leaders for tomorrow. read more

Claudia Joplin Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee at Martin Doctorate from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. .

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W.E.B. DuBois (1903). “The talented tenth.” In P. James (Ed), The Negro Problem: A Collection of articles by African Americans (n.p.). New York: James Potts.
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