Harper, S. R., & Davis, Charles H. F., III. (2012). They care about education: A counternarrative on black male students’ responses to inequitable schooling. Educational Foundations, 26(1-2), 103.

Perspectives on Black male hopelessness and underachievement are evidenced by the numerous publications that highlight their educational upbringing in insufficiently resourced and culturally unresponsive K-12 schools (Noguera, 2003; Toldson, 2008); their low rates of high school completion (Lynn et al., 2010; Schott Foundation, 2010); their underpreparedness for the rigors of college-level work (Bonner & Bailey, 2006; Palmer, Davis, & Hilton, 2009; Palmer & Young, 2009); their patterns of academic and social disengagement, inside and outside the college classroom (Cuyjet, 1997; Kimbrough & Harper, 2006); and their low rates of baccalaureate degree attainment (Dancy & Brown, 2008; Harper, 2006a, 2012; Strayhorn, 2010). […]Black male students across education levels reportedly place considerable effort into being perceived as popular and “cool” by their peers (Osborne, 1999; Stinson, 2006), and prioritize athletic aspirations above academic achievement (Benson, 2000; Harper, 2009b; Sellers & Kuperminc, 1997). In addition to within-race educational attainment differences, Black men’s representation in graduate and professional schools also lags behind that of their Latino and Asian American male counterparts.

Full article can be found here: https://works.bepress.com/sharper/44/