Hundreds of higher education leaders and students gathered at the African American Male Education Network and Development’s (A2MEND) annual summit last week to discuss Black male experiences at community colleges.
During his keynote address on Friday, motivational speaker Dr. Eric Thomas advised students to develop an action plan, grind and work hard in order to achieve success.
“If you can learn to stay motivated, if you can learn to stay encouraged, if you can learn that no matter what comes at you, it will not destroy you,” said Thomas. “If you can learn every time you fall you can get back up, I promise you there’s nothing you can’t have. There’s nothing you can’t be. There’s nothing you can’t do.”
But Dr. Edward Bush, president of Cosumnes River College in Sacramento and vice president of A2MEND, emphasized that the idea of success stemming from only hard work and grit is “problematic.”
That ideology, he said, can lead to victim blaming.
“We know a lot of folks in our history and our past that have worked extremely hard, their grind is unquestioned, but are still unable to benefit monetarily,” said Bush. “Unable to graduate from college, unable to get graduate degrees.”
Instead, he said that the focus should be on “grinding against the system” through dismantling racism and creating classroom environments where Black students are represented and seen within the curriculum.
