Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity—also known as the Boulé—is stepping up its efforts to help young African-American males succeed.
The small, but highly selective national fraternity, which was founded in Philadelphia in 1904, is using its resources and its name recognition to partner with other organizations to develop and implement a long-term research strategy focused on social action programs that target African-American males.
The fraternity’s efforts are largely in response to the “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative, which was launched by President Obama last year in an effort to train a public spotlight on the challenges that beset young men of color. And since its inception, the Obama administration has actively encouraged local political and civic leaders across the country to accept the “My Brother’s Keeper Challenge” and redouble their efforts to improve high school graduation rates and keep young men of color safe from violent crime.
“It is a top order priority right now,” said Dr. Jerlando F. L. Jackson, the Vilas Distinguished Professor of Higher Education Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the chair of the fraternity’s Commission on Young African American Males. “The Commission plans to take a leadership role in organizing with strategic partners and organizations that have committed themselves to Black males, as we look for a unified mission of engagement.”
Jackson said that the fraternity, which has a diverse membership, including scholars like Dr. Gregory Vincent, vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, will conduct ongoing research on such topics as the school to prison pipeline and empirically-grounded and evidence-based mentoring programs that focus on African-American males. He said that the findings—which will also highlight best practices—will be disseminated through reports, panel discussions, and articles in the Boulé Journal.
“This is an opportunity to sharpen our efforts based on empirical reality,” said Jackson, whose research focuses on African-American males both in the United States and abroad. “What was done 30 years ago may have to be retailored today.”
In the wake of the “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative, there has been a flurry of new initiatives focused specifically on young men of color. In February, Dr. Shaun Harper, a professor in the Graduate School of Education and founder of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at The University of Pennsylvania, signed on to co-direct a new three-year initiative called RISE (Research, Integration, Strategy and Evaluation).
