As the country witnesses the shuttering of multiple diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and as businesses retract their plans to intentionally diversify their employees and leaders, one college-based program in New York City, originally designed to support the education of young Black men, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with no signs of slowing.
The Black Male Initiative (BMI) officially began in 2005, when the New York City Council approved funding for BMI throughout the whole of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, 25 institutions in total. Since then, the program has spread to all but one CUNY campus. There are 31 different BMI programs, but each has the same overall goals: increase the enrollment and matriculation, retention, GPA, and graduation rate of underrepresented students.
CUNY student at BMI conference
Innovation And Growth
The seeds of BMI were first planted in 2000 at Medgar Evers College, a CUNY institution in central Brooklyn. Its program, begun under the guidance of then-president Dr. Edison O. Jackson, was known as the Male Empowerment and Development Center. Through mentorship and lectures from key leaders in the city and state, the program supported its Black and Brown men to academic and career success.
It was through Medgar Evers’ early BMI program that Dr. Ian James got his start. James, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs at CUNY, received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from CUNY institutions, and when he attended Delaware Valley University for his doctoral degree, he wrote his thesis on the impact of CUNY BMI on Black males in higher education.
“[The program] was so impressive, it helped with retention and graduation,” says James. “As a student, [the program] did help. It created this brotherhood amongst ourselves. It was just a good, supportive program.”
James says he is proud to witness the way BMI has expanded to almost every single one of CUNY’s institutions and grown to address the myriad of social inequities and problems confronting young people of color. Many BMI programs do not focus on young men alone but have expanded to include young women of color as well.
“[The programs] focus on academic achievement, socio-emotional programming, including understanding the soft skills that come with being professional, getting a degree and having a career,” says James. “There is institutional commitment to looking at financial support for students unable to pay tuition.”
The programs have even created specific pipelines to address underrepresentation within certain career pathways, like medicine, law, and the justice system.
