Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male at The Ohio State University are excited to announce that the 2020 International Colloquium on Black Males in Education (ICBME) will be a virtual experience, with content and events happening each Tuesday in October 2020.

Details regarding keynote speakers and schedules will be shared in the coming weeks.

Since its inception, the Colloquium has served as a space to exchange ideas and perspectives concerning the global dynamics of Black males in the educational pipeline. It is a community-building experience that brings together world-class scholars, high-impact practitioners, policy makers, funders, students, and concerned citizens. The Colloquium offers a diverse array of programs that serve to elicit intellectual thought, discussion, and ideas that can be implemented to serve and improve the experiences of Black males throughout the world.

In a year in which racial uprising and COVID-19 have both disproportionately affected and illuminated the inequalities experienced by the Black community, a global convening is more important than ever. Though our meetings will be virtual, our mission remains the same. We aim to provide a space for participants to discuss and share ideas and innovative practices that serve to improve the educational outcomes and experiences of Black males throughout the life course.

The inspiration for the International Colloquium on Black Males in Education came when co-founders Dr. James Moore and Wei LAB Director Jerlando F. L. Jackson, along with Dr. Raul A. Leon, were invited to write an entry for the International Encyclopedia of Education, “Male Underachievement in Education Across the Globe: A Shift in Paradigm for Gender Disparities Regarding Academic Achievement,” in which they illustrated that girls in both the United States and England were outperforming boys academically (Jha & Kelleher, 2006). The shift toward the study of the educational performance of males emerged as a global concern in the mid-1990s when the focus on the schooling experiences of boys took center stage in the education debate (Weaver-Hightower, 2003). Concern in the United States was echoed in countries such as England and Australia where this issue reached national crisis status. A new practice-based focus on boys was accompanied by an empirical research component. Weaver-Hightower (2003) defined this transition toward the study of males as the “boy turn.”

Despite the relatively nascent nature of research on males, most of the current research in this area has been dominated by the study of the experiences of Black/African ancestry males. As they undertook the task of writing the publication, Moore and Jackson wondered what it would be like to bring together a cadre of scholars from communities across the world to examine Black male experiences in education from a variety of lenses. Their charge was that every Colloquium attendee and participant leave inspired, equipped, and motivated to improve the educational dilemma for Black males through research, practice, and policy.

The first ICBME was held in 2012 at the University of Leeds in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. In subsequent years, participants have convened in

Director Jackson has been appointed to a working group to examine issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in college sports organized by The LEAD1 Association (“LEAD1”), which represents the athletics directors of the 130-member schools of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The working group will explore initiatives to strengthen senior leadership pipelines, expand professional development opportunities, influence legislation that supports underrepresented populations and recommend strategies of accountability. The working group will be divided into the following five subcommittees: (1) Hiring, Retention, and Advancement; (2) Training, Education, and Mentorships; (3) Strategic Initiatives; (4) Political Initiatives; and (5) Cultural Initiatives. Director Jackson has been appointed Co-Chair of the Hiring, Retention, and Advancement Subcommittee.

The working group will aim to finalize its recommendations by the end of the year, with an eye toward shaping potential NCAA legislation.

The Wei LAB is involved in shaping diversity and inclusion in the NCAA through the National Study of Intercollegiate Athletics, a set of national longitudinal survey inventories designed to gather information on organizational culture in intercollegiate athletic administration.

K. Gross, Wei LAB Special Projects Manager and Research Assistant, will co-present at the 31 Days of Women & Leadership Learning conference with Jennifer Schmeiser, board member for the Wisconsin’s Women’s Network.

Their presentation will outline the key factors contributing to the women’s inequality in the labor force and evidence-based practices and policies for increasing gender equity and preserving women’s participation in workplace.

The presentation will be delivered virtually at 9:00AM on Friday, August 28, 2020.

The conference is free and open to the public.