“Been There Before”: Mentorships Involving Undergraduate Black Males and Their Black Male Mentors at Predominately White Institutions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore college mentorships that involve undergraduate Black male mentees and their Black male mentors as a means to understand how such mentorships function at predominately-White institutions (PWIs). Researchers have often examined the experiences of such mentorships through the lens of research that focuses on only one participant in the mentorship. Explorations of the unique functions of such mentorships that include social and career support are largely unexplored within the context of PWIs. Through semi-structured one-on-one and shared mentor/mentee interviews, eight Black men who composed of five separate mentorships shared their narratives of participating in a mentorship at a PWI. The details of their experiences were analyzed through use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) theoretical perspective and counter-narrative methodology. The analysis produced a series of themes that described their shared experience at predominately-White institution. The themes included how we define our mentoring; the campus is not made for us; I have been there before; conceptions of Blackness and manhood; and cultural borderland crossing. The findings of this study revealed that Black males participating in Black-male mentorships define their mentorships through unique aspects of care. Additionally, the participants within the mentorships revealed and shared with one another feelings and experiences of racism and hostility at their PWIs. Likewise, the mentors and mentees in the mentorships shared a mutual understanding with one another due to common experiences as Black males. The mentorship experiences also provided opportunities to share their conceptions of Blackness and manhood. Finally, the mentorship experiences provided opportunities to share survival/coping strategies for Black males at PWIs. This study also includes recommendations institutional support and future research.