Services Provided

• The Cinque Rites of Passage Program:
  This program is dedicated to inspiring African American males to enhance their leadership, decision-making, and critical thinking skills. Moreover, this program is committed to teaching African American males about their African/African American culture and the sensitivity of other cultures to empower them individually and collectively.

• Becoming a Man/Woman in College:
  Targeted toward college bound men/women providing them with a developmental experience and valuable information preparing them for their passage to college.

• College Preparation
  This service assists students and parents with completing necessary documentation to enter college.

• Basic Skills
  This service is catered toward those individuals that need assistance with basic skills (Math, English, and Writing).

• The Black Male Commission

  The purpose of The Black Male Commission is to uplift young Black males in the areas of Career Choices, Culture, Decision-making. Entrepreneurship, Life Choices, Leadership, School to College/Vocation, and Values. We see these areas as components our young Black males should have on their life compass. Moreover, these areas are confronted in dialogue panel discussions from successful Black males engaging our young Black males. These discussions are open, honest, and life changing.

What Does Research Tell Us?

Today African Americans lag in education. Moreover, African-American males have become a major issue when discussing their increased participation in special education programs, suspension/expulsion, and dropout rates.

Studies have shown racial and gender disparities in education regarding African-American males (Jones and Jackson 2003; Woodson 1993). Some of these studies uncovered "tremendous racial disparities in levels of educational performance, educational attainment, college enrollment, and college graduation rates between Blacks and whites" (Jones and Jackson 2003, 72). Additionally, these studies paint a picture of what African-American males lack.

The Los Angeles Times reported in January 2005 that, “Nearly six in 10 high school graduates in 2005 will start college in the fall, but half of them — and more than two-thirds of the African Americans who enroll — will fail to earn either an associate's or bachelor's degree”. The report adds that although students have high school diplomas they continue to lack the skills to read and write analytically. Far more unsettling is the fact that, “The California State University system this year required 58% of its freshmen to take remedial classes in math or writing or both, while acknowledging that such classes do a lousy job of helping laggards catch up.” More needs to be known and done about the successes of African Americans in education, especially those of African-American males.