Study explores how black men find success in college

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — James Wanda, a senior at Pennsylvania's Lafayette College and one of two black computer science majors in his class, says at times he has felt pressure to succeed not just for himself, but for his entire race.

"I realized if I fail, in some ways, it means that people might take that as either confirmation that other black students will fail, or as a sign that they might fail," said the 21-year-old from Arlington, Virginia.

For black students — especially men — at many mainstream colleges, these pressures, racial slights and other negative interactions can push them to transfer or even drop out. A new study in the Harvard Educational Review is highlighting how some black male college students are overcoming those challenges, and the reasons for their success.

Shaun Harper, a professor and executive director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, surveyed more than 140 students at 30 predominantly white public and private colleges.

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