Advancing Black Males in STEM is My Passion — Here’s How I Got There

Black males need support from childhood through graduate education to improve, fulfill, and correct inequitable access to careers in science and engineering. Broadening Black males’ participation in science and engineering extends our country’s ability to solve our — and the world’s — grand challenges. Implementing new strategies aimed at increasing Black males’ participation in these fields is key, and the new Black Males in Engineering (BME) project can help fulfill this goal. 

To provide a backdrop, in 2022, 798,534 students were enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate programs in the United States (National Science Foundation, 2022). Of those, 2% (16,111) were Black males. In the same year, Black males in engineering earned 1.8% of graduate degrees (1,064 master’s degrees and 158 doctoral degrees, respectively) out of the total engineering graduate degrees conferred in 2022 (American Society of Engineering Education, 2022). These science and engineering statistics are not new, they have remained the same for over half a century and they require new, targeted efforts to broaden the participation of Black males in these fields that are so vitally important to our collective future.Dr. Brian A. Burt

Derived from a decade of my research on the subject, the Black Males in Engineering (BME) project aims to address and redress the numbers of Black boys and males interested in and persisting through STEM educational pathways. Existing research shows that there are myriad storms that serve as barriers to Black males developing or maintaining interest in STEM. Through a series of five short videos, five interactive handouts, and new website, the BME project provides invaluable resources toward reducing the barriers challenging Black males’ participation in science and engineering.

The videos and handouts target different audiences. Video 1 (“Childhood Inspiration”) and Video 2 (“For the Love of Play”) offer insights to parents, caregivers, and teachers of younger Black boys. Video 3 (“Breaking Through”) provides information for K-12 teachers committed to reaching their Black male students and helping them succeed. Video 4 (“Digging Deep”) illuminates struggles faced by some Black male college and graduate students in STEM fields and highlights the uplifting power of peer support and faculty mentoring. Finally, Video 5 (“Of Triumph and Perseverance”) offers an illustration of a Black male success story. 

Because this project was created with a wide audience in mind (kids, parents, caregivers, family members, K-12 teachers and administrators, college professors and advisors, mentors, student peers, college and graduate students, and policymakers), the videos and their visual motifs can be understood by all. The interactive handouts correspond to each video and include prompts for individual reflection or group discussion.

Throughout the videos and handouts, we often revisit this idea: “No one says it’ll be easy, but it's worth it!” This recognizes that the Black Males in Engineering project is rooted in an idea that we all can play different and important roles in supporting Black boys and males through science and engineering pathways. If we work together to expand access to science and engineering for Black boys and males, we will begin to better utilize the brilliant, diverse talent in our country. Then, and only then, will we begin to address the nation and world’s biggest problems.  

Dr. Brian A. Burt is a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and director of the Wisconsin Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.