HE GETS ME: BLACK MALE MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS AS SITES OF MUTUAL LIBERATION

Black male students find themselves in a problem when they walk into the school building each day. There is often a desire to be educated, but a gradual breaking down of who they are as they are often seen as the anthesis of the dominant culture. Teachers are often the welders of this power, which leads to unfavorable outcomes in the school setting. Due to the lack of Black male adults inside of the school building, these relationships often go unformed. This study, coming from a qualitative narrative research approach, offers the narratives of nine black males ages 18-40 who experienced a black male mentoring relationship as either a mentor or mentee. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling. The narratives were gathered using semi-structured interviews and were to understand the lived experiences of Black males who have been involved in mentoring relationships and how it assisted them in navigating race, racism, and masculinity. The study provided the findings 1) Navigating race and racism involves intentional conversations when the mentee is ready for them 2) Black male mentoring relationships help youth and adults alike to understand the complexities of identity development

3) Masculinity is multidimensional and develops over time. 4) Schooling can be oppressive and enlightening depending on who is in your corner 5) Black male mentoring relationships are successful when they are loving, accepting, and mentee driven. Participants were able to offer recommendations for successful Black male mentoring relationships, and more research topics were suggested to improve the field and meet the needs of Black males.