Chapter 7: The Black Male Research Bootcamp: Intentionally Shaping Black Men’sDoctoral Student Socialization

Historically, socialization activities have focused on discipline-based knowledge and skills required for professional success. Still, these socialization activities do not address the nuances of identity, particularly race and gender for Black men that are essential for success in academia. Moreover, there are nuances to academia for those aspiring to become tenure-track faculty, and the tenure and promotion processes for Black men are not often articulated in traditional socialization processes. Thus, socialization issues are especially acute for Black men faculty given their limited representation in academia, notwithstanding efforts to diversify higher education and the professoriate specifically. The Black Male Research BootCamp (BMRBC) represents a socialization intervention for Black men doctoral students. Black men doctoral student participants identified the importance of Black male spaces in which to learn, grow, and engage with other Black men scholars. We offer suggestions for Black men doctoral students and faculty, and institutions interested in supporting Black men doctoral students.