College enrollment is often characterized as the end goal for young black males, Mr. Hickman said. The Delany Scholars Program sought to show students they were capable of much more, requiring its participants to maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA and enroll in honors or AP classes.
According to Mr. Hickman, subtle discriminatory attitudes can be the most perilous of all.
“The thing about racism is that it’s so present, it’s like the air we breathe,” he said. “We don’t even notice it.”
While there is no possibility of the program being renewed, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Hickman plan to apply what Delany Scholars have taught them to the schools’ teaching pedagogy.