The challenges African-American boys face in the education system

The Friday Roundtable discusses "American Promise," a Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary that follows two young, middle-class, African-American boys as they enter a traditionally white, upper-class private school. The film documents the cultural disconnect that African-American males face in the education system.

LEARN MORE ABOUT AFRICAN-AMERICAN BOYS IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM:

• How to Raise Black Children (on Camera)
The reality is, there are obstacles they face because of their race — and if we're not aware of that, we can't demand that they achieve at the same level. (Mother Jones)

• The failure to educate African-American men
John Jackson, CEO of the Schott Foundation, said there's no genetic explanation for racial differences in educational performance, so the variations must lie in social policies and practices. "It's worth noting that graduation rates for African American males are not lower in places like Vermont, Maine, and North Dakota, where they are so small in number that they can't be relegated or isolated in under-resourced spaces. In those spaces, they perform on par or even better than their white male peers." According to Jackson, the foundation wanted to see how white males fare in under-resourced districts. "We went to Detroit, where the black male graduation rate was 21 percent, and the white male graduation rate was 19 percent." (WESA)

• Watch "American Promise":

• A New York Times video Op-Ed by the "American Promise" filmmakers