In a significant milestone for advancing equity in higher education, the African American Male Education Network & Development (A2MEND) headquartered in California, has announced its first out of state student charters at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota; Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota; and Green River College in Washington State.
Founded in 2006, A2MEND is a nonprofit organization led by African American male educators dedicated to fostering institutional change and improving educational outcomes for African American men in community colleges. 
The leadership of the the African American Male Education Network & Development.
The Minnesota charters were officially onboarded last month, and Green River College in Washington was notified of their selection on Dec 5, extending A2MEND’s reach beyond California and advancing its mission to empower African American male students in community colleges.
The addition of the charters brings A2MEND’s total to 51 active charters nationwide, up from the 48 exclusively established in California. The expansion demonstrates the growing national influence of the program and its commitment to Black males in higher education.
“I’m excited about the expansion of the A²MEND Student Charters to Minnesota. This is a testament to their support of student success and investing in intentional, strategic, and impactful programming,” said Dr. Scott Thayer, President of Cypress College. “I graduated from Normandale Community College, and it was instrumental in my success. This is a full circle moment for me, and this is really special. I am a founding member of A2MEND and this is why we started this organization, to create a lasting impact.”
Dr. Erin Vines, the executive director of A²MEND, told Diverse that the issues Black males face in higher education spans across the country and that being able to extend their efforts nationwide has always been the goal, but funding hindered those efforts.
“We’ve been getting interest for a number of years about our programming from schools from all over and fortunately we were successful in writing a grant to be able to fund us to expand our reach,” said Vines. “These three schools were selected based on their application, college readiness and support.”
He said that Minnesota and Washington in particular, were on the organization’s radar through preliminary research on good locations to expand beyond the Golden State. “When we select a school, we want to be sure that these institutions support the work and that they are going to support us trying to increase the success of Black males.”
Herbert English, Dean of Counseling and Special Programs at Riverside Community College and president of A2MEND, said that as the organization looks to expand into more locations in the coming year, success will be measured by the priority that institutions place on Black male achievement.
“We want to see that African American male success is an institutional effort, and not just a program. We make sure that these institutions are doing professional development around African American males and by engaging them,” said. English, who added that retention and persistence of African American males, for the institutions that have received charters, has increased. “We have charters as small as 10 students, and we have charters as big as 50 students. And of those students, we've been able to see that their year-to-year retention has improved, their graduation, certification and transfer has improved at those institutions,” he added.
The success of African American male students in higher education depends heavily on the commitment of campus leaders, such as presidents and vice presidents, to make it an institutional priority, according to English. He said that A2MEND plans to foster improvement by collaborating with other nonprofits and philanthropic organizations, such as the ECMC Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and Gates Foundation. These partnerships aim to secure funding to address the challenges African American males face in higher education, recognizing that many campuses have limited financial resources.
A2MEND leaders aim to ensure that their program will not only inspire Black males in higher education but to also see themselves at the head of the table.
“There's a lack of African American males in leadership programs, and in leadership positions, as well as faculty. What we learn from our students is that they don't see themselves in the boardrooms and they don't see themselves in the classroom, so it's hard for them to make those connections where they don't see any other African Americans on campus in leadership roles or in the faculty ranks. So that's one of the things that we'd like to change,” said English. “We're hoping that some of our young men that are in our programs will look at education as a viable career, not only education. We don't want to stop their goals of being doctors, engineers and architects, but we literally want to make sure that they are aware of the power of higher education and how being in those positions will not only help themselves, but it will help other African American males that are coming through higher ed.”
Each charter connects students with advisors who ensure they have the resources needed for success. The chartering process ensures a commitment to equity by requiring institutions to demonstrate robust institutional support and alignment with leadership. Applicants must include endorsements from college leaders, such as a president or vice president of student services, to ensure adequate resources for supporting African American male students.
“There’s a brotherhood that is created through our program,” said Vines. “These charters offer impactful programming, including financial literacy, mental health support, career opportunities, and participation in scholarly events like the annual Knowledge Bowl, where students compete in Black history and culture.”
Charter participants also benefit from leadership training and opportunities such as the Leadership Academy, which includes study-abroad experiences to Africa at no cost, to destinations like Zambia, Botswana, and Mozambique. Students are eligible for scholarships, with A2MEND having awarded over $1 million since its inception.
Looking ahead, A2MEND leaders said that they hope to establish 10 out-of-state charters using current funding, focusing on careful evaluation and assessment of their success before expanding further. They added that such a measured approach, will help determine their capacity and ability to scale the program beyond the initial 10 charters, ensuring sustainable and effective growth.
