Strategic Mentoring: A Culturally Responsive Approach for Supporting Black Males

Abstract

Young Black males living in single-parent homes, in spite of never having a mentor, understand the value of a responsible same-sex mentor. Thirteen Black males between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five offered well-expressed thoughts on mentoring and why they believe mentoring adds value to their lives. They characterized unstructured mentoring as a process without a specific agenda. The consideration of Black males struggling without a father in the home requires the serious consideration of strategic mentoring as a solution for change. Strategic mentoring has a clear purpose, is communication-centric, is designed to develop during the course of a long-term mutual commitment between mentor and mentee, and incorporates the child’s mother into the mentoring experience.