He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother: Using Interest Convergence as a Framework to Examine the Experiences of Black Male Students Who Participated in a Black Male Mentoring Program at a Predominantly White Institution in the Midwest.

Abstract This research focuses on understanding how the men who engaged with this study experienced their Predominantly White Institution (PWI) as participants in a Black Male mentoring program. The participants' experiences will be examined through the Interest Convergence (IC) lens. Interest Convergence scholars contend that those who hold systemic power (the dominant group) only implement support measures for Black students and other historically underserved populations when such actions ultimately benefit their position (Bell, 1980). In addition to understanding how the students in this study perceive their campus support through the lens of Interest Convergence, this study sought to understand any impact this mentoring program had on their overall college experience. Researchers on the experiences of Black males primarily focus on deficits and not the value of their experiences. Additionally, there is not enough research done on how the culture of a university campus can highlight and exacerbate deficits which are often used to categorize Black Males on college campuses.