ogc163
Superstar
Story by Ruth Samuel
Graphics by Chel Wock
When he was in high school, Charlie Helms never dreamed of attending UNC-Chapel Hill, until a Black male teacher encouraged him to apply for the Morehead-Cain scholarship. Helms not only got in, and while he did not get the Morehead-Cain, he received a full-tuition scholarship from the Chancellor’s Science Scholars program.
“I was like a little boy who had just gotten a new toy on Christmas morning,” said Helms, now a 21-year-old alumnus.
With an offer like that, Helms felt sought after — and everyone told him he was. Then, he stepped onto campus and realized he was one of only 95 Black men – out of about 5,000 students — in the class of 2021. The low number of Black men bothered him every day.
“The day-to-day was draining,” he said. “It’s like when you think you’re going to Hawai’i but your parents take you to Myrtle Beach.”
According to a 2017 story in the Daily Tar Heel, UNC-Chapel Hill has been unable to enroll more than 125 Black men per incoming class since 2009. A 2010 study released by the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment showed that only 49.2% of Black men graduate within four years, the lowest of any demographic group.
“I was in the honors section for COMP 110,” Helms recalled from his freshman year, “and I remember the first day of class. The teacher asked who had programming experience. It was me and one other Black male in the class, and everyone’s else’s hand shot up except us. It was just so sad to see that this is going to be my reality for the next four years.”
“They’re so quick to take us in, but then when we say we’re having a problem, it’s just automatically, ‘Just get rid of them,’” Helms added. “There’s so many Black men that started out being me. The only reason I feel like they switch their majors is because their mentors told them it’d be easier to do another major.”
Helms is one of few Black men majoring in computer science. He said that when he sought help from professors, he was met with harshness and disdain. Rather than encouraging him, they harped on his math foundation, urging him to retake Calculus I. One professor suggested that he drop the major altogether, which was not an option considering Helms’ scholarship was contingent upon earning a bachelor of science degree.
“Freshman year I really was about to drop out,” Helms said. “My dad…dropped out after his first year and went into the military, so I was actually talking to (him) about that and the process to enroll in the military. I really wanted to transfer to Howard University because I had gotten in prior to UNC. I just really missed my community…rather than trying to have to always create a space for myself.”
Helms’ father eventually returned to school. Meanwhile, Helms leaned into other communities and programs. He participated in UNC-Chapel Hill trustee William Keyes’ Institute for Responsible Citizenship, an intensive leadership development program for talented African-American men, and the Men of Color Engagement group in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Chris Faison is the former coordinator of Men of Color, which seeks to provide professional, personal and social support to male students of color at the university. It was launched by the Center for Student Success and Academic Counseling,
He said the issue of Black male retention in education does not begin or end with UNC.
“It’s a larger issue of the ways that systems, particularly in education, have pushed Black men out of school and have not encouraged them to stay, unless it’s been through things like sports or other ways to be able to benefit from our bodies or our experience,” Faison said.
Faison said that of the Black male first-year students enrolled annually at UNC-Chapel Hill, an estimated 20% are athletes.
He also cited the 2015 study by the Schott Foundation for Public Education that said that high school graduation rates for Black men nationally decreased from 61% to 59%.
“When we have that and you tie it to the school-to-prison pipeline, you really do have a scant number of African American men that are applying to college, first of all, who aren’t in the military or going into work,” Faison said. “(The Schott Foundation) basically stopped reporting because…they just didn’t want to continue to produce a report that was expensive and time consuming.”
Faison left UNC to pursue his Ph.D. in educational evaluation and policy analysis. But before he left, he was working in initiatives for men of color, specifically Black men, from 2013 to 2019. Black male retention increased approximately 6 percentage points when the organization Men of Color was active.
As a first-year student, Helms attended Men of Color events, which helped him socially, but didn’t help him academically.
“I remember I actually went to a Men of Color (event) and I put down my major, I put down what I needed help with, and they gave me an environmental science major,” Helms said. “It wasn’t what I needed. That wasn’t a person that was going to help me get through my courses.”
Both Faison and Dr. Sibby Anderson-Thompkins, the university’s interim chief diversity officer, agree that supporting students extends beyond the social. It’s a matter of showing genuine interest in their well-being and providing early demonstrated academic and financial support.
“The fact that we have not had an active Men of Color initiative since Mr. Faison left is one of the reasons I think we’ve not made more headway,” Anderson-Thompkins said. “I do think having a community of Black men, seeing other Black men in leadership roles or in the classroom are things that we’re lacking here.”
When Faison left, along with other Black academic leaders, including Vice Chancellor Winston Crisp — who found the money to support Men of Color — it became evident that the progress of the program was dependent on faculty pouring into Black men in ways the institution did not.
Graphics by Chel Wock
When he was in high school, Charlie Helms never dreamed of attending UNC-Chapel Hill, until a Black male teacher encouraged him to apply for the Morehead-Cain scholarship. Helms not only got in, and while he did not get the Morehead-Cain, he received a full-tuition scholarship from the Chancellor’s Science Scholars program.
“I was like a little boy who had just gotten a new toy on Christmas morning,” said Helms, now a 21-year-old alumnus.
With an offer like that, Helms felt sought after — and everyone told him he was. Then, he stepped onto campus and realized he was one of only 95 Black men – out of about 5,000 students — in the class of 2021. The low number of Black men bothered him every day.
“The day-to-day was draining,” he said. “It’s like when you think you’re going to Hawai’i but your parents take you to Myrtle Beach.”
According to a 2017 story in the Daily Tar Heel, UNC-Chapel Hill has been unable to enroll more than 125 Black men per incoming class since 2009. A 2010 study released by the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment showed that only 49.2% of Black men graduate within four years, the lowest of any demographic group.
“I was in the honors section for COMP 110,” Helms recalled from his freshman year, “and I remember the first day of class. The teacher asked who had programming experience. It was me and one other Black male in the class, and everyone’s else’s hand shot up except us. It was just so sad to see that this is going to be my reality for the next four years.”
“They’re so quick to take us in, but then when we say we’re having a problem, it’s just automatically, ‘Just get rid of them,’” Helms added. “There’s so many Black men that started out being me. The only reason I feel like they switch their majors is because their mentors told them it’d be easier to do another major.”
Helms is one of few Black men majoring in computer science. He said that when he sought help from professors, he was met with harshness and disdain. Rather than encouraging him, they harped on his math foundation, urging him to retake Calculus I. One professor suggested that he drop the major altogether, which was not an option considering Helms’ scholarship was contingent upon earning a bachelor of science degree.
“Freshman year I really was about to drop out,” Helms said. “My dad…dropped out after his first year and went into the military, so I was actually talking to (him) about that and the process to enroll in the military. I really wanted to transfer to Howard University because I had gotten in prior to UNC. I just really missed my community…rather than trying to have to always create a space for myself.”
Helms’ father eventually returned to school. Meanwhile, Helms leaned into other communities and programs. He participated in UNC-Chapel Hill trustee William Keyes’ Institute for Responsible Citizenship, an intensive leadership development program for talented African-American men, and the Men of Color Engagement group in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Chris Faison is the former coordinator of Men of Color, which seeks to provide professional, personal and social support to male students of color at the university. It was launched by the Center for Student Success and Academic Counseling,
He said the issue of Black male retention in education does not begin or end with UNC.
“It’s a larger issue of the ways that systems, particularly in education, have pushed Black men out of school and have not encouraged them to stay, unless it’s been through things like sports or other ways to be able to benefit from our bodies or our experience,” Faison said.
Faison said that of the Black male first-year students enrolled annually at UNC-Chapel Hill, an estimated 20% are athletes.
He also cited the 2015 study by the Schott Foundation for Public Education that said that high school graduation rates for Black men nationally decreased from 61% to 59%.
“When we have that and you tie it to the school-to-prison pipeline, you really do have a scant number of African American men that are applying to college, first of all, who aren’t in the military or going into work,” Faison said. “(The Schott Foundation) basically stopped reporting because…they just didn’t want to continue to produce a report that was expensive and time consuming.”
Faison left UNC to pursue his Ph.D. in educational evaluation and policy analysis. But before he left, he was working in initiatives for men of color, specifically Black men, from 2013 to 2019. Black male retention increased approximately 6 percentage points when the organization Men of Color was active.
As a first-year student, Helms attended Men of Color events, which helped him socially, but didn’t help him academically.
“I remember I actually went to a Men of Color (event) and I put down my major, I put down what I needed help with, and they gave me an environmental science major,” Helms said. “It wasn’t what I needed. That wasn’t a person that was going to help me get through my courses.”
Both Faison and Dr. Sibby Anderson-Thompkins, the university’s interim chief diversity officer, agree that supporting students extends beyond the social. It’s a matter of showing genuine interest in their well-being and providing early demonstrated academic and financial support.
“The fact that we have not had an active Men of Color initiative since Mr. Faison left is one of the reasons I think we’ve not made more headway,” Anderson-Thompkins said. “I do think having a community of Black men, seeing other Black men in leadership roles or in the classroom are things that we’re lacking here.”
When Faison left, along with other Black academic leaders, including Vice Chancellor Winston Crisp — who found the money to support Men of Color — it became evident that the progress of the program was dependent on faculty pouring into Black men in ways the institution did not.
