It’s been a generation of comradery and success.
Alumni of Hunter College’s Brothers for Excellence program gathered on September 4 for a special reunion and networking event marking 20 years of The City University of New York’s Black Male Initiative.
The initiative, of which Brothers for Excellence is a project, cultivates leadership and fosters a sense of belonging for students at Hunter and across CUNY’s 25 campuses. A student-centered program, Brothers for Excellence, is open to all but focused on helping Black and Latino males become successful graduates through scholarships, mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and access to dormitories. It also encourages high-school students to apply for and attend Hunter College.
The Black Male Initiative began in 2005, when the New York City Council approved funds to raise the enrollment, matriculation, retention, grades, and graduation rate of historically underrepresented students. Twenty years later, with funding also from New York state, the initiative is a $3.4 million annual endeavor.
At Hunter, Marcia Cantarella, then assistant dean, helped establish Brothers for Excellence with Dean of Diversity and Compliance John Rose, who has led the program since 2008. By now, some 800 students have participated.
“We recognized early, 20 years ago, it was clear that young women of color were doing well, and young men of color were really struggling,” Cantarella told the publication Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
She and Rose decided to empower the students to lead the program as much as possible, through team leadership and peer mentoring.
“In my mind, part of the solution was to have them help turn it around, not us,” Cantarella said. “It’s important that students feel they have autonomy and that the grown-ups aren’t in charge; they are. Hunter’s program gives the students a lot of latitude.”
The celebratory evening, held at Hunter’s Roosevelt House Institute for Public Policy, vividly illustrated the lasting impact of Brothers for Excellence. Dozens of men and a few women representing a cross-section of New York professions attended the event, which featured receptions bracketing a panel discussion at the Roosevelt House auditorium, where Brothers for Excellence alumni discussed how the program helped them succeed.
Participants dined on down-home fare, such as macaroni and cheese and meatballs, supplied by Just Soul Catering, a black-owned business that helps to mainstream formerly incarcerated women. Jazz played by a trio of student performers, The Groove Hunters, provided a festive vibe.
“I noticed flashes of joy on your faces as you spotted someone you hadn’t seen in a while and then hugged them up close,” Rose told the gathering. “It’s about celebrating a milestone. For two decades, this program stood for something more than academics — your success at Hunter, at graduate and professional schools, and in your lives beyond.”
Collin Craig, a professor of English and assistant dean at Hunter’s School of Arts and Sciences and a longtime mentor for Brothers for Excellence, reflected on those journeys.
“Those young men who once trickled into the Brothers for Excellence’s office with anxious smiles are now doctors, lawyers, teachers, and finance leaders,” he said. “I hope Brothers for Excellence was not only a safe space, but a place where you learned to voice your dreams, trust your gifts, and build kinship.”
Stephon Odom ’19, an experience designer for a multinational bank, recalled how the program taught him to create his own opportunities. Recognizing that Hunter wasn’t always a target school for major business employers, Odom worked to organize a CUNY-wide event connecting students with career development programs, such as Inroads and SEO Career.
“Brothers for Excellence taught me that when you see a problem, it’s completely okay to take it upon yourself to find out ways to address it,” he said.
Jorge Cubias ’20, a lawyer who works on the legal team of a Bronx nonprofit, described how the program fostered academic accountability and self-help. He said that casual meetups in the library evolved into a formal study group, GPA Defenders, in which students supported one another to maintain their grades.
“It was an experience not only just to get that comradery, but also to have people hold you accountable when you’re studying,” he said.
Quentin Jackson ’17, an entertainment-industry cameraperson and producer, called the program illuminating.
“The Black Male Initiative is the pathway to a better version of yourself that you are not expecting,” he said.
