Commitment, Love, and Responsibility Are Key

Abstract

My initial impression of the dropout project study was that maybe it would be another bullshit study. That’s no disrespect, but I remember thinking to myself that the researchers were not really going to be interested in hearing our opinions. If they did listen, I didn’t think our opinions were really going to count. I thought that “they are going to mark it [the report] up and dress it up the way they want it to be and feel.” That was just my perception off the top of my head. I almost missed a chance to be a part of a study that was run by a person who looked like me. I was thinking that these Black folks can’t be the ones in charge. I thought having Black researchers run the project was a gimmick and that some White folks were going to walk in and take over at any minute. I didn’t want to be a research monkey. Once I figured out it was about us and run by us, I went all in.