The role of the Black church in socializing African American students for school success: a collective case study into the nature of prophetic activism

Little attention has been given to the potential role of faith-based institutions in fostering academic achievement through socialization; the purpose of this study is to reveal that link. For many African American students, the public education system has not successfully prepared them for citizenry in today's global community. An urgent need in research is to identify community resources that are readily available to address the underachievement of African American students enrolled in today's public schools. The purpose of this study is to discover how the social support efforts of black church goers positively impact the academic experiences of African American youth. This qualitative study, involving two black churches, will explore the prevalence of prophetic activism within black churches that address the social and academic needs of African American youth. In this study, the term prophetic activism is used to describe church activism that extends beyond the walls of the black church to reach all African American youth within the community in which the black church is anchored. The findings of this study illuminate how successful collaboration between educators and black churches leads to prophetic activism. This research has the potential to lend valuable insight into policies and procedures school leaders develop to forge community collaboration with black churches.