Using ABCDE to propel African Americans’ education for sustainable success in a context of ‘everyone can make it’

This paper addresses the professional challenge ‘there just ain’t no making it’ for African Americans. The study draws on in-depth interviews with six African American Male successful leaders who were educated during the Civil Rights movement in the United States. A review of the literature reveals i) operationalising A Blueprint for Character Development for Evolution (ABCDE) allows citizens to penetrate fake news revealing the root causes of inequalities and ii) a model of six characteristics of education that propels students to sustainable success; First, teachers are outstanding, often with PhDs. Second, students are respected with no racialised abuse. Third, exposure to and preparation for a comprehensive portfolio of opportunities in the US quadruple helix with African American role models are normalised with everyday classroom Audio-Visual, digitised, empirical, logical and ethical literacies. These are aligned with African American community values including faith based. Fourth, students and teachers like and trust each other. Fifth, a progressive trajectory to a more perfect union is evidenced by curriculum Intended Learning Outcomes mapped to Key Performance Indicators delivering equitable access to middle class and higher benefits for all. This is achieved by applying legitimate methods and hard work for sustainable success. Sixth, students have access to thinking tools to penetrate ‘fake news’ including the lies of White Supremacists. The narrative biographies of the six African American Male successful leaders are read through the Model and reveal proof of concept. Recommendations are school boards and Superintendents, supported by education policy and sustainable business models, apply this model to gain High Technology Readiness Level (TLR) to support mainstreaming in education systems today. If the Model of Six Characteristics of Education that propel students to sustainable success are missing from education systems, African American students are highly unlikely to become the successful leaders the participants in this research became. Thus, the Model needs to be considered for mainstreaming to Propel African American Males' Education For Sustainable Success in the quadruple helix where ‘Everyone can make it’. The model has transferability for International audiences to eradicate The Black-White Achievement Gap and support democracy in education for the Black Global Majority (Campbell-Stephens, 2021) and gaps created by intersectionalities of discrimination based on race, gender, Special Education Needs and Disability and all protected characteristics of the UK Equality Act.