Overcoming the Odds: Raising Academically Successful African American Young Women

When Beating the Odds: Raising Academically Successful African American Males appeared in 1998, it was hailed as a crucial book (Baltimore Sun) and undoubtedly one of the most important tools the African American parent can possess (Kweisi Mfume, President NAACP).
Now, in response to enormous demand, the authors turn their attention to African American young women. Statistics indicate that African American females, as a group, fare poorly in the United States. Many live in single-parent households-either as the single-parent mother or as the daughter. Many face severe economic hurdles. Yet despite these obstacles, some are performing at exceptional levels academically. Based on interviews with many of these successful young women and their families, Overcoming the Odds provides a wealth of information about how and why they have succeeded--what motivates them, how their backgrounds and family relationships have shaped them, even how it feels to be a high academic achiever. They also discuss the challenges of moving into African American womanhood, from maintaining self-esteem to making the right choices about their professional and personal lives. Most important, the book offers specific and inspiring examples of the practices, attitudes, and parenting strategies that have enabled these women to persevere and triumph.
For parents, educators, policy makers, and indeed all those concerned about the education of young African American women, Overcoming the Odds is an invaluable guidebook on creating the conditions that lead to academic-and lifelong-success.


Author: Freeman A. Hrabowski III, Kenneth I. Maton, Monica L. Greene
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 02/01/2002
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 9.44h x 6.38w x 0.98d
ISBN: 9780195126426

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 11/01/2001 pg. 114
Booklist 12/15/2001 pg. 687
Library Journal 12/01/2001 pg. 159
Booklist 02/15/2002 pg. 1003
Multicultural Review 06/01/2002 pg. 89

About the Author

Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, is President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is coauthor, along with Kenneth I. Maton and Geoffrey L. Greif, of Beating the Odds: Raising Academically Successful African American Males. Kenneth I. Maton is Professor of Psychology at the UMBC and Director of the Community-Social Ph.D. Program in Human Services Psychology. Monica L. Greene is Faculty Research Associate in Psychology at UMBC. Geoffrey L. Greif is Associate Dean and Professor in the School of Social Work, University of Maryland. He is the author of six books, including Out of Touch: When Parents and Children Lose Contact After Divorce (OUP).

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