Since its inception, the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development (JMCD) has served as a platform to focus on high-quality research studies, ideas, and innovations that addressed the lived experiences of racial and ethnic minority populations (Gunnings, 1972). However, the time has come for the counseling profession to place the mental health and educational needs (and realities) of African American men, fathers, and boys at the forefront of the multicultural counseling discussion. Since the beginning of the contemporary social movement of Black Lives Matter prompted by the shootings of unarmed African Americans, there have been numerous position statements, journal articles, and conference presentations denouncing anti-Black racism. Yet, in 2023, Black men and boys are still being surveilled, profiled, and gunned down by the police and civilians, while their educational, mental, and physical health needs, wants, and desires are largely ignored by mental health and education professionals.

How we think about Black men is how we respond to them (Johnson, 2006). Research has primarily focused on the “absence” instead of the “presence” of African American fathers (Conner & White, 2011), “deficits” verses the “achievements” of Black male youth’’ (Stevenson, 2014), and “criminality” instead of the “strengths and overall wellness” of Black men (e.g., Akbar, 2017; Alford, 2022; Johnson, 2016). According to Johnson (2016) and Tovar-Murray (2021), educators and helping professionals need to look beyond clinical symptoms and behavioral concerns to truly value and support the inner lives of African American males. This special issue showcases the ways in which African American scholars and their research teams examine the experiences of African American males in relation to their educational attainment, mental health treatment, and the roles they play in the lives of African American youth.

The guest editors for this dynamic special issue are Dr. Isaac Burt, Dr. Erik M. Hines, and Dr. James L. Moore III. They bring depth and breadth to this current discussion and have published a combined total of 260 book chapters, special issues, and refereed journal articles in the fields of counseling and education. Dr. Burt is an Associate Professor in the counselor education program at Johns Hopkins University. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy in counselor education at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Burt has 20 years’ counseling experience in schools and mental health agency settings with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) populations. His research focuses on integrating scientific principles with multiculturalism, and examining neuroscience-infused strategies to buffer against racism and discrimination. Dr. Burt has published in the areas of multicultural group work, neuroscience-integrated counseling, culturally sensitive treatments, and creative and contemporary techniques in counseling. Dr. Hines is a Professor of School Counseling in the Division of Child, Family, and Community Engagement within the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. His research agenda focuses on (a) improving and increasing postsecondary opportunities for Black males; (b) parental involvement and its impact on academic achievement for students of color; and (c) career exploration in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for Black students. He is a proud American Counseling Association (ACA) Fellow and recipient of the Al Dye Award from the Association for Specialists in Group Work. Finally, Dr. Moore is the EHE Distinguished Professor of Urban Education in the College of Education and Human Ecology and inaugural executive director for the Todd A. Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male at The Ohio State University. He is nationally recognized for his work on African American males and has been cited annually by Education Week as one of the 200 most influential researchers in the United States. Including seven books, Dr. Moore has over 180 publications. He also has obtained over $40 million in funding and given over 200 scholarly presentations and lectures throughout the world.

This special issue is dedicated to the African American men and women in the counseling profession who unapologetically challenged the field of counselor education regarding the disparate treatment of African Americans. African American counseling scholars such as Dr. Clemmont Vontress, Dr. Frederick Harper, Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji, Dr. Thomas Gunnings, Dr. Thelma Daley, Dr. Max Parker, Dr. Johnnie McFadden, Dr. Courtland Lee, Dr. Don C. Locke, Dr. Thomas Parham, Dr. Deryl Bailey, Dr. Robert Carter, Dr. Cheryl Holcomb McCoy, Dr. Kent Butler, Dr. Linwood Vereen, Dr. Norma Day-Vines, Dr. Janet Helms, to name a few. I mentioned some by name because our current generation of young scholars may not be exposed to them due to the lack of African Americans, especially African American men, among the ranks of tenured faculty.

JMCD is pleased to present this special issue on Understanding the Black Male Experience: Recommendations for Clinical, Community, and School Settings.

The authors offer important insights regarding the current thought and practice in meeting the counseling needs of African American men and school-age male youth.

自创刊以来，《多元文化咨询与发展杂志》 （JMCD）一直作为一个平台，专注于高质量的研究、想法和创新，这些研究、想法和创新涉及种族和少数民族人口的生活经历（Gunnings，1972 ））。然而，现在是咨询行业将非裔美国男性、父亲和男孩的心理健康和教育需求（和现实）置于多元文化咨询讨论的前沿的时候了。自从手无寸铁的非裔美国人被枪杀引发的“黑人生命也是命”当代社会运动开始以来，已有大量立场声明、期刊文章和会议演讲谴责反黑人种族主义。然而，到 2023 年，黑人男性和男孩仍然受到警察和平民的监视、分析和枪杀，而他们的教育、心理和身体健康需求、愿望和愿望在很大程度上被心理健康和教育专业人员忽视。

我们如何看待黑人就是我们如何回应他们（Johnson，2006）。研究主要集中在非裔美国父亲的“缺席”而不是“在场”（Conner & White，2011）、黑人男性青年的“缺陷”与“成就”（Stevenson，2014）以及“犯罪” ”，而不是黑人男性的“优势和整体健康状况”（例如，Akbar，2017；Alford，2022；Johnson，2016）。根据 Johnson ( 2016 ) 和 Tovar-Murray ( 2021 )），教育工作者和帮助专业人员需要超越临床症状和行为问题，真正重视和支持非裔美国男性的内心生活。本期特刊展示了非裔美国学者及其研究团队如何研究非裔美国男性在教育程度、心理健康治疗以及他们在非裔美国青年生活中所扮演的角色方面的经历。

本期动态特刊的客座编辑是艾萨克·伯特博士、埃里克·M·海因斯博士和詹姆斯·L·摩尔三世博士。他们为当前的讨论带来了深度和广度，并在咨询和教育领域总共出版了 260 个书籍章节、特刊和参考期刊文章。伯特博士是约翰霍普金斯大学辅导员教育项目的副教授。他在中佛罗里达大学获得了辅导员教育哲学博士学位。Burt 博士拥有 20 年在学校和心理健康机构为黑人、原住民和有色人种 (BIPOC) 人群提供咨询的经验。他的研究重点是将科学原理与多元文化相结合，并研究注入神经科学的策略来缓冲种族主义和歧视。博士。伯特在多元文化小组工作、神经科学综合咨询、文化敏感治疗以及咨询中的创造性和现代技术等领域发表了文章。海因斯博士是乔治梅森大学教育与人类发展学院儿童、家庭和社区参与部门的学校咨询教授。他的研究议程侧重于（a）改善和增加黑人男性的高等教育机会；(b) 家长的参与及其对有色人种学生学业成绩的影响；(c) 黑人学生在科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 领域的职业探索。他是美国咨询协会 (ACA) 会员，并荣获团体工作专家协会颁发的 Al Dye 奖。最后，博士。摩尔是俄亥俄州立大学教育与人类生态学院城市教育 EHE 杰出教授，也是托德·贝尔国家非裔美国男性资源中心的首任执行主任。他因其对非裔美国男性的研究而获得全国认可，并且每年都被《科学》杂志引用。 《教育周刊》 评为美国200名最具影响力的研究人员之一。摩尔博士拥有 180 多本出版物，其中包括七本书。他还获得了超过 4000 万美元的资助，并在世界各地进行了 200 多次学术演讲和讲座。

本期特刊专门献给咨询行业的非裔美国男性和女性，他们毫无歉意地挑战咨询师教育领域关于非裔美国人的差异待遇。非裔美国咨询学者，如 Clemmont Vontress 博士、Frederick Harper 博士、Cirecie West-Olatunji 博士、Thomas Gunnings 博士、Thelma Daley 博士、Max Parker 博士、Johnnie McFadden 博士、Courtland Lee 博士、Dr. Don C. Locke、Thomas Parham 博士、Deryl Bailey 博士、Robert Carter 博士、Cheryl Holcomb McCoy 博士、Kent Butler 博士、Linwood Vereen 博士、Norma Day-Vines 博士、Janet Helms 博士等一些。我提到了一些人的名字，因为我们当代的年轻学者可能无法接触到他们，因为终身教授队伍中缺乏非裔美国人，特别是非裔美国男性。

JMCD很高兴推出本期特刊《了解黑人男性经历：对临床、社区和学校环境的建议》。

作者就当前满足非裔美国男性和学龄男性青少年咨询需求的思想和实践提供了重要见解。