Xavier University Empowers Young Black Men During It’s Magnificent Male Weekend

Xavier University opened its doors to students nationwide for a special weekend dedicated to Black men.

For Magnificent Male Weekend, the New Orleans HBCU recently welcomed 100 students, out of nearly 500 applicants, to empower young Black men and assist them in reaching their full potential, WDSU reports.

The weekend consisted of mentorship, networking opportunities, and workshops.

“This program allows the university to walk alongside these young men and their parents from their sophomore, junior and senior years in high school to get them ready for not only coming to Xavier but going to any college,” said Curtis Wright, Xavier’s vice president of student affairs.

“There is some data point that’s like 1 in 3 African American men will find themselves interacting with the criminal justice system,” Wright added. “We want to disrupt that school-to- prison pipeline.”

After the encouraging weekend, students have a few requirements to meet. Participants have to complete virtual sessions from September through May. However, students who complete the sessions will get two amazing boosts: automatic admission to Xavier as well as a $5,000 scholarship.

Students like 17-year-old Kavon Strong from Washington D.C. said he really enjoyed the program and it seemed like the message of preparing for a better future today hit the mark. “You can do anything you want to do in life,” Strong said. “Just be great at it.”

The New Orleans-based school is doing some amazing things as they prepare for the incoming class of 2027.

Four students recently took first place in the Department of Homeland Security’s Invent2Prevent competition, a contest for students to develop innovative strategies to prevent targeted violence and terrorism in local communities, according to OSV News. The Still We R.O.S.E. effort will work to educate people in New Orleans on the Black and Jewish history as Xavier is the only historically Black Catholic university.