SEAHO Report - Fall 2024 - 34

From Vision to Reality:
How the Kingz Collective Grew From Seed to a
Tree of New Life for Men of Color in Housing
By Anthony White, Ph.D., University of Tennessee Knoxville, CJ Jackson, University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, Nyerere Tryman, Auburn University, & Demarcus Merritt, Sr., George Mason University
The recruitment and retention of Men of Color in higher education as students and professionals is a crisis that
has existed in higher education for decades. The Kingz Collective is a network for Men of Color in housing and
residence life, created as a purposeful, continuous support system for professionals to gain skills, knowledge,
and a sense of community and belonging. It is designed to foster growth and help members overcome
personal and career advancement barriers.
The mission of The Kingz Collective (KC) is to empower Men of Color by providing the support and resources
needed to achieve their goals and excel personally and professionally.
KC: The Root Story
SEAHO 2020 was memorable for many reasons, but one of the highlights was the long-awaited connection
between Dr. Anthony White and Curtis " CJ " Jackson Jr. Dr. White, a highly respected expert in the field, has
made a significant impact both locally at the campuses he's served and on a larger scale through his work
with SEAHO and the Association of College & University Housing Officers - International (ACUHO-I). Jackson,
equally esteemed as a forward-thinker and go-getter in Higher Education, gained recognition as the President
of North Carolina Housing Officers (NCHO) and for his influential research. He is best known for laying the
groundwork for the Black Male Initiative at North Carolina State University.
White observed the moves Jackson was making from afar. Additionally, some mutual friends and colleagues
frequently informed White of their similarities. White and Jackson found themselves breaking bread for dinner
while at SEAHO Louisville. That connection led to continued conversation about the underrepresentation of
Men of Color in housing and residence life. They noticed the housing and residence life profession was losing
Black and Brown men to other areas within and outside higher education. This was particularly true of the
seasoned Men of Color or patriarchs who provided mentorship and counsel for Black and Brown professionals
who needed support or guidance. To name a few, there are men such as Dr. Lionel Maten, Dr. Leon McClinton,
and Dr. Brandon Thompson. After further reflection and dialogue, they left Louisville with the plan to keep in
touch. After departing Louisville, they vividly recall delegates receiving communication from the host hotel
reporting guests who reported testing for the COVID-19 virus, which would soon become a pandemic and
would change our profession and world in many unforeseeable ways.
While adjusting to normalize our new work-from-home format, Jackson and White decided it was time to link
further to discuss the identified problem and the potential solutions. Jackson brilliantly posed the question:
How are we intentionally developing current and future professionals? He posed that critical inquiry with
the understanding that managing talent and developing talent were two different aspects of supervision and
mentorship. Through various qualitative inquiries with young Black and Brown male professionals in entry-level
positions, many shared that they either had excellent supervision but poor mentorship, strong mentorship but
inadequate supervision, or lacked both, leaving them to navigate much of the work independently. Jackson
and White agreed that embracing this calling and purpose as their shared responsibility was crucial. They
recognized it was time to turn previous discussions into a clear, action-oriented vision. Jackson had already
laid the foundation for what would become the Kingz Collective, while White, eager to support, served as a
sounding board and offered valuable input to help bring Jackson's vision to life.
34

SEAHO Report - Fall 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Fall 2024