Several years ago, both James B. Dudley and Ben L. Smith high school appeared on a list of school closings due to low standardized test scores. Community leaders along with area pastors and the like displayed their outrage concerning the potential closing of the two predominantly black high schools in the area citing racial motivation. The community never publicly addressed the low performance rates of students on standardize test, nor did they explore options or opportunities to assist these schools with improving student performance. The African American/Black community historically exhibited great fortitude in the face of adversity. Currently these communities act in a more reactive manner towards injustice as demonstrated by protests against police brutality inflicted on African American/Black men and women. This study examines civic engagement in the African American/Black communities of the south to determine its capability of strengthening said communities and promoting social awareness. The intent is to examine how to motivate the African American/Black citizenry to advocate for enhanced conditions for its community. The research will employ the Afrocentric theoretical framework to discover how civic engagement can potentially improve the community base and encourage social awareness through the analysis of the experiences of community constituents via focus group and individual interviews. The collection of this data will provide the information necessary to draw a scientific conclusion concerning the prospective effects of civic engagement in the African American/Black community.