America’s Extreme Need for More Black Male Educators

I am sure that there are several current and former educators who may be reading this and thinking that they have had similar experiences. These are the dedicated bunch who have spent evenings, weekends, holidays, and after school hours attending athletic and academic events just to support their students. 

But much to the dismay of the educational community, the nation still struggles to ensure a growing multicultural student body has access to educators who have similar cultural backgrounds. Today, majority-minority school districts (Pre K-12) and colleges and universities have failed to recruit and retain Black men as educators. 

Currently, no more than two percent of educators in public schools are Black males, according to the U.S. Department of Education, while they represent a fraction of the six percent of full time professors at colleges and universities, figures from the National Center for Education Statistics say. Although some experts may argue that Black males are not graduating at the same rate as other groups we must find a way to strengthen the Black male educator pipeline.

There are several reasons why having more Black male educators in elementary through college settings is important. For instance, teaching offers committed brothers the opportunity to challenge the stereotypes that we are angry, dangerous and not willing to make sacrifices to improve conditions within the Black community. Personally, I have several years of experience teaching students from the elementary level through college. Working with students can be a rewarding experience but it is one that requires a great deal of sacrifice and commitment that can then lead to amazing results. Educators often don’t realize how much they impact their students until later in their life.

It is important to understand that this isn’t a one-sided relationship—students also give back to their teachers just as much as they receive from them. I often have conversations with my students where they offer insight on recent issues like #BlackTwitter discussions, community concerns and how to combat stereotypes. Working with students is always a mutually beneficial experience.

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