Honoring Black History Means Honoring Black Educators

Feb 3, 2025 4:50:15 PM

by

Honoring Black History Means Honoring Black Educators
4:48

 

In the same way that Black History is as broad as all of American History, the legacy of Black educators is similarly expansive: Black teachers shape education and the entire profession and elevate the impact of all teachers around them. 

Black Teachers Improve Outcomes For Black Students 

Appropriately, the common narrative about Black teachers’ impact often focuses on their influence on Black students. Research shows that just one Black teacher can significantly increase a Black student’s chances of graduating high school and attending college. Research also shows reduced dropout rates, fewer disciplinary issues, more positive views of schooling, and better test scores. Black students with Black teachers often experience accurate history, less anti-Blackness, and higher expectations.

Black Teachers Make Their Colleagues Better Educators of Black Students

What is often less discussed, and just as transformative, is how Black teachers make their non-Black colleagues more effective educators of Black students. Researchers from American University, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard found that having a Black same-year colleague “improves academic performance and decreases suspension rates among white teachers’ Black students.” The researchers' “findings suggest that the positive impact of Black teachers' ability to successfully teach Black students is not limited to their direct interaction with Black students but is augmented by spillover effects on early-career white teachers, likely through peer learning.” SImply put, Black teachers make their colleagues better educators of Black students.


Across time and place, this is a hallmark of Black history and Black people–not only advocating for and advancing our own but raising the bar for entire systems and institutions.


The research confirms this. Studies show that Black students in schools with higher percentages of Black teachers fare better academically—not just in classrooms taught by Black educators but across the board. This isn’t a coincidence.


Black teachers influence school culture, policies, and expectations in ways that benefit Black students, even when non-Black educators are teaching those students.


The Influence of Black Educators On The Profession Is Not New

Historically, Black teachers have modeled excellence and activism, even in the face of exclusion and systemic barriers. During segregation, Black teachers built rigorous academic environments for Black students despite inadequate resources. After desegregation, many were pushed out of schools, but their leadership continued to shape generations of educators.

Black educators have always been so much more than their job descriptions. They have been advocates, mentors, and change agents, shaping not only Black students but entire education systems.

Despite their undeniable impact, Black teachers remain underrepresented in America’s classrooms. Those hearty few are often expected to carry a disproportionate share of the emotional labor in schools, serving as disciplinarians, cultural liaisons, and the primary advocates for Black students. Meanwhile, non-Black teachers are rarely expected to adapt to Black students’ needs in the same way that Black teachers are expected to accommodate all students. 

This double standard is a glaring, daily reality for Black educators. Many Black educators leave the profession due to burnout, feeling unsupported in environments that benefit from their presence but fail to invest in their success.

The complexity of challenges students face and the barriers to success that school communities contend with are only getting more complex. The solution lies in ensuring that all students have teachers who can teach every student well and provide the classroom environment and learning experience that ensures that students flourish, no matter who they are.  And that requires more Black educators, not just for Black students but to advance, elevate, and improve the profession writ large.

We honor Black History through action and advocacy for progress rather than settling for sentiment and social media posts. If we are serious about honoring Black history, we must honor the Black teaching techniques and traditions by ensuring that Black educators have the support, respect, and opportunities they deserve.


The history of Black educators shows, clear and plain, that they, as much as any other educators, have shaped the very definition of what it means to be a great teacher.


We honor that legacy by materially honoring their work, substantively supporting their practice, and publicly recognizing their positive impact on our broader progress.

Sharif El-Mekki

Sharif El-Mekki is the Founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development. The Center exists to ensure there will be equity in the recruiting, training, hiring, and retention of quality educators that reflect the cultural backgrounds and share common socio-political interests of the students they serve. The Center is developing a nationally relevant model to measurably increase teacher diversity and support Black educators through four pillars: Professional learning, Pipeline, Policies and Pedagogy. So far, the Center has developed ongoing and direct professional learning and coaching opportunities for Black teachers and other educators serving students of color. The Center also carries forth the freedom or liberation school legacy by hosting a Freedom School that incorporates research-based curricula and exposes high school and college students to the teaching profession to help fuel a pipeline of Black educators. Prior to founding the Center, El-Mekki served as a nationally recognized principal and U.S. Department of Education Principal Ambassador Fellow. El-Mekki’s school, Mastery Charter Shoemaker, was recognized by President Obama and Oprah Winfrey, and was awarded the prestigious EPIC award for three consecutive years as being amongst the top three schools in the country for accelerating students’ achievement levels. The Shoemaker Campus was also recognized as one of the top ten middle school and top ten high schools in the state of Pennsylvania for accelerating the achievement levels of African-American students. Over the years, El-Mekki has served as a part of the U.S. delegation to multiple international conferences on education. He is also the founder of the Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice, an organization dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and developing Black male teachers. El-Mekki blogs on Philly's 7th Ward, is a member of the 8 Black Hands podcast, and serves on several boards and committees focused on educational and racial justice.

Leave a Comment

The Feed

Explainers

  • Why Math Identity Matters

    Lane Wright

    The story you tell yourself about your own math ability tends to become true. This isn’t some Oprah aphorism about attracting what you want from the universe. Well, I guess it kind of is, but...

  • What's an IEP and How to Ensure Your Child's Needs Are Met?

    Ed Post Staff

    If you have a child with disabilities, you’re not alone: According to the latest data, over 7 million American schoolchildren — 14% of all students ages 3-21 — are classified as eligible for special...

  • Seeking Justice for Black and Brown Children? Focus on the Social Determinants of Health

    Laura Waters

    The fight for educational equity has never been just about schools. The real North Star for this work is providing opportunities for each child to thrive into adulthood. This means that our advocacy...