Q&A With Sharif El-Mekki and Shareefah Mason: You Won’t Retain Black Teachers Without Transforming Your School Culture

Shareefah Mason of Teach Plus and Sharif El-Mekki of the Center for Black Educator Development (CBED) believe that schools can only recruit and retain Black…

I Hope My Black Students Will Become Educators Too

This is the note. This is the note. Mr. Walters, my middle school choir teacher, took his love of music and teaching music seriously. He…

Will All the Black Teachers Please Stand Up?

Education remains one of the Black community’s most enduring values. It is sustained by the belief that freedom and education go hand in hand, that…

White Women Like Me Dominate the Teaching Profession. Here’s Why That’s a Problem

I can name the Black educators I had growing up on one hand.  One. Hand.  And if I add the ones I had in college…

Here’s How Houston Is Bringing More Men of Color Into Teaching

How many teachers in your K-12 experience do you feel truly impacted you? It’s a Saturday afternoon in early June, and urban education expert Kwame…

At Freedom School Literacy Academy, Black Pride and Academic Achievement Go Hand-in-Hand

Erika Asikoye is the Director of the Freedom School Literacy Academy (FSLA) at The Center for Black Educator Development in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The FSLA, for…

Counterstorytelling Is at the Heart of Anti-Racist Teaching

Counterstorytellling is so much more than just a tenant of critical race theory. It is at the heart of what we do as antiracist teachers.…

This Is Our Window of Opportunity to Create a Diverse Teacher Workforce

Racial segregation remains a major issue for American students more than 65 years after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. Board of…

5 Tips to Rid Your School Faculty of Racists

The insurrection of January 6, 2021 was a dark day in our nation’s history. What makes it even darker is that public servants took part…

6 Questions Every Black Teacher Should Ask When Joining a New School

For many teachers, the end of the school year not only serves as an opportunity to deeply reflect on how the year went, but also…