Dive Brief:

• Across the U.S., black male teachers are disproportionately underrepresented in classrooms, making up just 2% of public school teachers.
• The majority of teachers are white females. 
• A 2015 report from the Albert Shanker Institute cites the main reason for schools' failure to retain black teachers to be frustration, feeling voiceless, a lack of support and congeniality, and feeling like they are powerless to affect change.  

Dive Insight:

Much like basic school integration and desegregation, having black teachers is crucial to the success of students of color in the classroom. It's important for students to identify with role models. In 2014, the National Education Association reported that just 18% of public school teachers in the United States are nonwhite.  

A diverse workforce is beneficial district-wide, to students and teachers alike. Education leaders like Leslie Fenwick, author of the forthcoming book "Jim Crow's Pink Slip: Public Policy and the Near Decimation of Black Educational Leadership After Brown," has published research finding that black teachers were pushed out of their jobs after Brown v. Board of Education. Fenwick cites one possible solution to the dearth of black teachers as being more government funding for historically black colleges and universities that graduate teachers of color.

Some districts have come up with workaround solutions. In Oakland, CA, a program called Building Lives Acquiring Cultural Knowledge (BLACK) teaches African-American history, literature, and leadership development to middle- and high-schoolers, led by black men who aren't certified teachers. Minneapolis has also opened an Office of Black Male Student Achievement to help  close the racial achievement gap; in that city, black students account for 40% of district enrollment and make up 74% of disciplinary incidents and 78% of out-of-school suspensions.

Recommended Reading

Education Week: Black Male Teachers a Dwindling Demographic