Black Male Teachers...Why? and What?

Why am I ardent in my belief that our public schools need more black male teachers?
Why shouldn't I be?

One, the worldview of a black male is vastly different from that of a female, even our African American sisters and from those of males of other races. It's not superior, it's different. And since it's all but guaranteed that any child in the United States will have a white female teacher most of the time, having a black male teacher will add depth and variety to worldview from which students are taught.

Just recently, I retweeted this:

"I've had all white teachers and they taught me well, but there wasn't that connectivity." #educolor #OurLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/DQfjqlfnpP
— Melinda D. Anderson (@mdawriter) January 17, 2015

The context of this quote? The need for more black male teachers. As this young man alludes to, there isn't necessarily a deficiency in the quality of instruction he received, but he wishes he had the "connectivity" that comes with having a black male teacher at some point. We can connect with our young black men in ways that others cannot. That is just as important as the content!

I could go on and on on this topic and include arguments for why schools with populations that are majority white and wealthy should also have a diversified faculty that includes black males. I could, again, mention U.S. Department of Education statistics. And so on and so forth!

But what? What am I doing to help?
One, I'm continuing to teach!
Two, I sat one night and thought of who I could speak with and would be most likely to heed the clarion call to go back to school and consider teaching. My brother! BINGO!!! I shot him a detailed text of my thoughts about him going back for his M.Ed and aim for a Social Studies cert since he was a Poli-Sci major and enjoys politics, history, and engaging in conversations about both.

His word to me? "Confirmation" We were born and raised in a Christian household and were taught to reverence the attributes that make God, God. So, "confirmation" implies just that. That the Lord was already working on my brother with this idea and that his big brother just came by and confirmed the word.

Who next?
Hmmm, let me think...