Happy Black Male Educators Month, Philadelphia! 

Over at the Center for Black Educator Development (CBED) our culture is rooted in the acknowledgement that we are standing on the shoulders of giants, and quite frankly, the work of recognizing, celebrating and advocating for Black male teachers is something we’ve been thoroughly invested in since our inception. However, we’re humbled by, and motivated by the fact that for the last 30-plus years, the “the work” has been in constant motion – education leaders, advocates and students alike have yearned for more Black male teachers. Thanks to Dr. Martin Ryder, Marq Temple and countless other great Philadelphian voices, in 1993, The School District of Philadelphia implemented an “aggressive” policy designed to recruit and retain Black male teachers. Unfortunately, this specific policy and partnership with Concerned Black Men, an organization committed to filling the void of positive Black male role models, triggered a great deal of racist response. Back then, the drive to recruit and train more Black male teachers was called “reverse racism” and the critique that qualified, non-Black male teachers were being overlooked was, of course, fake news…

That was 1993; this is 2024. Inspired by, and because of the movement in 1993, our Founder/CEO, Sharif El-Mekki dedicated his career to education policy and practice. Today, CBED is proud to continue the work of ensuring all Black students have mirrors and not windows for teachers. At the Center, we are devoted to ensuring that the less than 2% of Black male teachers in the educator sector not only have the support they need in order to be activist educators and effective classroom teachers, but that they’re surrounded by a community of care – a body of eager colleagues prepared to journey through teaching pathways, professional learning and policy and advocacy. For the seventh consecutive year, we will bring together approximately 1,200 Black male teachers (and their supporters) for CBED's 7th Annual Black Men in Education Convening (#BMEC2024) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 21-23, 2024. We are proud to say: #BMEC2024 is the largest convening of Black male educators in the United States and one of the only places that explicitly makes the call to recruit and retain Black male teachers.  

As a supporter, we want to make sure you’re clear on the journey ahead. As advocates for a more racially-diverse education workforce, we invite you to uplift this moment. We encourage you to tell the stories of Black male teachers and the power they possess. We want you to share the facts and figures around where we are in problem-solving for this opportunity. We also ask that you shout out Councilmember Isaiah Thomas who two-years ago, made October Black Male Educators Month in Philadelphia. We’re proud to be here with you. We’re proud to celebrate our Black male educators and we are even more excited to have folks like you on this journey with us. 

Be sure to check out our latest guest commentary, "It's Black Male Educator October" in The Philadelphia Citizen!