One morning during my junior year of high school, I remember my homeroom teacher saying to me in a dismissive tone that Malcolm X was a bad person. I am unsure how we got on the topic of figures in Black history, but I mentioned...
Tag - RACIAL BIAS
E’ry day this month, the Center for Black Educator Development, in partnership with Phillys7thWard.org, will highlight a Black Educator Hall of Famer. But, don’t forget, e’ry month is Black History...
Since the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, activists and stakeholders of the Black community have done the yeoman’s work of highlighting all murders of Black people at the hands of the state (police) and domestic terrorists...
The white supremacist terrorist insurrection of Wednesday January 6, 2021 was an ugly day in American history; an ugly day in a long list of ugly days. As a result, members of the Trump Administration have resigned in protest...
According to a new study, teachers who teach in high-poverty schools are penalized on their classroom observations and often, those teachers are Black. This is another aspect of the invisible tax on Black teachers that encourages...
Throughout my time as an educator, I’ve been pulled into my share of “special taskforces” meant to address “at-risk” students – namely Black students. I have no doubt that such groups can be found in schools across...

The Election is Over, Time for a Marshall Plan and Educational Reparations for Black People. But, The Plans Must Be White-Proof.
America is turning a corner. Or so it hopes; so it claims. We have just elected a rational adult to the Presidency, thanks in no small part to the turnout of Black Americans in places like Philadelphia, Atlanta...
Education was a second career for me—but it wasn’t for lack of trying to make it the first. In college, I pursued a major in education for one semester, but became discouraged by the striking absence of Black men and women in...
There has been an admittedly welcome rush to support Black and brown communities and causes in our national reckoning with systemic racism. Some $5 billion of philanthropic funding has flowed in support of racial equity work in...

You claim that you want diverse teachers, but you don’t want to interrogate how race, power, and mindsets work in your school.
I was a principal at Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker in Philadelphia for many years. We took to heart the concept of windows and mirrors, decorating our walls with images and quotes from popular heroes; Malcolm X, Dr. King, Rosa...