Hire More Black Teachers Now!: A research statement from BLM@School & J4J
What Does Public Education Have Against Black Teachers
You may think this is an exaggeration, but an analysis of the data from Journey 4 Justice Alliance and the #WeChoose Coalition, shows that in at least six major cities, Black teachers are becoming extinct. The same data shows us that each of these cities has a growing population of students of color, but many of them will not see a teacher who looks likes them. Instead, they will face discriminatory discipline and gaps in opportunities and attainment that negatively impact their future. From a 3% gap in Oakland to a 30% gap in Pittsburgh, Black students are attending schools increasingly taught by white educators (The Purge of Black Teachers Cities, 2019).
This gap is even larger in charter schools that tend to serve more black students and hire fewer black teachers. Both New York City and Chicago have seen gaps of 38% and 39% respectively, between the population of black students and the number of black teachers within the charter school system (The Purge of Black Teachers Cities, 2019).
To understand how the decline in black teachers began, we must first look at New Orleans. After hurricane Katrina, privatizers were able to push out Black teachers and turn the school district over to charter operators. In 2004, 71% of teachers in New Orleans were Black. In 2005, all New Orleans teachers were summarily fired, a mass dismissal of 8% of Louisiana’s teachers and 24% of the state’s Black teachers. (The Purge of Black Teachers, 2019). By 2013, only 35% of new hire teachers were Black, and only 22% of dismissed teachers were rehired, down from 33% in 2007 (The Purge of Black Teachers, 2019). Nationally, we have seen a decline of Black teachers to 6%, while Black students make up 15 % of the student population, and students of color account for more than half of the student population (The Purge of Black Teachers, 2019).
Often the removal of Black teachers is part of a broad effort to privatize public education by turning the public schools into charter schools. With an influx of charter schools comes an increase in mostly white teachers who have less experience and are likely trained in alternative teacher certification programs. New Orleans went from CONTINUE READING: Hire More Black Teachers Now!: A research statement from BLM@School & J4J – Black Lives Matter At School
