Our country needs more Black teachers — and those teachers deserve to feel safe and supported when they show up to serve.
This statement is not about racial preference, or any so-called “woke” priorities. It’s about improving learning outcomes for all children. And right now, with public schools divided among racial, ethnic and economic lines even more than they have been since the Civil Rights era, those who claim to care about Black children’s success in school should care whether those students see themselves reflected in those teaching them.
[This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news site covering education. Sign up for free newsletters from The 74 to get more like this in your inbox.]
Studies show the power of Black teachers and culturally responsive learning environments. They contribute to higher achievement, increased critical thinking skills, and better preparation for a global workforce. By contrast, eliminating these efforts ensures that future generations, especially Black and Latino students, face even greater barriers to success.
Ronald Reagan understood this. Reagan, the GOP’s lionized conservative icon, encouraged our country to put more Black teachers in our classrooms.
In 1987, Reagan issued Proclamation 5743—African-American Education Week, recognizing the significant contributions of Black teachers within American society. It urged citizens to honor Black educators and acknowledge the historical challenges they’d surmounted.
The proclamation states: “So that America continues to remain a land of opportunity for all people… we should encourage a wide representation of African Americans as teachers and continued concern for African American students.”
Reagan, the classic “America First” president, cared enough about our country’s future to emphasize the need for Black educators. But in today’s GOP, which has embraced racial polarization and denies the need for any race-based initiatives, Reagan would be derided and booted out.
Today, Ronald Reagan would be labeled “woke” (although others had more colorful names for him) by the Trump administration and his followers.
The divergence between these two Republican presidents highlights how far half of the body politic has moved in just under four decades. We are moving socially and politically backwards at a time when our country is becoming increasingly more diverse.
Today, Ronald Reagan would be labeled “woke” (although others had more colorful names for him) by the Trump administration and his followers.
The recent executive orders, veiled as an attempt to reduce government spending, and applied on Trump’s first day in office before any real due diligence on expenditures could be accounted for, set sights on setting ablaze the public education system.
While federal dollars account for about 14 percent of funding to public schools, public schools are an easy political target. Weaponizing racial equity initiatives that support students — such as actively recruiting more Black teachers — helps score cheap political points. The effect on students is of no concern to those now in control.
Historically, Republican leaders, even if reluctantly, recognized that investing in education and ensuring access for all Americans, including Black students, was crucial for national prosperity.
The Republican party of Reagan’s era somewhat embraced the contributions of Black educators and the essential importance of education for Black Americans to succeed. Today it has been declared that to “Make America Great Again,” we must erase all mention of race from public discourse in the name of parity while simultaneously rewriting history to remove inconvenient and painful realities.
Reagan’s public acknowledgment of the need for Black educators and inclusive learning environments reflects at least a basic understanding that when diverse talent flourishes, so does the nation and its economy. This appears to elude current Republican leadership.
We have to ask: What does the Republican party lose by having a diversified workforce? An increased number of Black teachers? More educated Black students? What could be gained if we did have all three?
As their anti-woke fever dreams come to life, they are destroying the very tools that could make America stronger, more competitive, more prosperous – and actually great.
The Republican party of Reagan’s era paid lip service to the idea that Black achievement was part of America’s success. The Republican party of Trump, however, seems determined to move the country closer to a dangerous precipice by erasing that idea altogether.
Sharif El-Mekki is the founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development.
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