For many Black educators, the teaching profession is synonymous with historical progress; we view it as an act of social justice and something sacred. As part of our Participatory Action Research (PAR) project, we interviewed Black teachers in Philadelphia and Detroit. During an interview, a Black teacher shared, “what Black educators are fighting for is deeper than a job.” This quote reminds me of my ancestors. It reminds me of a legacy of Black teachers’ commitment to serving and connecting with their communities. It also reminds me of how Black teachers often focus on the “whole child” not just academic success.
My participation in the PAR project as a teacher-researcher helped me better understand my own worth.The ways in which we as Black teachers positively contribute to our school communities cannot be overstated. Our study reinforced what we know to be true about what Black teachers contribute to their school community: Black students perform better academically when they have a Black teacher. For many Black teachers, the desire to support Black students guides their work in classrooms and schools.
The Black teachers who participated in our study spoke of Black teachers’ unique abilities to form deep connections with their students. As one teacher stated, “being a Black teacher helps to bring a level of empathy to your practice that I think is essential and not sympathy because nobody is coming in here to save anybody.” This teacher distinguished between savior complexes that are rooted in deficit perspectives of Black children and genuine connection and empathy and Black teachers themselves are all too familiar with perceptions and ideologies of Black inferiority.
A theme we found in both our interviews with Black teachers and Black students was the ability of Black teachers to effectively respond to unwanted behaviors not as a disciplinarian. Many expressed that Black teachers offered greater understanding than other teachers while maintaining a level of “high expectations.” One Black teacher shared a story about a Black student who felt badly about misbehavior in another class and wanted to hold himself accountable to the Black teacher. This child wrote a note to his teacher stating, “I apologize because I know you care about me and this is not where you wanted me to be.”
The benefits of having a Black teacher, however, are not just limited to improved student behavior, growth, or academic success. Black teachers are often personally connected to the communities where their students live. Their shared background and experiences help them foster rapport, empathy, and understanding, and a positive classroom culture. A Black teacher we interviewed explained this connection: “I know our city, and so I’m able to tell them stories about where I grew up, and then we can talk about where they grew up.” Another shared “I understand the neighborhoods that they come from…I understand what they are going through right now because that was the same situation I was in at their age.”
These shared lived experiences between Black teachers and their Black students’ support Black teachers ability to not only connect with their students but believe in their ability and potential. As one Black student reported “I feel like my Black teachers, they want us all to be successful. They want us to be better than what they was. I feel like all my Black teachers that I have now, I feel like they are always pushing us above where we think that we can go.”
This is what makes Black teacher’s classrooms “sacred.” When Black students have “mirror images” of themselves a positive racial identity is encouraged and Black students can thrive. Our study found that Black teachers are eager to contribute their shared experiences, empathy, and commitment to creating these sacred places in schools.