‘Grant us the sun’: What Black teachers need

Abstract

In a time of growing teacher shortages, Black teachers are rapidly and disproportionately leaving the profession. Drawing upon their interviews with 30 Black teachers in the California Bay Area, Jessica Lee Stovall and Tara R. Sullivan provide insight into what it will take to keep Black teachers in the profession. The interviews depict both the anti-Blackness that Black teachers face and their freedom dreams for a better tomorrow for their students. Ultimately, Black teachers want schools to be transformed into healing-centered spaces where they can show up authentically to create a world in which Blackness is centered and affirmed.

On Leadership: A leader’s equity journey

“…Teresa started informal focus groups with Black teachers and learned they felt disenfranchised, isolated, and unappreciated, and bore more burdens than white teachers. This echoes the experiences of teachers in other districts (Santoro, Hazel, & Morales, 2022;Stovall & Sullivan, 2022). Alongside the external strategy to recruit more teachers of color, Teresa also started affinity groups so that different groups of employees could find strength and sustenance through relationships.…”

Untying the double bind

“…Black teachers also are scrutinized in ways other novices are not (Cormier et al, 2022). For example, many Black teachers report that colleagues, administrators, and parents frequently question their pedagogical and content expertise (Bryan & Browder, 2013; Stovall & Sullivan, 2022). For example, one novice Black male kindergarten teacher recounted how a parent asked, “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” (Bryan & Browder, 2013, p. 151).…”

“…Being one of a few (or the only) Black teacher in a teacher education program, school, or department can be isolating. Racial affinity groups can address this challenge (Mosely, 2018; Santoro, Hazel, & Morales, 2022; Stovall & Sullivan, 2022). In these groups, teachers of color can be supported by and build solidarity with their colleagues of color.…”

“…Unfortunately, the racially toxic environments of many U.S. schools often stymie these efforts, as novice Black teachers find themselves teaching in environments tainted by racism (Stovall & Sullivan, 2022). Many teacher educators, administrators, and school leaders who could improve these conditions, thereby increasing the odds of retaining novice teachers, may not understand how their school policies and practices marginalize Black teachers and students and place disproportionate demands on Black teachers, both novices and veterans (Santoro, Hazel, & Morales, 2022).…”

Truly open to all: Three ways to diversify teacher leadership

“…But when they learned about other teachers who shared their goals and beliefs, they “began an African American teacher’s collaborative to support each other’s professional aspirations” (p. 438). Such affinity groups may not only reduce teachers’ sense of isolation but also help them build skills together (Stovall & Sullivan, 2022).…”