Brown v. Board of Education
Black Male Educators
America has a legacy of slavery and legal segregation that has caused African-Americans to develop a negative view of themselves. Over the course of centuries, American citizens have developed oppressive mindsets and stereotypes about black people, especially young Black men.
In fact, Black men top the list of all social groups in the Black community to have the least advancement since the end of Jim Crow laws and segregation. According to The Huffington Post, African-American males have the highest numbers in terms of incarceration, homicide, school dropout rates, fatherless homes, drug addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, high unemployment, and poverty. Princeton sociologist Bruce Western reports that 50% of Black men in their 20's who lacked a college education were jobless along with 72% of high school dropouts.
An astonishingly low 2% of all teachers are black males. Black males make up one of the smallest demographics of American public teachers, and that number is only shrinking. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of black educators decreased by 4%, making an already miniscule group even smaller. Black educators have also been more likely to leave their jobs; from 2012 to 2013, almost 25% of black educators left their teaching careers. Now, we have an educational crisis on our hands that limits the representation and exposure to professional diversity in our public schools across the nation.
Modern Problem
According to census data, between 1970 and 2000 white student enrolment in public schools decreased from 81 to 68 percent, while black enrolment in public schools increased from 13 to 16 percent and Hispanic enrolment in public schools rose from 5 to 12 percent. One-third of public-school students are members of racial and/or ethnic minorities, but only 14 percent of teachers represent these groups and 40 percent of US public schools have no minority teachers. Robert Croston, a Chicago Public Schools principal asserts that The lack of Black men teaching sends the unintended message to all students that Black men and boys cannot thrive in an educational setting. The percentage of black educators as a whole is dropping, and the number of black educators leaving their jobs is increasing.
There needs to be an increase of racial and gender based diversity in the teaching workforce. Recruiting and retaining teachers of color is important, as some children of color will go through their entire educational career without having a teacher who looks like them or who can identify with the uniqueness of their cultural heritage.
Black male educators also face the problem of not being there to act as a disciplinarian for black students. 16% of all American students are African-American-- and remember that only 2% of all American teachers are black male educators. This leads to a vicious circle where black students have few role models in their education, and avoid careers in education, or employment at all. Court mandates showed significantly larger declines in the black teaching force than those where desegregation was not court imposed. White men are disproportionately represented in Fortune 500 corporate management, and they consistently continue to make up the majority of law enforcement officers, judges and public policymakers.
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Introduction
This problem began with the landmark civil rights case, Brown v. Board of Education.
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Many people know Brown vs. Board of Education as the Supreme Court case that started on Dec 9th, 1952 and ended educational segregation in the United States on May 17, 1954.
Previous to Brown vs. Board of Education, black children attended special black schools while white children attended white schools. This case helped pave the way for a new era of racial equality and civil rights in the United States. However, the case was also a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. This amendment guaranteed the rights of citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. Brown also had an unintended side effect on one group in particular, black educators.
Following the ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education, hundreds of schools around the nation that served African-American communities were shut down. The court case guaranteed students a chance to go to desegregated white schools, but it did not guarantee the black teachers who had taught at black schools for years protections of their jobs. Following the court case, almost 40,000 black educators and administrators lost their jobs.
Since Brown, there has almost never been a nationwide increase in black male educators. Certain regions of the United States see decreases, and others see increases from decade to decade. Despite its positive effect for students, Brown vs. Board of Education was a watershed moment that lead to a nationwide decrease of black male educators that still continues today.
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