• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

April 24, 2019 Current Events in Education

The Only One: The Two Percent Issue in Education

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Mike Creekmore, Jr. LPC

Michael is a Professional School Counselor (grades 1st and 5th grade) and Licensed Professional Counselor. He earned his Bachelors degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina and his Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Clark Atlanta University. Mr. Creekmore is originally from Virginia but has been a resident in Atlanta, Georgia for over 12 years and considers Atlanta home. He has counseled, coached, assessed, and evaluated numerous individuals of all ages. Mr. Creekmore has also served as Clinical Director and Clinical Supervisor to community mental health programs and has been an independent consultant for the past 10 years. Throughout that time, he has supervised, educated and assisted in the development of younger clinicians. Mr. Creekmore has always promoted maximizing clinician potential through experience and leveraging expertise.
  • Close Encounters of the Parent-Teacher Kind - September 5, 2019
  • The Only One: The Two Percent Issue in Education - April 24, 2019
  • Nipsey Hussle's STEMulus Package - April 5, 2019

I grew up abroad. In elementary school, I was often the only Black male in my class. Even though there were probably racist conversations had around me, I was oblivious. I was aware I was different from most in my class, but my family instilled pride and confidence in me at a young age. However, pride and confidence shouldn't have to repel racism.

With only two percent of educators being Black males, it's an understatement to say we're a minority. What does it feel like when you're the only black male in the building? How does your actions shape the views and opinions of others around you, about you, about your race? If you're a black male in the field of education, there's a high likelihood that you've been in the unenviable position of being "the only one."

It can feel like you're the resident expert on all things related to Black culture mainly because you are the Black male representative. Somehow, you are consulted for most disciplinary issues in the building. Whenever there is a child with a behavior issue (regardless of grade level), you are labeled the biggest, baddest, scariest person in the building that all students should fear.

There are other times when you're over it because your non-Black colleagues want to know if we, all Black people, raise children in a certain fashion, as if Black people are a monolith. Some questions are based in true naiveté while others are much more troll-worthy, like "Are Black lives supposed to matter more or something?" or "Don't you think it's disrespectful and ungrateful to our country when those players kneel whenever the American anthem is being sung?" More recently it's been, "Do you still listen to R. Kelly's music?” or “What do you think made him do those things?" Now, I'm suddenly the spokesperson for R. Kelly, seemingly because I'm a Black male. It can be unnerving.

Of course, you want to let them know how condescending and racist it all sounds but you don't want it to take a left turn. Left turns result in HR complaints, pariah-status, missed raises, missed promotions, poor evaluations, and possible job loss if you go too hard in the paint. So, how can we balance it all? You know, being the savior, not just the disciplinarian, for all Black students in your building (not because the students see you as such but because the predominantly white faculty & staff believe that's part of your job title), be the resident expert on all things Black, ward-off bigotry, xenophobia and overt racism like Off bug spray, and still maintain your sanity? Simple answer, you can't. Unless you are Christ incarnate.

The subtleties become even more piercing, once you're confronted with that first blatantly racist comment, "Well, you know that student's mom and dad don't live together; I figured she's a single mom. I think his dad is in jail or something." You really want to go off on them, but you know what's at stake. There's only so much you can do. In reality, when you are a Black male educator in a predominantly white school, remaining professional can feel like selling out. Now how can you keep your job without blowing a gasket? Glad you asked. Here are three ways to confront potentially racist situations and still maintain employment:

  • The Passive Aggressive Approach: Of the three approaches, this is recommended least. It's indirect and can send an unclear message. This can often look like a teacher badmouthing a student/parent's last name or accent. You hear it,  simply stop what you're doing, and walk away. That accomplishes nothing; it could symbolize your disapproval of commentary or something else. The "something else" does not address the racist remarks.
  • The Direct Approach: Ask the colleague in question to repeat what they just said. This achieves two goals. First, it gives you time to listen to make sure you heard them correctly and compose yourself. Second, it gives your colleague the opportunity to clean up his or her commentary and informs him or her that you're not someone who will let their racism, xenophobia, and/or bigotry go unchecked.
  • The Anonymous Tipster Approach: In most neighborhoods, there is an expression, "Snitches get stitches." That phrase does not ring true when confronting racism and bigotry. In every HR video known to mankind, you are encouraged to report the aforementioned behavior anonymously. Besides, this puts the colleague in a vulnerable position. He or she does not know who told and will govern themselves at all times, moving forward.

James Baldwin once said, "To be Black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage." Between the microaggressions and blatant racism, you have a job to do and students that depend on you. Black males are grossly underrepresented in the field of education; however, somewhere in your school there is a young man or young woman that is looking up to you, for whom you serve as an unofficial mentor. When you are confronted with racism, bigotry or xenophobia, address it.

The Only One: The Two Percent Issue in Education Click To Tweet

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

10 Thoughts During a Failed Lesson Project-Based Learning: A User's Guide Respect in the Classroom: Earned, Not Expected Your Children Are Not Your Students
« But You’re Such A Strong Teacher
Your Students and Video Games: Adult Supervision Required »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • My Union Showed Up for Me, and I'll Never Forget It
  • Your Students Deserve a Diverse Classroom Library. Here's How to Set It Up.
  • You Don't Have to Watch the Tyre Nichols Video, But Be Ready to Talk About It
  • "Let's Make This Happen": Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.