BMEC E-Magazine Inaugural Convening Special Edition (issue 10 )

DIVIDED

TOGETHER, WE MADE HISTORY 700+ ATTENDED INAUGURAL CONVENING 2%is not enough

BLACK MALE EDUCATORS E-MAGAZINE

#THEDAYAFTER- WHAT WILL YOU DO? (PAGE 7) what's next?

Vincent Cobb is the CEO and Co-founder of the Fellowship-BMEC Inc Cobb has 10 years of experience in schools since his undergraduate years at Syracuse University. Previously he has worked as a community organizer, family and community engagement director and a background in school leadership starting his education career and in classrooms at the Syracuse City School District, there Cobb worked for 7 years as a school administrator and then program director for the Say Yes to Education Foundation organizing faith based initiatives and school partnerships, managing an annual $500,000 community grant

In Philadelphia, Cobb worked with Teach For America to bloster the region's Black male engagement efforts as a regional manager of community partnerships and then spent 3 years as manager of family and community engagement with a portfolio of Mastery North Philadelphia schools

C E O M E S S A G E

D r M a r t i n L u t h e r K i n g J r o n c e g a v e

a c o m m e n c e m e n t a d d r e s s t o t h e M o r e h o u s e

C o l l e g e g r a d u a t i n g c l a s s o f 1 9 5 9 t i t l e d ,

" R e m a i n i n g A w a k e T h r o u g h a G r e a t

R e v o l u t i o n " T o d a y , I e c h o t h i s s a m e c a u t i o n

t h a t D r K i n g a d m o n i s h e d t h o s e c o l l e g e

s t u d e n t s t h a t w e m u s t " s t a y w o k e " d u r i n g

t h e s e t i m e s o f u n r e s t i n o u r c o u n t r y . T h e s e

a r e i n t e r e s t i n g a n d i n s p i r i n g t i m e s . W e m u s t

a l w a y s a s k o u r s e l v e s a r e w e s t a n d i n g o n t h e

r i g h t s i d e o f h i s t o r y f o r s c h o o l s , o u r s t u d e n t s

a n d c o m m u n i t i e s ? A m I c o m p l a c e n t a b o u t t h e

i s s u e s a f f e c t i n g o u r s c h o o l c o m m u n i t i e s ?

O f t e n t i m e s t h e w r o n g n a r r a t i v e s g e t p l a y e d

a n d c o n s t a n t l y r e i n f o r c e d t o o u r s t u d e n t s

a b o u t w h o t h e y w i l l b e c o m e ; t h e r e i s a n

i m p l i c a t i o n o u t t h e r e t h a t c e r t a i n s t u d e n t s '

l i f e c h a n c e s a r e s l i m a n d n o t w o r t h t h e

i n v e s t m e n t . H o w e v e r , w e a s e d u c a t o r s a n d

a c t i v i s t s w i l l r e c l a i m t h e n a r r a t i v e o f o u r

s c h o o l s , o u r s t u d e n t s , a n d o u r c o m m u n i t i e s

T o d a y , w e w i l l t e l l a d i f f e r e n t s t o r y ; o n e o f

c o u r a g e , s o c i a l j u s t i c e a n d a f i e r c e f i g h t t o

p r o t e c t t h e m i n d s a n d p o t e n t i a l o f e v e r y

s t u d e n t

W e m u s t c o m m i t t o b e i n g h i g h l y e f f e c t i v e i n

o u r c l a s s r o o m s , s e r v e w i t h a c t i v i s m , a n d l o v e

s o t h a t w e c a n l e g i t i m a t e l y c h a l l e n g e a n d

c h a n g e t h e s t a t u s q u o t h a t h a s l e f t f a r t o o

m a n y o f o u r s t u

ANACT OF PROTEST

BY: DR. DARRYL C. HOWARD

I had the opportunity to attend the Inaugural National Black Male Educators Convening (BMEC) hosted by The Fellowship, a Philly group focused on increasing the number of Black men in education

When I walked into the opening assembly, the first remark I heard the speaker tell the audience was “Your presence here is an act of protest ” This single thought that was offered by Vincent Cobb, a Fellowship leader, was what guided

how I approached the entire day at the convention I had to agree that even though I was clothed in a nice suit, new tie, and shined shoes, I was there to protest

When I think about protest I think of a moment that is orchestrated to highlight an issue, challenge shortsighted notions, and disrupt norms As a member of The BOND Project, a male educator’s group in Maryland, we decided to attend this

Members of the leadership team with guest speakers Brittany Packnett and DeRay McKesson

2% .... is not enough

convention because we are concerned that there are only two percent (Yes, I said TWO percent) of teachers nationwide that are Black men At the convention, every time we heard “2%”, all participants chanted in unison that “Is not enough!”, just as if we were in a live protest Lets be clear, the purpose of protest is to make people listen and it was important that we were all bringing attention to this deficit and collectively calling for the growth and advancement of men of color in education.

Attending this “protest” opened my eyes to the similar talents, passion, and vision that these 500 plus black men bring to the field of education.

Lastly, a protest is designed to empower, encourage, and motivate Let me tell you; Synergy is real With our nationwide numbers at 2% (Is not enough!) oftentimes we feel isolated in this profession This “protest” exposed me to new voices and stories that (re)inspired me to carry on this important work

To be engaged with kindred spirits in the cause of education and social change was stimulating and invigorating In spite of our low numbers [in schools], I left the convention excited to know that because of men of color great things are happening in schoolhouses and many kids have us as an important mirror for which to reflect upon

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STAY WOKE RECAP

WRITTEN

BY

DAVID MCGUIRE

MY WEEKEND AT THE NATIONAL BLACK MALE EDUCATORS CONVENING INDY ED BLOG POST

There are moments in time where African Americans have a chance to shine. For example, in 2002 at the Oscars when Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won the two most prestigious awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, we shined In 1999 and 2002, when Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys won five solo Grammy awards in the same night, we shined

There are other times when there is just black excellence everywhere. To give you glimpse of my weekend at the inaugural National Black Male Educators Convening held in Philadelphia, try to imagine those events I previously listed, NAACP Image Awards, and Black Girls Rock all wrapped into one with educators. That’s

ABOVE

THE NATI BMEC 20

what this weekend was for me Having the chance to be in the room with over 500 black male educators was simply breathtaking Not to mention having the opportunity to hear from some amazing educators doing incredible work. One of my personal highlights of the weekend was I had the chance to facilitate the session “Elevating the Black Male Voice in Education.” Read more about that in an upcoming blog post.

This weekend, I was fortunate enough to sit in a room full of educators who are the who's who of black education and have my mind blown away with their wisdom, their insight, their passion, and most importantly their love for our black babies. Here is the recap from my weekend at the Black Male Educators Convening.

After a full weekend of unapologetic blackness and black educational excellence, I left Philadelphia and returned to Indianapolis inspired. I have a new fire lit inside.

CALENDAR

OF EVENTS FOR 2017-18

JOIN US. FOLLOW US. SHARE WITH OTHERS

NOV 8TH

TEACH US ALL AT

LA SALLE UNIVERSITY (HOLROYD 390) 6-9PM

NOV17TH

50TH

COMMEMORATION OF PHILA STUDENT WALK OUT

NOV 8TH

KIPP SCHOOLS & BLACK TEACHER PROEJCT KIPP Elementary Academy 5-7PM

NOV18TH

gROW IN GREATER PHILLY AT WEST

PHILADELPHIA HS 11AM-5PM

PAST EVENTS:

OCT 27-29

NOV 15TH

The fellowship PROTEGE LAUNCH HIGH SCHOOL program at SIMON GRATZ HS 3:30 -5:00PM

nov 21st

My brother's keeper philadelphia: HEALTH AND WELLNESS@ COMMUNITY COLLEGE 5:30-7:30PM

NOV16TH

THE FELLOWSHIP HAPPY HOUR AT REVOLUTIONS BOWLING 6PM- 8PM

feb. 5th

2018 NATIONAL

BLACK LIVES MATTER WEEK OF ACTION FEB 5 - 11TH

BLACK PANTHER PARTY CUB

REUNION IN NEW YORK CITY CHILDREN OF THE STRUGGLE

THE FELLOWSHIP

Above Left to Right: Vincent Cobb (CEO), Sharif El-Mekki (Board Chair), Rashiid Coleman (Social Media), Jovan Weaver (Treasurer), Dr William Hayes (Vice Chair), Dr. Kenneth Waters, Ani Mwalimu, Raymond Roy-Pace, Tremaine Johnson, Chris McFadden, Aaron Bass, Kevin Gold, Robert Parker, Sterling Grimes, Dr Jack Perry, Sterling Grimes and Tamir Harper

In the fall of 2014, veteran educator and principal Sharif El- Mekki initiated his vision for meetings with 17 Black male educators at 48th St Grille in west Philadelphia These meetings engaged dynamic educators (principals, deans, teachers, community managers etc ) doing great work in and for public schools to talk about the rewards and challenges many Black men experience in schools

Formalized in 2015, the Fellowship was born out of a desire to inspire new generations of Black men to work for social justice through teaching Since then, The Fellowship has grown to include an ever-expanding network of more than 2,000 members who serve as teachers, administrators, legislators, clergy members and business leaders in Greater Philadelphia In addition to our Board of Trustees, we also have a volunteer Leadership Council comprised of 20 highly effective Black male educational leaders who advise and help oversee all of our programing and outreach activity

The Fellowship-Black Male Educators for Social Justice held its first national convening (8th overall Black Male Educators Convening), “Stay Woke The Inaugural National Black Male Educators Convening ” The event, which was open to everyone, aimed to advance collaboration, networking, policy solutions, and professional development among Black male educators to ensure we grow and continue the legacy of Black male educators as fierce and relentless advocates of their children and communities

Though our name speaks of Black male educators, we welcomed everyone to the convening, and to join us in our mission I have a White principal friend who, after confiding in me that he wasn’t initially sure if he was invited, told me he had never heard a collection of black male educator

#THEDAYAFTER

voices until he attended our convenings; now he consistently attends and seeks out diverse voices The event, as all of our events, is for anyone interested in social justice, education justice, diversity, and student achievement Whoever serves children and support those who serve children, we welcome them

My colleagues and I at The Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice have set for ourselves a bold agenda of tripling the number of Black male educators to 1,000 by 2025

Black communities have always known that having more highlyeffective Black men leading classrooms and schools can have a direct and tangible impact on our students’ achievement And, now there is a growing body of

research that continues to confirm what we have always known: Having more black teachers can have a tremendous impact on black students.

Having just one Black teacher in elementary school decreased dropout rates by almost 40 percent.

Students who have had at least one Black teacher are 29 percent more likely to be interested in pursuing college.

When Black students have Black teachers, they have an increase in academic achievement.

When Black students have White teachers, they are half as likely to be placed in gifted programs as if they have a Black teacher even if they have the same scores as White students.

THE DAY AFTER...

When Black students have more Black teachers, there is a decrease in suspension and expulsion rates.

Black teachers have higher expectations and confidence in Black students than White teachers.

It isn’t just Black children who are impacted by having a Black male teacher Even White students say they prefer having teachers of color Bias and racism aren’t just reinforced by institutions. Often, these mindsets are reinforced at kitchen tables and living rooms. Many of the White students who benefit from having a Black male teacher will grow up to influence policy, police neighborhoods, and raise a new generation.

By seeing Black men in positions of power and influence in close proximity, a cognitive dissonance can occur that challenges negative notions of black men honed by the media and bias-forming conversations

Sharif El-Mekki Founder, The Fellowship Board Chair