Courier de l'Égypte - National Convening for Black Male Educators to Convene in Philadelphia

More than 1,500 teachers, students, researchers, and advocates are gathering in Philadelphia from Friday through Sunday for the ninth annual Black Men in Education Convening. The national event, founded by Sharif El-Mekki, focuses on strengthening the pipeline of Black educators and addressing systemic challenges within the profession.

The convening takes place at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown as the city prepares to honor El-Mekki with a street-renaming ceremony. While local officials designate an intersection in West Philadelphia as Sharif El-Mekki Way, El-Mekki remains focused on his broader mission: building the next generation of Black educators and ensuring their long-term success in the classroom.

The gathering highlights a persistent disparity in American education. According to organizers, Black teachers comprise approximately 7% of the public school workforce, while Black men account for just 1.3%. The event is designed to expand recruitment and retention efforts while equipping educators to advocate for policies that support student success and educational equity.

"Today, the question is what we're producing," El-Mekki said. "What policies and priorities can more than 1,500 educators rally around and advocate for? We want people to leave better equipped for their roles while continuing the work beyond the convening."

This year’s theme, "Rooted in History and Constructing the Next 100 Years of Education," coincides with significant historical milestones: the centennial of Dr. Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week and the 50th anniversary of Black History Month. El-Mekki noted that the convening builds upon the legacy of previous generations of Black educators who organized for change, from the Colored Teachers Association in the 1860s to the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools, which Mary McLeod Bethune led as its first woman president in 1923.

The event features a lineup of prominent keynote speakers and scholars. Bettina Love, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and scholar Chris Emdin are scheduled to address the audience. Other featured speakers include Howard University professor Greg Carr, Boys' Latin of Philadelphia CEO William Hayes, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 Project.

Organizers have expanded opportunities for young people to participate in main-stage conversations this year. Orpheus Williams, the convening’s chief program officer, stated that feedback from previous years prompted a shift to include more voices from aspiring educators and students.

"Based on feedback from last year, we wanted to bring more young people’s voices to the main stage, including aspiring educators and high school and college students who previously participated in breakout sessions," Williams said. "Along with current teachers and Pennsylvania’s Teacher of the Year, we’ll feature students from two of Philadelphia’s premier programs and a student speech and oratory award winner."

Williams emphasized that the gathering provides Black male educators with a rare sense of community and belonging. He compared the experience to attending the Million Man March, noting that the defensiveness often required to protect mental, spiritual, and physical health disappears in this space.

"Being at this event as a Black male educator is similar to what it felt like being at the Million Man March," Williams said. "The defensiveness we sometimes carry to protect our mental, spiritual and physical health quickly disappears because we realize we don't have to wear that mask in this space. It feels familial while still being a conference, and that kind of comfort is hard to find for educators, particularly right now."

Tamir Harper, founding executive director of Philly for Great Public Schools, expressed excitement about the upcoming discussions on education policy and advocacy. He highlighted a session led by Elevate 215 CEO Stacy Holland with Commonwealth lawmakers as a key opportunity.

"I'm excited to hear the keynote from Dr. Bettina Love, a renowned educator and researcher whose work focuses on race and education, as well as the conversation between Dr. Chris Emdin and Nikole Hannah-Jones," Harper said.

Prior to the convening, El-Mekki will be honored with a street-renaming ceremony on Thursday at the intersection of 52nd and Lancaster streets. The event will coincide with an exhibit at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Parkway Central Library titled "Teaching Freedom: Philadelphia’s Black Dreamkeepers, 1976-2026." The exhibit highlights five decades of contributions by Black educators in the city.

Harper, who worked alongside El-Mekki at the Center for Black Educator Development, described the street renaming as a well-deserved honor. He recalled early conversations with El-Mekki and other colleagues at the 48th Street Grille, noting that the city now has the opportunity to celebrate a "living legend" in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and across the United States.

The convening originated in Philadelphia on October 1, 2015, when The Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice organized the first gathering to address the shortage of Black men in teaching. Robert Parker, a founding member of The Fellowship and Principal of Boys Latin High School, said the event grew out of conversations among Black male educators at that same West Philadelphia restaurant.

"We came together because we recognized the shortage of Black male educators and wanted to increase their numbers in classrooms," Parker said. "But we also wanted to focus on retention. Many of us experienced burnout, a lack of recognition and being pigeonholed into disciplinary roles. We wanted to identify ways schools could create positive experiences for Black men, retain them and encourage more to enter education as teachers and administrators, rather than being viewed primarily as disciplinarians."

Parker noted that the response to the first gathering confirmed the need for a national network. "We believed that if we built it, they would come," he said. "We wanted to create a space where brothers from across the country could feel affirmed and supported, then return to their campuses and bring what they learned back to their communities."

The event has grown significantly since its inception. In 2016, only four young men traveled from Nashville, Tennessee, to attend. Since then, delegations have arrived from Germany, England, Senegal, Ghana, Canada, and the Virgin Islands.

El-Mekki described the convening as having evolved into an intergenerational gathering that brings together aspiring educators, veteran and early-career teachers, researchers, nonprofit leaders, philanthropists, and policymakers.

As the event approaches its 10th anniversary next year, organizers plan to expand their model to other communities. Williams stated that the organization will begin offering "BMEC 101" sessions to help attendees replicate the convening in their own regions.

"As we approach our 10th year, we want to plant the seed for others to build coalitions and replicate this event in places like Nevada and New Mexico, making it possible for Black educators to connect and organize beyond Philadelphia," Williams said.

T.Yahya--CdE