From Mentorship to Leadership: A Framework for Supporting the Journey of Black Male Educators

Making the decision to enter the demanding field of education can be complicated for many. For Black males, there are the additional considerations of fit, development, and opportunity for the future when determining whether going into the education field will be beneficial to their professional goals. Due to minimal representation of Black males in teaching and educational leadership positions, Black males must imagine themselves thriving in the education space. As they navigate through systemic and racial disparities during the recruitment, retention, and promotion phases of their journey, Black males need to make connections and seek guidance from experienced Black male educators to support them in their journey. Turning lemons into lemonade, or mentorship into leadership, the practices of Black male educational leaders as they curate intentional mentorship relationships with Black male educators, have been applied to development of a Mentorship Framework for Supporting the Journey of Black Male Educators. This body of work highlights the evolving practices for mentorship, guided by an equity-based framework designed to support Black males in navigating the difficult and challenging educational landscape, that will ultimately increase representation of Black males in classroom teacher and educational leadership positions.