BMESTalk is “a space and place to stretch your soul.” These words were spoken by J. Tristan Hall, a Black male Assistant Principal based in Philadelphia, during a BMESTalk Happy Hour last December. J. Tristan’s comments are an indicator that BMEsTalk is living up to its vision statement – to inspire Black Male Educators to reach their full potential.
Since 2017, BMEsTalk has been creating and curating safe, rich spaces for Black Male Educators (BMEs) to connect, grow, and lead. What started as a weekly 15 min Twitter chat, has now grown to over 8000 followers on social media, having hosted 3 live events (Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles) and 10 virtual events during the pandemic. BMESTalk is an intentional space where Black Male Educators can be safe enough to be vulnerable, challenged, and unedited, three things rarely offered to BMEs. Powered by CommunityBuild Ventures, BMEsTalk is addressing the specific needs of Black Male Educators, such as:
- Affinity: Black Male Educators are the only one (or one of few) at their schools, districts, and other institutions.
- Leadership Development: Black Male Educators are seen as behavior managers as opposed to instructional leaders.
- Self Care: Black Male Educators experience burnout with the many additional roles (disciplinarian, mentor, tutor, counselor, coach and expert on all things Black boys) they are asked to play, most often for little to no additional financial compensation.
- Digital Community: Black Male Educators have few, if any, digital communities specifically designed to meet their needs.
- Career Pathways: Black Males Educators receive limited information of the wide array of career paths within the education industry.
Within the growing BMEsTalk community, we engage Black men who are PK-12 classroom teachers, principals, district administration, superintendents, school board members, deans, professors, education department heads, educational support staff, researchers, curriculum specialists, coaches, mentors, school resource officers, aspiring teachers, substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, program administrators, CEOs, educational consultants, school resource officers, and community youth change agents
Go to our website (BMEsTalk.com) to learn more about BMEsTalk and sign up for our mailing list to stay abreast and to join offerings.
