Gail Wose: MJC needs to hire more African-American professors, especially men

Re “Having a diverse teaching corps matters” (Page 7A, July 24): I have been trying to get more African-American teachers hired at MJC because of the high drop-out rate among black male students. While we have many awesome white professors, who better to speak of empowerment to our young black students than another African-Americans. Black teachers can show by their own life experiences what is truly possible.

This should pertain to grade schools and high schools as well.

Some people ask, “Well, what is the ratio of whites to blacks at MJC?” In other words, if there are not that many black students, why should we have more African-American teachers? Doesn’t that suggest white students have nothing to learn from an African American teacher? I have been wondering how many white students leave MJC, never thinking they might at some time have a black supervisor, or at the very least, a black co-worker. School has a great influence on how we proceed into the working world and life in general.

This story was originally published July 31, 2017 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Gail Wose: MJC needs to hire more African-American professors, especially men."