Nonprofit aims to recruit more Black male teachers: "If you can see it, you can be it"

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Every day that Joseph Harris shows up for work at the high school he attended in South Philadelphia, he addresses his past and his students' futures. 

"I see myself again in some of these students," Harris said. "I've had the same struggles. I felt pain, like these students felt pain." 

Growing up, he said, he didn't have a Black male teacher until ninth grade. Harris, who was pre-law, is now working toward a teacher certification. 

One study showed just one teacher of color in third through fifth grades reduces a student of color's chances of dropping out before graduation by up to 39%. But Black men make up just 2% of teachers in the U.S. 

Sharif El-Mekki, who runs the Center for Black Educator Development, a nonprofit aimed at attracting more Black men into the teaching field, is on a mission to change that. 

El-Mekki said it's important for Black kids to have Black teachers. 

"If a Black child has a Black educator, they are less likely to be expelled, suspended or even referred for disciplinary actions. They're more likely to have a higher sense of belongingness in the classroom and within the school," he told CBS News. "We say teachers of color are also important for White students as well." 

Imere Williams, a student-teacher at Charles F. Patton Middle School in suburban Philadelphia, didn't have a Black teacher until his sixth-grade history class. 

"He told me to walk in my greatness," Williams told CBS News. "Hearing those words come from his mouth was, like, really liberating. It gave me a lot of confidence." 

No one had ever said that to him before, Williams said — which is why El-Mekki wants to quadruple the number of Black male teachers over the next decade. 

"It's as simple as if you can see it, you can be it," Williams said. "You have someone, a Black male, who you look exactly like and then it makes you think that they can do it, why can't I?"