Speaking Their Truths: Teachers of Color in Diasporic Contexts

In the year 2000, the Rural School and Community Trust reported that 17 percent of all rural residents were minorities and 24 percent were school-age children. The federal mandate, No Child Left Behind Act, advocates for quality teachers in order to reform and improve education across the United States. The authors believe that the quality teaching advocated in this mandate reaches beyond classroom practices. It includes the representation of teachers across varying social identities in our communities’ elementary and secondary schools. Pertinent evidence suggests that the presence of teachers of color not only provides students of color with role models but also increases the academic success of students of color (Dilworth, 1990; Dee, 2001).