Beyond the Bell
The ABLE Foundation

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW3nipy28iY
Automatic captions exported September 20, 2026. Names and wording may contain errors.

[0:08] [music]
[0:12] >> I'm on medicine at 26 years old
[0:15] with three kids and a wife.
[0:18] So, I'm not going to keep my mouth shut.
[0:21] >> When you finally get in this field, um
[0:24] you expect to have people wrap their
[0:26] arms around you.
[0:28] >> We're fighting against an administration
[0:29] that doesn't want to see the best for
[0:30] our black and brown students.
[0:32] >> What are we here for? Am I here for
[0:34] people whose last name are Williams? Or
[0:36] am I here for my people?
[0:51] >> Dr. William Blake.
[0:52] >> My name is Jarrell Bigby.
[0:53] >> My name is Desmond Williams.
[0:54] >> My name is Jaquiez Roddy Jefferson.
[0:56] [music]
[0:57] >> Jeremiah Thomas. I teach sixth grade
[0:58] language arts, and this is my fourth
[1:00] year teaching.
[1:03] >> I've been in education informally for
[1:06] over 20 years, but formally for about 11
[1:09] years. The moment that I wanted to
[1:10] become an educator, I was about 16 years
[1:12] old, and I was working at an enrichment
[1:14] summer program, and just the sheer
[1:18] willingness to show up um was always
[1:21] what I looked for in a job, and this was
[1:23] my first role coming into this space,
[1:26] and students lighting up when you come
[1:28] in, when you give them the
[1:30] the love and the compassion that they're
[1:32] looking for, um
[1:34] it it gave me purpose.
[1:36] >> I've been in education now for 21 years,
[1:39] and I am currently an assistant
[1:41] principal.
[1:42] I often tell folks, like I'm a legacy
[1:44] educator. My first example of a black
[1:46] male educator is my dad, right? Uh my
[1:49] dad had just recently retired from being
[1:51] in the classroom for 42 years. You know,
[1:54] we don't find that commitment from black
[1:56] male educators to be in the classroom
[1:58] for 42 years. Just watching him have an
[2:00] impact and an influence on communities
[2:03] and especially black males,
[2:05] uh I knew that it's something that I
[2:07] wanted to do.
[2:09] >> This is year
[2:10] uh 25 for me in education. I am a uh
[2:14] second grade teacher consultant
[2:17] and uh published author.
[2:20] >> I've been in education for over 10 years
[2:22] now and currently I serve as the eighth
[2:25] grade action civics instructor. And it's
[2:27] pretty much like teaching students about
[2:29] democracy, the Constitution, the roles
[2:32] of citizens, and how to advocate for
[2:34] themselves.
[2:35] >> Um I got into education from my late
[2:37] grandfather Elder James N. Dorsey.
[2:39] Looking at how he served the community,
[2:41] that's why I decided to go into
[2:43] education.
[2:46] >> I had an incident when I was
[2:48] uh
[2:49] a freshman in high school. I had a
[2:51] negative
[2:52] experience with a teacher. I was in a
[2:54] back of the room, like a lot of students
[2:57] doodling and
[3:00] um I wasn't paying attention. We were
[3:02] reading
[3:03] Of Mice and Men and she asked me a
[3:05] question. She was like, "What do you
[3:06] think about such and such, Mr.
[3:07] Williams?"
[3:09] She caught me off guard. I wasn't paying
[3:10] attention and she made a
[3:12] like a really big deal of it and she
[3:15] came to the back of the room. She looked
[3:16] at my notebook
[3:18] and she was like, "Are you writing rap
[3:19] songs, Mr. Williams? This is not going
[3:21] to
[3:22] be an advancement." She said, "Your
[3:23] career is in Steinbeck."
[3:26] And um
[3:28] I said, "Steinbeck has never done
[3:29] anything for black people."
[3:31] And her face just
[3:34] dropped and I felt like that was the end
[3:36] of my relationships
[3:38] with the teachers at my school.
[3:40] >> Students need to know what excellence
[3:42] looks like, right? Um we are in a
[3:44] Eurocentric world where the lighter
[3:47] skin, the Caucasian race um is the
[3:49] definition of success.
[3:51] Uh but black males and uh we are also
[3:54] the definition of achievement and when
[3:56] students see themselves in the
[3:58] classroom, see themselves in schools,
[4:00] they could say, "You know what? I could
[4:02] be an achiever as well. I could uh be
[4:05] successful as well because he is wearing
[4:06] the Js, he's wearing uh Museum DC in
[4:09] schools and I can do that, too."
[4:11] >> Statistics definitely show that black
[4:14] male educators just merely being in a
[4:16] particular space
[4:17] is going to impact in a positive way.
[4:20] But I don't believe that uh the
[4:23] education system as it sits today
[4:25] values the fact that that diversity is
[4:27] necessary in allowing us to show up in a
[4:30] sincere way knowing
[4:33] how best we are going to impact the
[4:35] space that we in. They want us to come
[4:37] in and be that impact, but also dictate
[4:39] what that impact looks like. And I just
[4:41] feel like
[4:43] letting us allowing us to be the full
[4:45] spectrum of who we are brings out more
[4:47] success.
[4:49] >> Black women are not supported, either.
[4:51] When you look at the data around
[4:53] um black women getting passed up for
[4:55] most for promotions, whether it be a
[4:58] coaching role, an assistant principal,
[5:00] any kind of role outside of the
[5:02] classroom,
[5:04] um you see that same lack of diversity
[5:07] and that same lack of support. So,
[5:09] I'm agreeing 200%, but um
[5:12] I think a lot of times when we have
[5:14] these conversations about what are
[5:15] happening to the black men, we forget
[5:17] that those same forces
[5:20] um
[5:21] are are cannibalizing black women, as
[5:24] well.
[5:24] >> This year we are celebrating the 250th
[5:27] year of America, right? And when you go
[5:30] back 250 years ago when the our
[5:34] forefathers, when they
[5:36] wrote the the Constitution and it said,
[5:38] "All men are created equal."
[5:40] We weren't included in that in that
[5:42] passage, gentlemen, right? All men were
[5:45] white men at the time who owned people
[5:48] that look like you, look like me, and
[5:50] they owned weapons so they could bear
[5:51] arms, right? So, when they wrote the
[5:53] Constitution, when they said all men,
[5:55] they didn't think about us, they didn't
[5:56] think about black women or black
[5:58] children, right? So, we have to be the
[6:00] ones to bring our voice, to bring our
[6:02] authenticity, to bring our um humanity
[6:06] in the space when decisions are made
[6:08] because still in 2026, when people are
[6:11] creating policies, when people are
[6:13] creating admitments, they are thinking
[6:15] about the eurocentric mankind and not
[6:18] African-American folks that look like
[6:20] you and I. Believe it or not, uh we are
[6:23] what? We only represent what, less than
[6:25] 2% of the workforce in education? And
[6:28] when you tell folks that you are an
[6:30] educator, they're looking at you like,
[6:31] "Why? Why are you doing that?" And when
[6:33] you finally get in the school, um you
[6:36] would expect uh have people wrap their
[6:38] arms around you, you expect to have
[6:41] mentors, you expect to have role models,
[6:43] but since there's only so few of us in
[6:45] this game, we have to create our our own
[6:48] lane.
[6:51] >> You can't keep banging your head against
[6:52] the wall. I
[6:53] fought tooth and nail for 3 years in a
[6:55] war of attrition and still felt like I
[6:57] wasn't heard. So, I chose to be silent
[7:00] to preserve myself, my own peace of
[7:01] mind, my sanity. You can be quiet and
[7:04] not say things, but then a child may
[7:05] suffer because of that.
[7:07] Or you can continue to use your voice or
[7:09] channel it in other ways to get the job
[7:12] done.
[7:12] >> It sounds like you changed your mind.
[7:14] >> All right, look. No, I'm I'm saying it's
[7:16] okay. It's okay. If you're going to say
[7:17] it's okay, but I don't think all the
[7:19] ways is to continue to stay silent cuz
[7:21] it could
[7:21] >> think okay means is it right?
[7:23] >> No, I think okay means
[7:24] >> Not as it is in the middle of something.
[7:25] >> I think okay means, "Hey, it's
[7:27] permissible. It may not be acceptable,
[7:29] but it's permissible."
[7:30] >> Education is the ultimate game of
[7:31] politics.
[7:33] And no one is going to advocate for
[7:35] black people except black people.
[7:37] And what I see is administrators and
[7:41] people who get comfortable because they
[7:43] have fought for so long, they make it
[7:45] about about preserving
[7:47] their family and their children. And for
[7:50] me,
[7:52] that is a loss for our people. It might
[7:54] be a win for you and your children, but
[7:56] what are we here for? Am I here for
[7:58] people whose last name are Williams or
[8:00] am I here for my people? So, it is
[8:03] absolutely
[8:04] not okay.
[8:06] >> There are some fights in the world that
[8:08] we are just not going to win, right? And
[8:11] when it comes to those fights, you have
[8:12] to understand like is is your voice
[8:14] willing to become violent? So, let my
[8:16] accents become my words to support the
[8:18] students that we need.
[8:19] >> That sounds like you should come over
[8:21] here too.
[8:22] That's not That's not silence.
[8:24] That's not silence. That's you not
[8:25] talking and using your accents. You
[8:27] should come over here too.
[8:28] Cuz [laughter] you guys are saying that
[8:29] the guys are saying it in a different
[8:31] way. I think sometimes we forget because
[8:33] if we've been in the game for 4 years or
[8:35] 12 years or 30 years,
[8:38] your curriculum is Eurocentric. The
[8:41] language in which you mediate
[8:42] conversations is Eurocentric. If you're
[8:45] in a middle one or a high school and
[8:46] you're teaching Latin, French, and these
[8:49] are languages of colonization.
[8:51] It's uber political. So, when you take
[8:54] yourself out of those battles, it's just
[8:57] a win.
[8:58] And I think sometimes we forget those
[9:00] things, but to not look at ourselves as
[9:02] political
[9:04] entities in this game, I think is a loss
[9:07] for us.
[9:08] >> I will say one last point because um
[9:10] like I said, I want to make sure that my
[9:11] perspective is clear cuz I agree with
[9:12] everyone. Everything everybody's saying.
[9:14] Um
[9:14] >> come on over.
[9:15] >> So, vocally is what I'm thinking of
[9:17] silence. Uh you can be vocally silent
[9:20] and still get your point across as I was
[9:21] saying and like Lake was saying, channel
[9:22] your effort and energy somewhere else.
[9:24] Now, if you're a good educator, your
[9:25] students can do the work for you. Uh but
[9:28] I do understand that in some cases,
[9:30] there's no choice but to speak out, but
[9:33] think about them times when you got to
[9:35] regroup and recoup and get it together.
[9:38] Those are times when it's okay to be a
[9:39] little quiet. My voice is a little too
[9:41] scary to always speak out against
[9:43] everything. I've already had my
[9:45] fair share with that. So, I'm trying to
[9:47] find ways to be wiser in how I use my
[9:49] voice, and every time it don't got to be
[9:50] vocal. I can preserve my own peace of
[9:52] mind and sanity because to where I have
[9:54] to be a little more
[9:56] Okay. How can I
[9:58] approach it differently? If I can't do
[9:59] it, my brother can speak for me or we
[10:01] can get a group where the students can
[10:02] make a project and get it done, but I
[10:03] don't feel like me always having to
[10:05] speak up. I get burnt out. I tried it.
[10:07] I'll get burnt out. I can't always speak
[10:09] out. So, vocally sometimes I have to be
[10:11] silent and use other avenues to get the
[10:14] same result.
[10:15] >> In terms of like the conversation we
[10:16] were having was like the burnout of
[10:18] carrying so much as black educators. We
[10:22] deal with it on every level. So, we are
[10:25] political entities to where as we're
[10:26] fighting a political game. We're
[10:28] fighting against parents who who are not
[10:30] quite understanding what what the plight
[10:32] is that we're that we're facing. We're
[10:34] fighting against administration that
[10:35] doesn't want to see the best for our
[10:36] black and brown students. And then we're
[10:38] fighting a community who
[10:41] doesn't always value the intellect and
[10:43] the mindset of a black
[10:46] black people.
[10:46] >> In a way, when it comes to using my
[10:48] voice, sometimes I will be silent and my
[10:50] voice or my action will pick up the pace
[10:53] and make sure that I can do what's right
[10:54] for the kids.
[10:55] >> I advocated for the student getting an
[10:56] IEP and everything.
[10:58] And my principal knew that the student
[11:00] had a behavior issues and all of that.
[11:02] And I advocated for the student from
[11:03] August till December had 56 seizures.
[11:07] December 13th of 2024,
[11:10] my principal called office of
[11:12] investigation, asked what I'm going to
[11:14] sue the county. The M R out.
[11:17] Came back from FMLA early for my
[11:20] students, continued to advocate for my
[11:22] students.
[11:24] And when I came back from FMLA early,
[11:27] they treated me like a dog.
[11:29] Mind you, I came back from FMLA early
[11:32] for my students and my administration.
[11:35] Mind you, my wife was pregnant at the
[11:37] time with my baby girl.
[11:39] So, I'm not only I'm jeopardizing my
[11:41] health, but I jeopardized my wife's
[11:44] pregnancy.
[11:45] So, mind you, I'm still advocating for
[11:47] my students, but it also I was told by
[11:49] my principal, keep your mouth shut.
[11:51] Because she didn't want to deal with the
[11:54] student that had behavior issues.
[11:56] But again, you want to tell me to keep
[11:57] my mouth shut.
[11:59] I'm not doing that.
[12:00] This student caused me 56 seizures in
[12:03] the hospital. Not only I'm in the
[12:05] hospital bed calling out the student's
[12:07] name
[12:08] while the doctor saying this student
[12:10] caused this teacher distress.
[12:13] You guys knew.
[12:14] But you want to tell me keep your mouth
[12:16] shut. I'm not going to keep my mouth
[12:18] shut.
[12:19] Mr. Thomas is an advocate for his
[12:21] students. I'm still going to advocate
[12:23] for the student no matter that you're
[12:24] calling it health issues for me.
[12:26] >> It reminds me of the Bob Marley quote
[12:28] and it's I don't I know it's not
[12:29] verbatim, but it's something to the
[12:31] degree that
[12:32] to be a conscious black man in America
[12:34] is to be angry all the time. So, people
[12:36] like Amos Wilson and Dr. Frances Cress
[12:38] Welsing,
[12:39] Neely Fuller, Asa Hilliard, I carry all
[12:43] of those people with me in the
[12:44] classroom.
[12:46] And I try to decenter whiteness and
[12:49] focus on African-centered psychology.
[12:51] So, we're not necessarily
[12:53] Yes, there's
[12:55] Women's History Month and Black History
[12:57] Month, but my goal is to think about
[13:00] what does it mean to be an African in
[13:02] this space
[13:04] um
[13:05] at all times. I try to give them a way
[13:07] of thinking
[13:08] uh like history from below. You know,
[13:11] it's not the quote-unquote victor's
[13:14] history, but it's our history and we can
[13:16] be the victors in that.
[13:19] >> I think telling them things that most
[13:21] other people are not saying to them.
[13:24] Consistently speaking into who they are
[13:26] going to be after they're in your space.
[13:28] I think a lot of times we focus on
[13:30] trying to get them in compliance and get
[13:32] them to be who we need them to be for
[13:35] the time or the moment that we're in. I
[13:37] constantly tell my students, I'm not
[13:40] giving you lessons for what you need to
[13:42] be successful here in this classroom or
[13:44] here in this building. I want these to
[13:46] transcend past this moment and these are
[13:48] things that you're going to take into
[13:49] your future. So, every conversation that
[13:52] I have is based off the idea of I'm
[13:54] building
[13:55] humans. I'm not just teaching children.
[13:57] >> You have to build relationships with
[13:59] students. But, people have to be taught
[14:01] that, right? And with me, it just starts
[14:04] with a simple thing. How are you? What's
[14:06] going on? Yo, I love you, right? And I
[14:09] use those those openers like every
[14:12] single day so they know that I am a safe
[14:14] space for them. I care about their
[14:16] well-being. Although instruction is the
[14:19] main thing in schools, right? But, we
[14:21] have to be very intentional to develop
[14:23] the to develop relationships and to tell
[14:26] kids that you love them at the end of
[14:28] the day because 80% [music] of them
[14:30] don't hear that.
[14:36] >> [music]