When Darion Murdoch talks about the students he serves as principal of Flynn Park Elementary School in University City, his face lights up. He calls them his “babies,” and making sure they have what they need to thrive is his priority.
Murdoch grew up in the community where he now works, so he knows the value of seeing someone who shares your background in a leadership role. He’s also part of the 1.3% of the nation’s 3.8 million public school educators who are Black men, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That means he does not always have colleagues who can relate to his experiences, he said.
Last week, however, he was among more than 1,500 Black male teachers who spent three days in Philadelphia learning from one another, exchanging strategies and building community. Ian Buchanan, an educator and executive leadership coach, put the word out to Black male educators in the St. Louis region that he was organizing his annual trip to the Black Men in Education Convening, held Nov. 20-22.
At the conference, educators heard from national policymakers and attended workshops on student engagement, family involvement and the use of tools, such as artificial intelligence, in their classrooms. They also had opportunities to build connections with peers from across the country — something many said they rarely find in their home districts.
“I had the opportunity to join Ian Buchanan this year, and it’s been a phenomenal experience,” Murdoch said while attending the convening. “It’s so great to see all these Black males in educational leadership and higher education, because at times being the principal is the loneliest position in the school. It’s affirmed a lot of things for me.”
That sense of isolation is one of the reasons the Center for Black Educator Development exists. The Philadelphia-based organization hosts the annual convening.
Founder Sharif El-Mekki created the organization after realizing there was no group focused solely on encouraging Black children who want to become teachers, he said. He launched the BMEC as a small, local gathering, and when a group of Black male educators from Tennessee drove in for the meeting, he decided to expand the effort nationally, El-Mekki said. This year marks the event’s eighth anniversary.
This is the fourth group of Black male educators Buchanan has brought from the St. Louis area. The trip was sponsored by the nonprofit Opportunity Trust as part of its commitment to supporting educators in St. Louis.
Buchanan said the convening helps educators like Murdoch build relationships that strengthen their practice and ultimately benefit the students they serve.
“They say iron sharpens iron,” he said. “So, I wanted to make sure that people in the St. Louis region get connected to a national network. I also want them to continue to grow, and I want them to get the courage to know that they can be on a national stage and hold their own. So, that’s really why I do this.”
Over the last four years, 33 Black male educators from the St. Louis area have taken advantage of the opportunity to attend the BMEC, Buchanan said. Many found the event so valuable that they returned in subsequent years and encouraged additional educators to join them, he said.
Solomon Knight, assistant principal at Ladue Middle School, is among the repeat attendees. This is his second trip, and he said the convening has had a meaningful impact.
“Essentially, it just encouraged me and empowered me and emboldened me to continue the work that I was doing,” he said. “Being a Black educator, particularly in a space like Ladue Middle School, sometimes can be very hard to navigate.”
This year, Murdoch and Gerold Nave Jr., principal of Normandy High School in Wellston, were among the first-time attendees in Buchanan’s group. Nave said a session on family engagement gave him insights he plans to apply with students and families back home.
“I remembered a quote from Malcolm X in regard to education,” he said. “He said, education is the passport to the future. Today, in this moment, we are trying to create educational passports for our scholars.”