Whites are not the best teachers for Black people. History (the past and the present) stands as a testament of this. Firstly, Whites can never know what it is to exist in this Global system as a Black person, they can never identify with Black students as a Black teacher potentially can. What happens is that Black students are saddled with low levels of expectations and are treated like young criminals when they rebel. Numerous studies have demonstrated the impact of teacher expectations on student performance.

The environment that Blacks exist in has the tendency to portray Whites as saviors- as the bringers of knowledge, civilization and wisdom to otherwise uncivilized, sub-par, ignorant Blacks. This thinking is unconsciously ingrained in Whites (as well as many Blacks) and as a result their actions will affect this conditioning. If schools are about shaping students into beings that are understanding, aware and just, then Blacks given their past and present experiences are best suited to be the teachers of Black students. If the function of the education system is to equip students with the tools to deal with and challenge society, which White teacher can equip Black students to deal with and challenge racism? The rest of the social institutions already incline Blacks towards the European way of thinking, so who will give them the missing pieces?

Of course, ignorance is not limited to Whites, Black teachers can be dangerously ignorant but they are potentially best suited to understand and help Black students overcome challenges and understand social reality. Making mistakes and learning from them are an inevitable part of human evolution. If mistakes are to be made with Black students, I prefer to let Black teachers make them and learn from them. We continue to see the ill effects of 500 years of European teaching on the minds of Black students. There is no other option but to relate the principles of self determination to Black students as much as the slowly expanding awareness of Black people allow. Africans, more so when they are informed, are the only ones who can really be totally sensitive to the needs of African children.

On a personal level, I have learnt from observing and interacting with many people, but the deepest truths and keys to understanding the universe have come from dark skinned Africans who I have interacted with. I have met non-Africans who mean well but they could never directly get the experiences that allow them to be holding the keys of higher education. Not even close.

The fact that Whites cannot adequately teach Blacks is an indicator for Blacks of where the core of their education must come from-their own experiences. Teaching is not merely an objective process where information is passed on to students. Teaching is a very subjective process, and in the present education systems, Eurocentric values, norms and ways of seeing the world are intimately tied to the informational content. This often hidden curriculum helps to maintain the racist order by giving the impression that things are as they are meant to be. Those who benefit from this illusion of meritocracy (Black inferiority) and privilege can never truly teach those who most feel the ill effects of the inequality? In Africans reversing the poor conditioning and low self esteem associated with centuries of European domination, Whites cannot be adequate teachers because of both the poor information resulting from lack of Black experience and also because they are poor symbols of learning. Informed Black teachers are the best way to help Black students overcome conditioned dependence on white saviors as well as to get the tools needed to understand social reality.

Ras Tyehimba