Teachers helped Cornell Ellis ’13 during one of the most challenging periods of his life. Founding a nonprofit organization supporting educators was a fitting way to repay their support.
Ellis transferred to Avila after initially attending the University of Missouri on a football scholarship. But after struggling to adjust to college after the death of his father during his senior year of high school, he dropped out in his second year and completed his associate degree at a nearby community college.
“When I was at Missouri, I didn’t feel like I was being held accountable if I didn’t show up to class or complete my homework,” he remembered. “But when I got to Avila, I was getting phone calls and text messages from my professors if I missed a class to make sure I was okay. Avila had more of a family environment that made me feel valued.”
After graduation, he began teaching English at the Ewing Marion Kauffman School in Kansas City. He quickly noticed something was missing: resources and support systems for Black male educators.
“That realization inspired the work we’ve been doing at The BLOC from the beginning—developing resources and spaces within education to discuss the issues we face as teachers of color. We took it upon ourselves to start a group for male teachers of color in Kansas City in order to provide access to the knowledge I was looking for when I started teaching,” Ellis said.
The BLOC—or Brothers Liberating Our Communities—started when Ellis attended a conference in Philadelphia for Black male educators. Supporting Black male teachers is important in closing the opportunity gap. While 57 percent of students in Kansas City Public Schools identify as black, only 31 percent of teachers do so. That disparity in representation is a leading factor in Black male educators leaving the profession at the second highest rate across demographic groups.
“We have five or ten active teachers at The BLOC—some in their sixth or seventh year of teaching—who said that without The BLOC they would have left their job a long time ago,” Ellis said. “Black school-age boys need role models in the classroom—representation is hugely important during childhood development.
“There are challenges getting some people to admit there is a lack of representation and that it’s a problem—but The BLOC is working on changing that perception through building networks, organizing and educating school administrators on creating equity through inclusion and representation.”