Beyond the 26 Black educators need to

IN 2017, it was revealed the number of Black teachers in Bristol was as low as 26. A damning report by the Runnymede Trust that year showed that Bristol was the most segregated city in Britain.

Today, it seems not much has changed in the city.

Black educators are still saying they do not feel seen, heard, or ,represented.

An investigation by

Out West featuring assistant principal Aisha Thomas showed there were only 26 Black teachers in our 19 secondary schools – out of the 1,346 who teach our children.

This shows just 1.9 per cent of our teachers are Black, compared to six per cent of Bristol’s population.

Now, Instagram campaign Beyond The 26 has been launched in order to celebrate Black educators in the city.

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Keena Anderson, a Bristol school behaviour manager said: “When I was at primary school there were no teachers from an ethnic background.

“In my secondary school there was one head of year who was Black.

“That’s when I began to think ‘Why aren’t there any more? What’s the barrier? What’s stopping us from thinking we can’t reach those kinds of roles?.’”

Representation is key in every sector, but Keena fears “Black children don’t get to see representation anywhere”.

“When we see news about BME people it’s always related to crime, or it’s negative, which isn’t right. We are more than that,” she said.

“If Black children begin to see role models who look like them, hopefully they’ll begin to feel like they can do anything.

“But as Black educators, we’re all doing our part and now we’ve decided that we need people to know about us.

“We’re not getting noticed. We may be behind the scenes or at the forefront, but we are still here, guiding and helping your children.”

The Instagram campaign showcases a different Black educator each day.

Aisha, founder of Representation Matters, launched the campaign to