“Until college, I had two black teachers, in total, and I never had a black male teacher until college. My second-grade teacher was a black woman named Ms. Williams (because perfection, my second-grade class picture features her staring at us instead of the camera in standard Black Mother Style because apparently somebody was actin’ a fool) and in high school, my French teacher was a black woman named Mrs. Sterling (who also taught Spanish). I can’t speak much to that second-grade life. Maybe my parents had more feelings about how that might have impacted my esteem.

But Mrs. Sterling, though, in retrospect, was a godsend.”

I Had Two Black Teachers From Kindergarten Through 12th Grade and Even That Little Bit Made a Difference: Very Smart Brothas