There is a crisis facing American public schools: although many project an increased number of Black students attending public schools over the next decade and nonwhite students are now the majority of students in public schools, Black teachers, whom research has shown increase academic performance, graduation rates, college acceptance and attendance for all students, especially Black students, and decrease discipline rates for Black students, are leaving the profession at record levels and, new Black teachers are not replacing them. Scholars point to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision as the impetus for the current Black teacher shortage. Scholars argue that in response to the Brown decision, white school leaders demoted and fired Black teachers to achieve integration. Saint Louis presents an interesting case study for this prevailing theory because, after Brown, Saint Louis hired more Black teachers, not fired them. Despite different historical contexts, there is still a disparity between Black teachers and Black students: 78% of the students in Saint Louis Public Schools are Black, but only 38% of the teachers are Black. Between the 2009 and 2019 school years, Saint Louis Public Schools lost 45% of its Black teachers. This paper discusses current trends in the recruitment and retention of Black teachers with special attention to Saint Louis, Missouri, and its history.

Damen would like to thank their faculty sponsor, Dr. Chistopher Tinson, for their support of this project.