An activist who served as an adviser to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro believes Black students should be taught by teachers of the same race and heads a nonprofit that has received $20 million in funding from a myriad of notable donors, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Nike.
Sharif El-Mekki, a former middle and high school teacher and principal, lobbies for more Black teachers through the Center for Black Educator Development (CBED).
The group’s website describes its vision as a world where “all Black students have access to high-quality, Black teachers throughout their PreK-12 schooling” and where “all teachers demonstrate high levels of expertise in anti-racist mindsets.”
CBED has over $19.5 million in assets thanks to donations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2020 and 2021, according to tax filings.
Other donors include Nike, the Bezos Family Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania School of Education and the Philadelphia Health Department. Fox News Digital has reached out to El-Mekki, Shapiro’s office and the Gates Foundation.
CBED was founded with the goal of training teachers across the United States in “education activism,” urging a “commitment to liberation education from the racism inherent in America’s institutions, including our schools.”
A CBED information packet, “The Anti-Racist Guide to Teacher Retention,” developed with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, defines education as “a political act” that “can upend white supremacy and a racist history of using education as an oppressive social force,” The Free Press reported.
“Every lesson plan is a political document, and every classroom interaction a political statement,” the guide states.
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El-Mekki appeared before congressional lawmakers in September when he spoke about the need to “rebuild the national Black teacher pipeline.”
“For students of color, having teachers who share their background leads to improved student performance, higher graduation rates and increased college enrollment,” he told the House Early Childhood, Elementary, and SecondaryEducation Subcommittee.
He noted that Black teachers comprise only 7% of the teaching workforce, which presents “systemic barriers” that prevent many Black teachers from remaining in the profession.
In 2023, the CBED trained 1,700 educators.
El-Mekki, who made $233,410 a year from the organization, was reportedly raised by activists. His parents were members of the Black Panthers and moved to Iran when he was in middle school after his mother, Aisha El-Mekki, converted to Islam because “she wanted her children to witness a country united in its efforts to make a change.”
El-Mekki is pictured on the CBED website wearing a Black Panther shirt. He’s also praised Iran in the past. On a podcast, he lauded the Islamic Republic’s education system.
“Iran produces more engineers and doctors, scientists, than many other countries,” he said.
