In her groundbreaking book Jim Crow’s Pink Slip, Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick documents a largely overlooked consequence of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education: the systematic displacement of an estimated 100,000 Black teachers and principals during school desegregation.

While the decision promised equal education, thousands of experienced Black educators were pushed out of classrooms, removing vital mentors, intellectual leaders, and community anchors from schools across the country.

In response to this history, the Belonging Beyond Brown project is launching the 100,000 Teacher Stories Initiative — a national effort to remember and honor those educators by collecting 100,000 stories of Black educators who shaped our lives.