The (remote) inaugural freshmen year of the Apple-backed African American Male Teacher Initiative at Huston-Tillotson University comes to a close this week. Apple has provided scholarships hardware, software, and professional development courses for those involved in the program as part of its work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Apple Supporting the Next Generation of Black Male Teachers
Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted his support for the program:
One of the students, Hillary-Rhys Richard’s, comes from a family of teachers and explained why he felt it was important to be part of the program in his application essay.
Every student should have the chance to be taught by someone who represents them. In order to build strong children, we need strong male teachers to forge a path through being the example for students. The baton has to be passed for us to continue pushing forward. I stand ready to run my leg of the race.
One of Mr. Richard’s teachers, Dr. Samuel Rowley, was the first Black man he had ever been taught by. Both teacher and pupil explained the importance and positive influence of Black male educators in their lives.
Dr. Rowley also outlined how he used Apple products like Clips and GarageBand on iPad to continue to teach remotely during the pandemic. “If it would not have been for Apple products, I would not have been able to connect with my students all around the country,” he said.