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I had a chance to teach a summer program a few years back in my hometown of New Orleans.
好几年前，我曾教授一个暑期课程，地点是在我的家乡—— 纽奥良。
I had a group of 32 young men, age ranging from nine to 14, all Black boys.
我当时的学生有32个，年龄差不多是九岁至十四岁，都是黑人男孩。
I wanted to set a tone the first day of class.
我当时想要在上课第一天就先为整个课堂定调。
I want to compare and contrast the mindsets of the contemporary young folk in contrast to my constituents and how we grew up and how we aspired.
我想要互相比较跟检视一下现在的孩子们的心态跟我们那一代的心态有什么不同，以及我们抱持何种态度长大成人。
So I asked them the old cliché question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
所以我问他们一些老套的问题：你们长大以后想做什么？
Here were the responses.
以下是他们的回应：
Twenty nine said Kevin Durant.
有29个孩子表示，他们想成为 凯文·杜兰特。
Three said LeBron James.
3个孩子说，他们想成为詹皇。
Now, I had two thoughts.
此时，我浮现了两种想法：
First was I was flabbergasted because, obviously, these young boys don't know basketball.
第一，我真的被他们的回应吓到了，原因很简单：这些孩子根本不懂篮球。
Because LeBron is the man, if you ask me.
而詹皇是个超有名气、超强的男人。
But my second thought was, the narrative still hasn't changed.
而我的另一个想法是，这样的说法一直以来没变。
The scope of possibility is still very limited.
我们对未来想象的可能性还是非常有限。
Sports, streets, entertainment.
成为运动明星、在街头游荡，或是进入演艺圈之类的。
We don't see ourselves really outside of those arenas.
我们似乎从来没有将自己排除于这几个领域。
Something has to change.
这代表着：我们需要改变。
But my mom was an educator.
我的母亲是一个教育工作者，
She laid a very positive foundation for myself and my sister, Charlene, in regards to education.
她为我和我的姐姐Charlene在教育上奠定了良好的基础。
But what she did, most importantly, was she made me a dreamer.
而她对我影响最大的，是让我成为一个敢于梦想的人。
She opened up that scope of possibilities, and now I’m the CEO of an organization that recruits Black male teachers.
她帮助我拓展了各种未来的可能性。而现在，我已经是一名机构的总裁， 招募黑人男老师加入我们的团队。
Being a teacher is one of the most impactful ways you can see your impact as a professional.
成为一名老师是最能够带来影响力的方式，你可以运用你的专业去发挥影响力。
Being a Black male teacher is a game changer.
成为一名黑人男老师，这样的身份真的能够带来重大改变。
Being a Black male teacher is becoming a superhero.
成为一名黑人男老师，就是成为超级英雄的过程。
So let's talk about him.
因此，就让我们就来好好谈谈吧。
Let's take a look at the landscape currently in the United States.
我们可以看到美国目前的情况。
Less than three percent of all teachers are Black men.
黑人男教师只有不到3％。
For my liberal arts majors that's three out of 100.
以我文科生的角度来解读就是：一百个人里的三个人。
Now, Black men are in classrooms as disciplinarians, as janitors, as intervention specialists and definitely as athletic coaches.
目前来看，黑人男性在教室里的角色可能是严格的领导者、清洁工人、负责调解冲突的专家，当然也有可能是体育教练。
In front of the classroom, leading from an intellectual capacity, not so much.
至于那些在教室前带领进行学术活动的人其实没有很多。
But I want to take the first step and juxtapose it to that of another.
不过我想迈出第一步并提高其在未来发展的可能性。
Just one Black male teacher in third, fourth or fifth grade for a low-income Black boy substantially reduces his chances of dropping out of high school by almost 40 percent.
只要有一位三到五年级的黑人男老师帮助低收入家庭的黑人孩子，就可以大幅地降低他们在高中被退学的机率，降低了将近40% 被退学的机率。
Let that sink in.
思考一下，
Just imagine if you had two.
想像你帮助了两个学生。
And that's what I do.
而这就是我目前在做的事。
Kids are what they see.
孩子们会依照他们所看到的学习。
They need that affirmation.
他们需要被肯定。
So I provide the mirror. We provide the mirror.
因此，我开始提供他们效仿的典范。
At Brothers Empowered to Teach, we recruit Black male teachers.
在Brothers Empowered to Teach的机构里，我们会招募黑人男老师。
