THEY PLAN TO GET THAT DONE. GROWING UP AS A LATINO IN MILWAUKEE, SAUL LOPEZ SAYS HE RARELY SAW HIMSELF IN HIS TEACHERS. I HAD 1 OR 2 TEACHERS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THAT WERE LATINO IN HIGH SCHOOL. I THINK I WANT TO SAY I HAD NONE, AND IN COLLEGE, I THINK 1 OR 2 THE LATINO TEACHERS HE DID HAVE, HE REMEMBERS BY NAME. IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MR. LOPEZ, AND IN COLLEGE, DOCTOR SERGIO GONZALEZ. MANY BLACK STUDENTS LIKE RAVEN, PIGGY, HAVE SIMILAR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES. HOW MANY BLACK MALE TEACHERS WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAD GROWING UP? OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, LIKE CONFIDENTLY, ONE. AND I WAS IN THIRD GRADE YEARS WITHOUT A BLACK TEACHER. YES, WITHOUT A BLACK TEACHER. YEAH, THE LACK OF HAVING REPRESENTATION IN A SCHOOL IS THAT BASICALLY YOU LACK A LOT OF THINGS. YOU LACK DISCIPLINE, YOU LACK KNOWLEDGE, YOU LACK SOME LACK OF THE ABILITY FOR SOMEBODY TO UNDERSTAND YOU. IS IT A LACK OF SENSE OF BELONGING AS WELL? OH YEAH. OH YES. TWO MEN, TWO DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, ONE SHARED EXPERIENCE. THE LACK OF DIVERSITY IN EDUCATION MOTIVATED SAUL TO BECOME AN EDUCATOR. HE’S A GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AT MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY. HE WE NEED LEADERSHIP THAT IS MORE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STUDENTS. THEY SERVE. I ALSO THINK THAT WE NEED BETTER PATHWAYS FOR FUTURE TEACHERS FROM THE AREA TO BECOME TEACHERS. AND EDUCATORS. THAT PATHWAY IS SOMETHING KEITH BROOKS IS WORKING ON AS THE CEO AND FOUNDER OF THE NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP FOR BLACK AND LATINO MALE EDUCATORS. IT’S A NONPROFIT FOCUSED ON INCREASING THE NUMBER OF BLACK AND LATINO MEN IN THE CLASSROOM. OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE OUR KIDS HAVE REPRESENTATION THAT LOOKS LIKE THE PEOPLE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. ACCORDING TO THE EDUCATION TRUST IN WISCONSIN, ABOUT 22% OF SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN ARE BLACK AND LATINO, YET FEWER THAN 4% OF TEACHERS HAVE THOSE SAME RACIAL BACKGROUNDS. IN MILWAUKEE, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, BLACK AND LATINO STUDENTS MAKE UP 81% OF THE STUDENT POPULATION. ITS STAFF IS ABOUT 47% BLACK AND LATINO, BUT MOSTLY WOMEN TOO OFTEN BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE ADULTS ARE NOT SETTING UP THE CONDITIONS FOR THEM TO THRIVE, THEY AREN’T ABLE TO ACHIEVE WHAT THEY WHAT THEY’RE WHAT THEY CAN ACHIEVE, BROOKS SAYS. EVERYONE, NOT JUST BLACK AND BROWN CHILDREN, BENEFITS FROM DIVERSITY, AND HE’S PUTTING MONEY BEHIND THIS EFFORT, INVESTING A QUARTER OF $1 MILLION TO HELP BLACK AND LATINO MEN ADVANCE THEIR CAREERS IN EDUCATION AND RECRUIT MALES FROM THE CLASSROOM AS STUDENTS TO THE BOARDROOM AS AS LEADERS. YOU WANT TO SEE REAL CHANGE IN MILWAUKEE, REAL CHANGE. THIS TYPE OF CHANGE IS SOMETHING SOUL AND RAVEN SUPPORT. WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE YOU BELONG. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU PERFORM BETTER? ABSOLUTELY. THAT’S SO HUGE. WHEN YOU BELONG, YOU PERFORM BETTER. YES. FOR THOSE WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND, THEY’VE ALWAYS HAD SOMEONE IN THE CLASSROOM THAT LOOKS LIKE THEM. FOR THOSE WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND THE OTHER SIDE, HOW WOULD YOU STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT REPRESENTATION? THE POWER COMES IN YOUR VOICE. IF YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU BELONG IN A CLASSROOM, IT’S REALLY HARD FOR YOU TO REALLY COMMUNICATE YOUR NEEDS AND OR PARTICIPATE. SO IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DON’T BELONG, IT’S REALLY HARD TO GIVE YOUR BEST ALL OF THE MEN I TALKED TO HAVE HOPES FOR THE FUTURE GENERATION. THEY WANT THEM TO BE IN SCHOOLS THAT BETTER REPRESENT THE STUDENT POPULATION, AND IT’S NOT SOLELY FOCUSED ON RACE. IT’S ALSO GENDER, SEXUALITY AND RELIGION. IRON THEY SAY REPRESENTATION IS