“Anything is possible!” – Kevin Garnett

“Why are we not pushing that more?”

Mr. Barry Southerland

Teacher, Substitute Teacher, Graduate Student 

“We’re not one monolithic group. We are a wide-range, diverse group of people with different experiences, but they all lead up to the Black experience.”

Barry Sullivan grew up on the south side of Chicago. He had Black teachers in elementary school but none of them resonated with him. He’s an eccentric, outside-the-box thinker. After out-thinking the class in a discussion, one of Barry’s teachers told him that he was bright but didn’t apply himself. In college, his mentor recommended he apply himself toward ELA, which he’s doing now as a graduate student working toward a Master’s in Education/Secondary English. 

“You have to find interesting ways of leveling the playing field – and you have to do it without money sometimes, sadly.”

At a friend’s suggestion, a reluctant, unemployed Barry applied to be a Substitute Teacher. To his surprise, the students accepted him and his reservations about teaching high schoolers went out the door. With diverse interests and their trust, Barry is able to challenge his students to think differently, expose them to alternatives, and tap into their potential, just as his teacher, mentor and friend did for him.