Each One Teach One

By Amy Nelson

Each One Teach One is the story of one multigenerational, Black Muslim-American family’s legacy of social justice and education. The story centers around Sharif El-Mekki, the son of two Black Panthers, and the principal of Mastery Charter School’s Shoemaker Campus. El-Mekki dreams of instilling principles of sacrifice, wakefulness, brotherhood and discipline in the students at his school; principles he learned growing up at a Pan-African elementary school, and in the Islamic Republic of Iran where he and his family lived during the revolution. “I think some of the biggest differences now is so many of our youth are lulled to sleep…whereas at that time, there was this vigilance that was right after the 60s. It was still very fresh in people’s minds about what governments stood for, what they were trying to do. I think there are far more distractions now.” Each One Teach One examines some of the struggles Black and Muslim students, educators, and families continue to face in their efforts to create sustainable and thriving communities for current and future generations.