I'm sorry to hear about your experience, Andrew.

That's not been my experience, though. In all my seven schools in China, there's not been one school where I felt that I gained less respect than my white colleagues. If black teachers do adequate research before they sign contracts, they can find better schools where both students and employers will judge them on their merits.

There may be some initial prejudice from some of the above mentioned, toward blacks (I didn't personally notice it, though), however, it's been my experience that what you give is what you get in China. If you're a "miserable git" they won't like you even if you have blonde hair and blue eyes! On the other hand if you're as black as coal but make a good effort in building a rapport with Chinese people, employers, and students, they will love you!

I think it would help black teachers if we focused more on gaining employment from government schools. The majority of private schools only think of profit: thus a recipe for all kinds of discrimination to manifest itself.

Remember, though, not to confuse popularity with respect. Some teachers although very popular in China, are not very well respected. I was the most popular teacher at one of the schools that I worked at, but I viewed that "honour" with trepidation.