“The Black Teacher Project is an expression of love.” Ten years after BTP began, Dr. Micia Mosely sits down with two people who have helped shape its story from the beginning, LaShawn Routé Chatmon, founding CEO and President of the National Equity Project, and Kia Walton, former Oakland math teacher, founding BTP Fellow, and current BTP Program Manager.

Together, they look back at what it took to build a space where Black teachers could be seen, supported, and trusted to name what they needed. Chatmon reflects on BTP’s beginnings within the National Equity Project and the vision of centering Black educators’ experiences, knowledge, and leadership in the pursuit of educational equity. Walton shares what it meant to encounter BTP as a young teacher and find Black affinity space , whole-person care, rigorous professional learning, and a community that affirmed that Kia belonged.

Looking ahead, the conversation turns toward what Black teachers will need as education continues to change. From AI and threats to public education to the enduring need for human connection, the three imagine a future where Black teachers are not simply navigating the systems they inherit, but leading, designing, and transforming what comes next.

As BTP begins its next chapter as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, this anniversary conversation honors the people, relationships, and vision that made its first decade possible while dreaming toward the next.Support the Black Teacher Project and help make the next decade of Black teacher thriving, leadership, and possibility possible.