2026 at a glance

At this event, we honored contemporary leaders such as David Johns and Bettina Love, whose work challenged us to build classrooms rooted in truth, justice, and liberation. At the same time, we placed them within a powerful lineage—some who came before us and others still living—that stretched across generations: Bayard Rustin, whose commitment to nonviolent leadership cultivated young organizers; Angela Davis, whose teaching inspired countless students to imagine freedom; Pauli Murray, who used both scholarship and moral courage to challenge injustice; and Kabir Amari X, whose “Black History is Queer History” workshop has been a groundbreaking way of educating both students and educators that any Black history that omits LGBTQ+ people is incomplete, inaccurate, and a disservice to the fullness of our collective story.

We also celebrated event organizers who have a long history as friends and co-conspirators: Micia Mosely, whose founding of The Black Teacher Project created vital space for Black educators to thrive, lead, and teach from a place of wholeness; and Tim’m West, whose continued work as a brave educator—from helping create Teach For America Prism Alliances nearly a decade ago to building intergenerational leadership models through the LGBTQ+ Institute and now the Rustin Institute for Leadership Development—ensured that young people were seen, affirmed, and equipped to become the next generation of courageous leaders.