When Claudia Walker asked her Instagram followers to join her for a group chat for Black parents last November, she didn’t fathom that it would evolve into the thriving movement that is Black Parent Group Chat (BPGC). In less than a year, the group has grown to 40,000 members from Northern California where she based, all the way to Queens, New York—with dozens of locations from large metropolitan cities to small rural towns in between. What Walker, a proud Spelman College graduate, has done with the BPGC is connect likeminded Black parents and caregivers while fostering community. Through the BPGC she shares valuable resources that allow our youth to be exposed to a range of careers and opportunities from top-notch professionals through mentors, internships, Zoom discussions and more. And she has done all of this for f-r-e-e!

The wife and mother of three is not a stranger to pouring into children in significant ways. Walker is also the founder of the HBCU Prep School platform. Through this initiative, she has published several groundbreaking children’s books including The ABCs of HBCUs, The ABCs of Black Wall Street and The ABCs of R&B. Now she has expanded her footprint to further pour into the lives of our young people, and we caught up with the former teacher just in time for the new school year. For back-to-school season, she opened up to us about why she started the BPGC, revealed what’s next for the program and answers those burning questions she always gets from other Black parents about giving our children the best foundation to succeed in and out of school.

ESSENCE: What is your professional background? Walk us through what led you to wanting to nurture young people.
CLAUDIA WALKER: I graduated from Spelman with a degree in English and planned to go to law school. Finance was never on my radar until I got an opportunity to intern on Wall Street one summer. I loved it and ended up spending four years in finance after graduation.

Then September 11th happened. I lost coworkers and started reevaluating what I wanted to do with my life. A few years later, I moved back home to the Bay Area and took a “temporary” job in education. That was 22 years ago! Needless to say, I fell in love with teaching and eventually became the principal of a network of schools.

ESSENCE: How did you transition from being a full-time educator to an entrepreneur?
WALKER: I’ve always loved writing and tend to keep dozens of ideas on my laptop. As a mom, especially when my kids were younger, I was always looking for books that reflected the experiences, traditions and values that were important to us. One day, my daughter came home from school and rattled off a list of colleges she wanted to attend and not one HBCU was on the list. Months earlier, I’d taken her to visit my alma mater, but I realized that one trip every now and then wasn’t enough. That was the inspiration behind my first book, The ABCs of HBCUs.

ESSENCE: When did you launch the Black Parent Group Chat (BPGC)? 
WALKER: In November of 2025, I posted a video on social media and jokingly said that I was holding an emergency meeting for Black parents and asked who’d be bringing snacks. I never expected it to gain so much traction, but thousands of parents responded. A few days later, we held our first meeting. Today we have 40,000 members.

ESSENCE: Incredible. Is the program free?
WALKER: Yes, the community is free. We have monthly virtual meetings with experts and share resources, programs and opportunities for families. I’m also launching a private community for $39 per month that will offer more ongoing support, resources and connection.

ESSENCE: Have you had any in-person BPGC meetings and/or events?
WALKER: Yes, we had our first in-person meetup over the summer at University of California, Berkeley. We had 100 youth and their families attend. I’m looking forward to our first national meetup, where we’ll have workshops for parents and kids, activations, vendors and more.

ESSENCE:  What are the top three (3) questions or concerns you hear from Black parents of school-aged children most often?
WALKER: The biggest question is probably, “How do I prepare my child?” Parents want to know what resources, programs and opportunities are available to their children and how to make sure they’re not missing out.

I also hear from parents who are trying to figure out how to reengage kids who have lost their love of learning or motivation in school.

And community is a big one. Many Black parents are raising children in schools or spaces where there aren’t many other Black faces and they worry about the impact that can have on their kids. They’re looking for a community of like-minded families who understand that experience.

ESSENCE:  Have these questions informed your BPGC hosted programming and events? 
WALKER: Absolutely. A lot of our virtual meetings have come directly from questions parents are asking. It’s also why I created our summer programs list, which has grown to more than 500 programs. This summer, Black Parent Group Chat kids participated in programs at Hampton, Howard, Harvard, Prairie View A&M, MIT, and Alvin Ailey–just to name a few.

It’s also a big part of why I’m launching the private community. There’s only so much we can cover in a monthly meeting. Parents are looking for resources throughout the year. They want to be connected to other parents who are trying to give their kids access to these same kinds of opportunities.

ESSENCE: As the founder of BPGC, a children’s book author and a proactive Black parent yourself, what words of encouragement do you have for other Black parents during this back-to-school season?
WALKER: I would tell parents to trust themselves and stay involved. You know your child better than anyone else. Ask questions, check their schedule, get to know their teachers and don’t be afraid to advocate when something doesn’t feel right. But also remember that school is just one part of their education. Some of the most important things we can give our kids happen outside of the classroom through the experiences we expose them to, the way we talk to them and the way we help them see what’s possible for their lives.

I like to motivate my children using things they already love. My sons love sports, so we analyze their favorite players. We talk about the sacrifices they make to be the best, their belief in themselves, their work ethic, and then we relate that back to school or whatever goals my children have for themselves.

I also make a point to praise them not only for the things they accomplish, but for who they are as people. So when I see them doing random acts of kindness, I praise them for that. I remind them how valued and special they are. I want them to be successful, but more than anything, I want them to grow up believing in themselves and knowing that anything is possible.

Author: Bridgette Bartlett Royall

Read the original article on Essence.