The teacher workforce does not look much like the adult population or the students they serve. Across the country, only 21% of teachers are from historically disadvantaged racial groups compared to 35% of working-age adults and 49% of students. Simple math suggests that the diversity gap between students and teachers will only close when teachers from historically disadvantaged groups enter the workforce at a faster pace than the student population is diversifying. One might reasonably expect the teacher workforce to be representative of the racial diversity we see in the broader population of working-age adults, or more specifically, working-age adults with college degrees. Yet while one in three (35%) working-age adults identifies as American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic, Islander/Pacific Native or two or more races, only about one in five teachers (21%) across the country is from these historically disadvantaged groups. Also, the NCTQ Teacher Diversity Dashboard reveals a trend: The racial diversity of the teacher workforce is growing at a slower pace than the racial diversity of college-educated adults. This trend indicates that Black and brown adults who earn college degrees are either choosing other professions or electing to leave the classroom after becoming teachers. This article examines why these trends reflect long standing issues in the teaching profession and what can be done to create a strong and diverse teacher pipeline.