Teach the Babies w/ Dr. David J. Johns

Vouchers aren't new—they're the same resistance to integration we've been fighting since 1954.

Fred Jones (Southern Education Foundation) joins the class to trace a direct line from Brown v. Board of Education to today's federal tax credit voucher program. The history is ugly: after Brown, Southern states created 450 laws to block desegregation. They funneled public money to "segregation academies"—and 300 still exist today.

Now it's happening again. The 2026 federal voucher program lets families earning up to $491,700 in some areas access public dollars for private schools that can legally discriminate. Meanwhile, public schools lose $51 billion annually.Fred breaks down what vouchers actually are, who benefits (hint: not Black families), and what the data shows after 50 years of failure. Most importantly, he tells us exactly what to do right now, whether you're a parent, educator, or concerned citizen.

Class, the babies are watching. What are we teaching them?

Read the Full Report:Federal Tax Credit Voucher Program Memo - Southern Education Foundation
Organizations Fighting for Public Education:Southern Education Foundation
Public Funds for Public Schools
Education Law Center
Learning Policy Institute
Take Action:Contact your governor about opting out of the federal voucher program
Attend school board meetings and speak up
Request accountability data from your state on voucher spending

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In this conversation, Dr. David Johns welcomes back a colleague, a co-conspirator, and a genuine friend from their Obama White House days—Dr. Zakiya Smith Ellis—for an honest, urgent, and surprisingly joyful conversation about the state of public education in America and what it demands of all of us, in spite of this moment.

Zakiya brings her full toolkit: the policy precision of a former Senior Advisor on the White House Domestic Policy Council and U.S. Department of Education, the grounded clarity of New Jersey's former Secretary of Higher Education, and the voice of a mother who—in spite of best-laid plans—had to pause this very recording to redirect her daughter and close a door. Together, she and David break down the federal push to require all recipients of federal funding to certify they don't operate "illegal DEI" programs, unpacking what those words actually mean, what the courts have repeatedly said, and why the vagueness is entirely the point. They take on the narrative that public schools are failing, the difference between an executive order and the law of the land, and what Black families—and all families invested in democracy—should be asking, demanding, and refusing to be intimidated into silence about.

In spite of what's being torn down, Zakiya insists we are still living in the house. And she wants us to start dreaming about what we're going to build.

SHOW NOTES & RESOURCES

Organizations doing critical work right now:
NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) — ldf.org
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law — lawyerscommittee.org
Democracy Forward — democracyforward.org
LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) — lulac.org
EducationCounsel — educationcounsel.com (weekly plain-language updates on the latest policy and legal developments)
Follow Dr. Zakiya Smith Ellis:
Substack: zakiyaellis.substack.com
Instagram: @zakiyasmithellis

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What does it really cost to be yourself in America—and who gets to decide if you're "real" enough? In this class session, Dr. David J. Johns sits down with political strategist, presidential campaign trailblazer, and debut author Maya Rupert to dig into The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic—a book written not just for people who've lived the cost of inauthenticity, but for the people unconsciously sending the bill. From Lisa Turtle to Kamala Harris, Candace Owens to Jasmine Crockett, Maya and Dr. Johns examine the authenticity trap, the machinery of whiteness, and why political authenticity is really just gatekeeping in a blazer—and why it's time to storm the gates.

SHOW NOTES & RESOURCES

Guest: Maya Rupert — Political Strategist | Author | Host, When We Win Podcast (NAACP Image Award Nominee), @MayaRupert. The Book: The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic by Maya RupertAvailable wherever books are sold
Order online at bookshop.org (the independent-bookstore-supporting alternative)
Shoutout to Loyalty Bookstores — Black, Asian, and queer-owned — on 9th Street NW in Petworth, Washington, D.C.
Referenced in This Episode:Misogynoir — term coined by Moya Bailey; explored in the "Lisa Versus Jessie" chapter
Kamala Harris, Jasmine Crockett, Julián Castro, James Heller Rico, Candace Owens, Hasan Minhaj — all examined through the lens of the authenticity trap
The Black Tax — page 165, The Real Ones
Being "deputized in your own oppression" — page 86, The Real Ones
Follow the Show: @NBJCONtheMove across all platforms

📚 EmpowerED Book Club Giveaway: Look out for our giveaway featuring The Real Ones — details at @NBJCONtheMove

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When was the last time you gave yourself permission to just exist? Not shrink, not apologize, not mold yourself into what somebody else needs—but to simply take up space?

Dr. David Johns sits down with trailblazer Tess Holliday—one of the world's most recognized plus-size models, the first of her size to be signed to a major agency, and creator of the viral "Eff Your Beauty Standards" campaign. Today's conversation centers on her latest work: Take Up Space, Y'All: Your Bold and Bright Guide to Self-Love, co-written with Kelly Coon.

While marketed as a guide for teens navigating social media, body image, and toxic friendships, this book is essential reading for anyone who has ever felt they needed to make themselves smaller. Tess brings her full self—as a mom raising a 20-year-old and a 9-year-old, as someone who grew up in rural Mississippi without the resources she desperately needed, and as a woman who has spent over a decade breaking barriers in the modeling industry. From discussing mutual aid and community care to naming joy as resistance, this conversation reminds us that in a world telling you to shrink, taking up space is the most radical thing you can do.

SHOW NOTES & RESOURCES:

Purchase the Book:
Take Up Space, Y'All: Your Bold and Bright Guide to Self-Love by Tess Holliday and Kelly Coon
Available at independent bookstores nationwide
Find your local bookstore: bookshop.org
Learn More:
"Eff Your Beauty Standards" campaign: Search #EffYourBeautyStandards on social media platforms

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Dr. David J. Johns sits down with fellow TIME Magazine 2025 "Closer" Dr. Monique Couvson, President and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color. Dr. Couvson has moved over $26 million to more than 400 organizations by putting young people at the decision-making table. She challenges us to transform schools from places that demand endless resilience into locations for healing, and shares why bringing your whole self to inquiry—whether through research, documentary film, graphic novels, or storytelling—is essential to serving Black girls, Indigenous girls, trans girls of color, and gender-expansive youth.

Dr. Couvson offers a masterclass in participatory worldview, pulling young people in closer when they're struggling, and investing in our daughters with more than money. From the airport encounter that reminds her why she does this work to two critical assignments for parents and educators, this conversation is a call to action: harm festers in isolation, healing happens in community.

SHOW NOTES & RESOURCESConnect with Dr. Couvson:
Website: drmoniquecouvson.com
Grantmakers for Girls of Color: g4gc.org
1Billion4BlackGirls Campaign: 1billion4blackgirls.org
Social Media: @drmoniquecouvson (Instagram), @MoniqueCouvson (Twitter)
Books by Dr. Monique Couvson:
Girls, Unlimited: How to Invest in Our Daughters with More Than Money (The New Press, 2025) - NOW AVAILABLE
Charisma's Turn: A Graphic Novel (The New Press, 2023) - Named one of ALA's Best Graphic Novels for Teens
Cultivating Joyful Learning Spaces for Black Girls: Insights into Interrupting School Pushout (ASCD, 2022)
Sing A Rhythm, Dance A Blues: Liberatory Education for Black and Brown Girls (The New Press, 2019)
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (The New Press, 2016)
Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century (The New Press, 2014)
Too Beautiful for Words (MWM Books, 2012)
Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story with Kemba Smith (IBJ Book Publishing, 2011)
Films & Media:
Documentary: PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (NAACP Image Award-nominated, streaming on Amazon Prime)
Documentary Short: In Conversation: The Power of Imagination (featuring Dr. Nikki Giovanni)
TED Talk: "How to Stop the Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools" (2+ million views, translated into 20 languages) - Watch here
Countering PUSHOUT Learning Series for Educators
Additional Resources Mentioned:
National Black Women's Justice Institute: nbwji.org
Global Girl Media

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