Épisodes

  • Building Radical Brotherhood- Rev. Mark Thompson on the Million Man March at 30

    Building Radical Brotherhood- Rev. Mark Thompson on the Million Man March at 30
    Oct 14 2025
    Today, sitting with us in the class of someone who's been in the thick of every significant social justice movement for the past 40 years, Reverend Mark Thompson.A political, civil rights and human rights activist who's organized everything from the 1993 DC Statehood civil disobedience campaign, where he spent 20 days in jail to the upcoming 30th anniversary of The Million Man March. He's also the host of Make It Plain, a brilliant podcast, breaking Down Politics and Human Rights, and he recently authored the lead paper on DC Statehood for the State of the People Black Paper Project.

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    54 min
  • Remember Who We Are with Karen Finney

    Remember Who We Are with Karen Finney
    Oct 7 2025
    Political strategist, journalist, and co-anchor of The Signal LIVE Karen Finney joins the class fresh from co-anchoring the launch of State of the People TV with Dr. David J. Johns. Karen reveals the origin story that drives her work—carrying incarcerated teenage girls who couldn't envision a future into every room of power—and why this moment required something different: a movement disguised as media, where the answers are within our community

    This conversation explores what it means to be impeccable with your word, why the fourth estate matters for democracy, and what makes this moment different. Karen breaks down journalism versus propaganda, shares lessons from crisis communications and surviving brain surgery, and offers a message: your voice matters, we need you—but take a breath first.The answers are within our community. Be impeccable with your word. Remember who we are.

    Watch The Signal LIVE every Thursday at 9pm ET/8pm CT at stateoftheppl.com/tv

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    49 min
  • Politics Determines Everything- A Zillennial's Guide to Activism

    Politics Determines Everything- A Zillennial's Guide to Activism
    Sep 30 2025
    Host, Dr. David J. Johns sits down with Jada Capri Ward—social justice advocate, performer, and co-host of the Relentless Love Podcast—to explore what activism looks and feels like for millennials and Gen Z. This is a conversation about being a "Zillennial" straddling two worlds, living with chronic illness while doing the work, and why our generation's digital organizing connects back to ancestral ways of resistance. Jada opens up about the fear, the fatigue, and why sometimes the most radical thing we can do is be still. Plus, she shares why leaders like Angela Rye, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, and Tamika Mallory are the "Angela Davis and Malcolm X" of this generation. Jada brings raw honesty about the gaps between policy and people's needs.

    @jadaacapri on Instagram

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    42 min
  • Truth, Power & The Black Press” with Gerren Gaynor

    Truth, Power & The Black Press” with Gerren Gaynor
    Sep 23 2025
    In this essential episode of Teach The Babies, Dr. David Johns sits down with theGrio's White House Correspondent and Managing Editor Gerren Keith Gaynor for a masterclass in journalism, media literacy, and democracy protection. From becoming the first Black-owned digital news correspondent in the White House briefing room to breaking down the critical difference between journalists and influencers, Gerren shares invaluable insights on navigating our current "infodemic." This conversation explores how disinformation campaigns target Black communities, the vital role of Black-owned media in countering false narratives, and practical media literacy skills every person needs in 2025. A must-listen for educators, advocates, and anyone committed to informed civic engagement.

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    43 min
  • Surviving the Educational Assault with Nancy Hanks

    Surviving the Educational Assault with Nancy Hanks
    Sep 16 2025
    In this powerful follow-up conversation, education equity consultant Nancy Hanks returns to discuss how educators, parents, and allies can navigate the dramatically shifted educational landscape under current federal policies.

    Nancy provides unflinching analysis of the psychosocial toll on educators of color while offering concrete strategies for micro-recovery and sustained resistance. She shares specific questions parents should ask schools to maintain equity pressure using plain language, challenges white educators to step up as agitators, and reminds us all why ancestral wisdom is essential for this moment.

    From practical advice about red flags in school environments to the profound metaphor of raising a "standard" that lists previous battles won, this episode balances raw honesty about current challenges with actionable hope for protecting and teaching our babies.

    Key topics include: grief and healing in educational spaces, parent advocacy strategies that transcend academic jargon, the role of privilege in educational resistance, and why remembering that "folks did more with less" is crucial for sustaining the work ahead.

    Essential listening for educators feeling under attack, parents navigating hostile school environments, and anyone committed to ensuring all children can access their beauty and brilliance despite the current assault on educational equity.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.
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    39 min
  • Arming Our Children: Creativity Over Control

    Arming Our Children: Creativity Over Control
    Sep 9 2025
    While politicians push federal funding to arm teachers, Chris Chatmon and Kingmakers of Oakland (KOO) are arming Black children with something far more powerful: creativity, culture, and community. In this deeply moving conversation, Chris returns to discuss how creative expression becomes resistance, why drumming circles counter deficit narratives, and how his organization builds what children need while others tear systems down. From table drums made to deepen intersectional connections to animation studios producing counter-narratives, this is education as liberation—and it's happening right now in Oakland.

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    42 min
  • Battle for the Black Mind with Dr. Karida Brown

    Battle for the Black Mind with Dr. Karida Brown
    Sep 2 2025
    Dr. Karida Brown drops receipts on the 150-year battle for Black educational freedom in America. From the original "diss track" between W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington to today's attacks on the Department of Education, she connects the dots between Jim Crow schools and modern-day educational warfare.

    Learn why your parents' generation had to desegregate schools as children, how billionaire philanthropists shaped Black education in boardrooms, and why "small acts fall big trees" when it comes to resistance. Dr. Brown's book "Battle for the Black Mind" isn't just history—it's a playbook for fighting educational inequity today.Warning: This episode contains discussion of historical violence, including the execution of 14-year-old George Stinney Jr.

    Books Referenced:
    • "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George Johnson
    • "Pretty, Powerful: Appearance, Substance and Success" by Ebony K. Williams
    Artist Featured:
    • Charlie Palmer: Fine artist whose painting of George Stinney Jr. appears on the book cover. Palmer's "Divided States of America" series critiques systemic injustice.
    Connect with Dr. Brown: LinkedIn for daily historical receipts and analysis

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    1 h et 13 min
  • Black August: Revolutionary Love and Resistance

    Black August: Revolutionary Love and Resistance
    Aug 26 2025
    Welcome back to class! In this powerful episode of Teach the Babies, Dr. David J. Johns teaches a transformative lesson about Black August—a month of revolutionary love, principled resistance, and the long arc of our freedom struggle.

    From the prison walls where George Jackson was politicized and assassinated in 1971, to the contemporary attacks on Black mayors like Muriel Bowser and Karen Bass in 2025, Dr. Johns connects the dots between historical resistance and today's freedom fights. This isn't just Black history - it's Black present.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.
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    21 min