Teach the Babies w/ Dr. David J. Johns

Dr. David J. Johns & Thomas Cunningham IV

On Teach the Babies with Dr. David J. Johns, we’re examining the intersection of education, access, race, and how government impacts the teaching of our babies.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.

  1. 1d ago

    Refusing the Shame — with Dr. Terrell Winder

    I'm from Los Angeles. So when I picked up Dr. Terrell Winder's Shameless: The Making of Black Gay Identities in LA, it read like a love letter to a home I'm watching change—and a map of how young Black gay men build family, selfhood, and joy inside all that change anyway. This week, Dr. Winder—sociologist and urban ethnographer at UC Santa Barbara—pulls up to the classroom to teach us unspoiling: his framework for refusing shame and rejecting the burden of stigma outright, no matter what it costs. We get into the affirming spaces that keep our babies alive and why they're under attack right now; why intersectionality can't keep being told to wait its turn; and what Noah's Arc's first-ever Emmy nomination means in a season when Black and Black gay stories are being pulled off shelves. Because when you take these spaces away, Dr. Winder is clear about what we lose: lives. Go get the book, sit with it, and then go build a room where somebody can put their burden down. About the guest Dr. Terrell J. A. Winder is Associate Professor of Sociology at UC Santa Barbara. A Baltimore native, he earned his B.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies from Columbia and his Ph.D. in Sociology from UCLA (2017). His research spans race and ethnicity, sexuality and sexual health, qualitative methods, and education. Key ideas & theory Unspoiling — Dr. Winder's framework: a stigma response that centers the stigmatized person rather than the comfort of the stigmatizer; refusing shame instead of managing it.Spoiled identity / stigma — Erving Goffman's foundational concept, and the classic responses of passing and covering that Dr. Winder argues break down for people carrying more than one stigma at once.Intersectional stigma & "intersectional recovery" — holding race, sexuality, and gender together rather than deferring one for later; recovering the full selves of figures history flattened."Visibility is survival" — his argument that ethnography documents threatened histories and everyday Black LGBTQ life.People mentioned Erving Goffman — sociologist, Stigma and the "spoiled identity."Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter — sociologist and chair of African American Studies at UCLA; credited with first posting the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter (August 2012); the BLM movement/network was later co-founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. Co-author with Dr. Winder of "Space, Place, and Urban Future."Bayard Rustin — Black gay civil rights strategist, chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.George Washington Carver — scientist cited as an example of a flattened, partially-told legacy.Patrik-Ian Polk — creator of Noah's Arc.Organizations & spaces Better Brothers Los Angeles / The Truth Awards. Native Son.Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen (Issa Rae's LA spot) and Bricks & Scones (Larchmont). Media & culture Noah's ARC — Patrik-Ian Polk's groundbreaking series, the first scripted show centering Black gay men; Noah's ARC: The Movie (the 20th-anniversary reunion) earned a 2026 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Choreography, the franchise's first-ever Television Academy recognition.Pose, Insecure — referenced in conversation and This or That.My Best Friend Rodney — Rodney Chester's interview podcast.Anita Baker & Luther Vandross — the This or That showdown.Further reading — Dr. Winder's scholarship Shameless: The Making of Black Gay Identities in LA (NYU Press, 2026)."Unspoiling Identity: An Intersectional Expansion of Stigma Response Strategies" (Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 2023)."Visibility Is Survival: The Chocolate Maps of Black Gay Life in Urban Ethnography."Marcus Anthony Hunter & Terrell J. A. Winder, "Space, Place, and Urban Future," in Research Handbook on Intersectionality (ed. Mary Romero, Edward Elgar, 2023)."The Discursive Work of 'Bottom-Shaming'" — 2024 SSSP Outstanding Article co-winner.Connect with Dr. Winder Social: @BmoreTerrell · Web: terrellwinder.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.

  2. Aug 11

    TTB Rewind: Kimberlé Crenshaw: Born a Backtalker

    In case you missed it... In this rewind episode, I'm in conversation with the brilliant Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw—legal scholar, civil rights advocate, chief architect of Critical Race Theory.  From her parents' kitchen table discussions that shaped her critical consciousness, to her groundbreaking work challenging legal institutions, to founding the African American Policy Forum, Professor Crenshaw has spent decades translating academic theory into tools for resistance.  In this powerful conversation, we explore what it means to be "a born back talker," why pivoting away from our truth won't save us, and how we can resist critically—and in community—during these challenging times. Enjoy! Resources Backtalker: An Amercian Memoir  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.

  3. Aug 4

    TTB Rewind: The Klan Never Left. They Just Changed Their Clothes

    In this Rewind episode, listen as Dr. David J. Johns discusses voting and our rights under attack. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is gone. Not weakened. Not under threat. Gone. The legal architecture that turned 7% Black voter registration in Mississippi into 60%—dismantled, decision by decision, by a Supreme Court that was never neutral and was never on our side. But that's not even the whole story. Because while the courts were killing the VRA, the Justice Department was being turned into a weapon. FBI agents raided a Black state senator's office mid-day—Fox News already on the scene—while allies under federal investigation had their evidence destroyed. Ballots from Fulton County are in federal custody. Arizona. Michigan. They are building the architecture of election interference before the midterms. In public. And most people don't even know it's happening. This episode is about all of it. The Proud Boys as a militia. The Roberts Court as an antidemocratic enforcement mechanism. The Southern Strategy, sixty years old and running on steroids. And the organizing tradition—Ella Baker, Bayard Rustin, Hungary's opposition movement—that proves rigged maps can be beaten and stolen futures can be reclaimed. This is the class I didn't want to have to teach. But you need it. Pull up. SHOW NOTES The death of the Voting Rights Act—Shelby County v. Holder (2013), Brnovich v. DNC (2021), and the April 29, 2026 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which Justice Elena Kagan called "all but a dead letter."The pardon of 1,500+ January 6th participants and the DOJ's move to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders.The FBI raid on Fulton County's election center, the subpoenas targeting Arizona and Michigan 2024 ballots, and what it means for the midterms.The mid-day FBI raid on Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas's office, with Fox News cameras already rolling—and not one charge filed.The two-tier justice system in plain sight: evidence destroyed for allies, prosecutions launched against opponents.Elie Mystal's proposal to add 20 justices to structurally change the Supreme Court's incentive for extremism.How Hungary's opposition built 208 local chapters and 50,000 poll watchers—and won a supermajority against a gerrymandered map.The Afrofuturist tradition of Ella Baker and Bayard Rustin as the organizing inheritance we carry forward.Black Power War Room — blackpowerwarroom.com National Black Justice Coalition — nbjc.org NBJC Equity Week — nbjc.org Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.

  4. Jul 28

    The World Is Being Destroyed by Some Little Boys with Phil Agnew

    What does it mean to tell a Black boy “I love you”—period? Not “love, bro.” Not “love you, big dog.” Just: I love you. That question sits at the heart of this conversation between Dr. David J. Johns and Phil Agnew, Dream Defenders co-founder, community organizer, and co-author of P.S. Eye Value You, a children’s book created with Brandon Vega and artist Damon Davis through their imprint Black House Publishing. Phil talks about what it took to write a book he desperately needed as a child—and still needs now. He shares the full story of Roots Bookstore & Market in Liberty City, born from grief, spirit, and a stranger’s unexpected email. He names exactly what’s happening when patriarchy repackages itself for the algorithm and spends billions to recruit brothers away from their own freedom. And he offers what he calls “models for new ways of being”—not because it’s politically correct, but because the old ways never made anyone happy. Phil’s peace right now? Real, hard-fought, and honest. His message to the tired brother? The transition will be clunky, but it’s so great over here. Class is in session. Pull up. SHOW NOTES Resources & References P.S. Eye Value You A children’s book by Phil Agnew, Brandon Vega, and Damon Davis, published through their imprint Black House Publishing. Told through poetry and illustration, it is a love letter to Black boys learning themselves in a world that doesn’t always see them clearly. pseyevalueyou.comRoots Bookstore & Market A Black-owned bookstore at 6610 NW 15th Avenue in Liberty City, Miami, Florida. Seeded in part from the personal library of Barney Agnew—Phil and Danny’s father, known on Chicago’s South Side as “Barney the Bookman” (a former Jeopardy contestant). Open Tuesday–Saturday. rootsbookstore.comBlack Men Build A national organization co-founded by Phil Agnew in 2020 that brings Black men into the movement for racial, social, and gender justice through political education, mutual aid, mass meetings, and men’s circles. Publishes WARTIME, a digital and print magazine. Chapters throughout the country. blackmen.buildDream Defenders A Florida-based human rights organization co-founded by Phil Agnew in 2012, dedicated to ending policing and abolishing prisons through multi-racial organizing. Rose to national prominence following the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. dreamdefenders.org Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.

  5. Jul 21

    Reaping Rewards: Black Women and Democracy with Dr. Christina Greer

    In case you missed it, this episode is a re-release of an amazing conversation with Dr. Christina Grant. Andre 3000 told us the South has something to say, and Dr. Christina Greer wants us to heed the lessons that Black women political leaders from the South are teaching us. Dr. Greer stops by the class to talk about her latest publication, “How to Build a Democracy. From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams,” and what it means to grow beyond fear, to build upon foundations established by our ancestors, being prepared to thrive at Historically White Colleges and Universities, the importance of political tithing and not waiting for America to grow up fully–she may never.   How to Build a Democracy. From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/how-to-build-a-democracy/F34AB82F40A6FFD835D39C8AF46DA530  Instagram: @dr_cmgreer Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.

  6. Jul 7

    Show Up for Our Kids with Dr. Bianca Baldridge

    Dr. Bianca Baldridge is back in the class—and this time she brought her new book. Associate Professor of Education at Harvard University and former youth worker for over two decades, Dr. Baldridge has spent her career shining light on the spaces where Black children are seen, held, and loved outside of school walls. Her new book, Laboring in the Shadows: Precarity and Promise in Black Youth Work (Stanford University Press, 2026), is one of the most necessary things I have read in years. I don't do courtesy. I do testimony. There are an estimated 2.53 million youth workers in this country. Young people spend only 18% of their waking hours in school. And yet we have no national youth policy. No floor. No framework. No "do good and be paid well." This conversation changes that. Pull up. Books Laboring in the Shadows: Precarity and Promise in Black Youth Work — Stanford University Press (February 2026) Publisher page & order: sup.org/books/sociology/laboring-shadows Reclaiming Community: Race and the Uncertain Future of Youth Work — Stanford University Press (2019)2019 American Educational Studies Association Critics' Choice Book AwardPrevious Episode And We Still Keep Fighting — Teach the Babies w/ Dr. David J. Johns (July 2, 2024) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.

  7. Jun 30

    We Want the Whole Menu with Dreisen Heath

    Dreisen Heath doesn't do sequencing. She doesn't want the appetizer. She doesn't want to wait for the main course. She wants the whole menu—reparations legislation, economic justice, striking the punishment clause from the 13th Amendment, restored benefits for Black veterans, and protected Black history and cultural institutions. All of it. All at once. In this episode, Dr. David Johns sits down with Dreisen Heath—reparations researcher, movement strategist, and founder and executive director of the Why We Can't Wait Reparations Network—in the wake of Equity Week in Washington, D.C. Together, they unpack what it meant to convene the Congressional Black Caucus, stand on the House Triangle alongside Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Summer Lee, Rep. Al Green, and dozens of partner organizations, and then walk through the reparative justice display at the Library of Congress—all ahead of Juneteenth and America's 250th anniversary. Dr. Heath breaks down what the infrastructure of repair actually means in practice—and exactly how the current administration is gutting it. She connects the dismantling of DEI offices and the DOJ Civil Rights Division to the accumulation of unpaid debt to Black Americans, and makes the case for why this moment demands more urgency, not less. This is Freedom Summer. The babies are watching. The question is whether we'll show up. Legislation ReferencedH.R.40 — Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, currently led by Rep. Ayanna PressleyS.40 — Senate companion bill, currently carried by Sen. Cory BookerThe HEAR Act (H.R.40's Senate counterpart in earlier sessions)13th Amendment punishment clause — legislation to strike the exception allowing forced labor as criminal punishmentEmmett Till Anti-Lynching Act (passed 2022; first introduced 1900) Organizations and CoalitionsWhy We Can't Wait Reparations Network — whywecantwaitreparations.org NBJC — National Black Justice Collective — nbjc.org United By Equity — unitedbyequity.orgN'COBRA — National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in AmericaBlack Veterans ProjectBlack Voters Matter FundChildren's Defense FundNational Action Network People ReferencedRep. Ayanna Pressley — lead sponsor, H.R.40Sen. Cory Booker — lead sponsor, S.40Rep. Summer Lee — co-sponsor; carrying forward legislation co-authored with then-Rep. Cori BushRep. Al Green — reparations advocateRep. Barbara Lee (now Mayor, Oakland) — longtime H.R.40 championRep. Cori Bush — co-author of 2023 federal reparations legislation with Dreisen HeathRep. Jamaal Bowman — reparations advocateRep. John Conyers (now deceased) — original H.R.40 champion; first introduced 1989Tiffany Crutcher — Tulsa racial justice leader; Legacy Festival collaboratorDr. Marcus Anthony Hunter — author, Radical Reparations; referenced in closing EventsEquity Week 2026, Washington D.C. — Congressional meeting (Tuesday), House Triangle press conference (Thursday), reparative justice display at the Library of Congress, Equity BallLegacy Festival, Tulsa — organized in memory of the Tulsa Race MassacreFreedom Summer 2026 — the organizing frame for this episode and seasonAmerica 250 — the U.S. 250th anniversary, named as a 'fake celebration' framing the urgency of this moment Historical ContextTulsa Race Massacre (1921) — destruction of Black Wall Street; Tulsa litigation referenced as a modelRosewood Massacre — looted homes before burningH.R.40 first introduced: 1989 (36+ year delay as of this episode)First-ever committee vote on H.R.40: 2021Treasury Judgment Fund — permanent taxpayer fund; discussed as a future vehicle for reparative repairHolocaust victims reparations — U.S. government assistance for U.S.-based Holocaust survivors to reclaim looted art and artifacts; cited as evidence the federal government already has infrastructure for repair Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.

  8. Jun 23

    Freedom Summer 2026 with Brittany Packnett Cunningham

    Freedom Summer didn't end in 1964 — it lives in every classroom, every protest, every young person who picks up a book and sees themselves as their own liberator. In this conversation, Dr. David J. Johns sits down with his sister and colleague Dr. Brittany Packnett Cunningham — strategist, educator, Webby Award-winning host of UNDISTRACTED, and Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of the Children's Defense Fund — to trace the direct line from Mississippi 1964 to the urgent work of this summer. They go deep on who actually carried Freedom Summer — young people and everyday Black Mississippians who risked everything for the audacity of a vote — and how Marian Wright, present on those same voter registration lines, took what she saw and built what would become CDF Freedom Schools, now serving upwards of 12,000 students every summer. Dr. Brittany explains why Freedom Schools are as much an intervention for the whole family as they are for the child — and why, in a moment when Roots has been banned in the same county where Alex Haley bought the farm that bears its legacy, we cannot afford to lose the recipes. The conversation moves into UNDISTRACTED — the Meteor Network flagship that Dr. David is proud to be part of as a correspondent this season — and what it means to build a platform where the questions are better and the community is ready to wrestle with them. And it closes with the ecosystem that connects it all: State of the People, Signal LIVE, All Roads Lead South, and Freedom Summer 2026 — a season-long drumbeat of mobilization, education, and local organizing rooted in the same soil as 1964. This is not a closed chapter. This is a living model. Class is in session. Show Notes:CDF Freedom Schools Find a Freedom School near you, apply to become a Servant Leader Intern, or explore leadership pathways for students, parents, caregivers, and faith leaders: childrensdefense.orgFreedom Summer 2026 Host a satellite rally, join Juneteenth Week of Action events, and plug into mobilization happening across the country all summer long: freedomsummer2026.comUNDISTRACTED / The Meteor Webby Award-winning podcast hosted by Dr. Brittany Packnett Cunningham, flagship of the Meteor Network. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts and at wearethemeteor.comState of the People / Signal LIVE Black-owned, Black-led media ecosystem founded by Angela Rye. Watch Signal LIVE, explore The Black Papers, and tap into the community: stateofthepeople.tvJuneteenth Week of Action events: June 18 (Georgia State Capitol/Liberty Plaza), June 20 (125th Street, Harlem), June 22 (mass virtual meeting with Freedom Trainers/Ashley Woodard Henderson) — UNDISTRACTED Live: June 22, Washington DC 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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On Teach the Babies with Dr. David J. Johns, we’re examining the intersection of education, access, race, and how government impacts the teaching of our babies.  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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