In this festival flashback from 2021, host Nadia Gilkes interviews educator and author Joel Plummer about his book Sumo Wrestlers and Supermodels and what two decades in the classroom taught him about the failures of a one-size-fits-all American school system for Black children.

They discuss Plummer’s journey into teaching, the historical context shaping Black students’ needs, practical steps for parents and teachers, and his call to build lasting change beyond individual classrooms.