What does leadership look like when your city is under federal occupation? When ICE agents are killing civilians in your streets? When thousands of your neighbors are being hunted, arrested, and deported—and you're the one people are looking to for answers?In this urgent conversation, Dr. David Johns sits down with Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley, the council's Minority Leader and the first Democratic Socialist to hold leadership on the council. Robin represents Ward 2, home to one of the largest Somali communities in the country, and she's been on the front lines of what's been called the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history: Operation Metro Surge.

Robin doesn't just talk about what happened in Minneapolis—she was there. She was at the scene when Renée Good was killed by federal agents. She's been organizing eviction moratoriums, securing rental assistance, calling for ICE to be abolished, and building communities of care in the middle of a crisis designed to break people.

Most importantly, Robin teaches us about revolutionary love—how Minneapolis chose to lean into care and compassion instead of bitterness when faced with state-sanctioned terror. She shows us what a politics of care looks like: starting with your neighbors, your workplace, your school, your faith community. Building the networks that sustain us when institutions fail us.

Class is in session. And this lesson is for everyone.

CONNECT WITH ROBIN WONSLEY:

• Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/Bluesky: @Robin4MPLS or @RobinForMPLS
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Robin4MPLS.com

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On January 7, 2026, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and poet, in Minneapolis. One week earlier, an off-duty ICE agent killed Keith Porter Jr., a Black father of two, on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles. No charges have been filed in either case.

Dr. Jason Johnson—professor, MSNBC contributor, and political analyst—argues that Democrats should make abolishing ICE central to their 2026 midterm campaigns. His case isn't just moral—it's political. Polling shows 46% of Americans support abolishing ICE, higher than support for abolishing the IRS. Yet Democratic leadership remains silent.

In this urgent conversation, Jason breaks down why ICE's absence from pop culture creates a unique political opportunity, how ICE spending is an economic justice issue, why this agency operates as a secret police force, and what it means for Democrats to actually be an opposition party. The question now: will Democrats have the courage to act?

RESOURCES & REFERENCES

Dr. Jason Johnson's Work:

• Article: "Democrats need to run against ICE in 2026" (MSNBC) - https://www.ms.now/opinion/abolish-ice-polls-democrats-midterms-2026 
• YouTube Channel: Dr. Jason Johnson (Three Things series)

Book: Political Consultants & Campaigns: One Day to Sell

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In this urgent conversation, immigration attorney Allen Orr—the first Black president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and founder of Orr Immigration Law Firm—breaks down what's really happening with ICE enforcement across the country.

We discuss:

• The truth behind "Operation Metro Surge" and mass raids
• Why 75,000 people with NO criminal record were arrested
• What happened to the 2 US citizens killed in Minneapolis
• Children are being detained and separated from their families
• The profit motive behind private detention centers
• Deaths in ICE custody (32 last year alone)
• Practical know-your-rights information everyone needs RIGHT NOW
• What to do if ICE shows up at your door, stops you on the street, or pulls you over
• Resources for undocumented folks, DACA/TPS holders, green card holders, and US citizens
• Why this affects ALL Black communities—not just immigrants
• The connection between immigration enforcement and voting rights
• What the "self-deportation" program really means
• The bigger picture: what's the actual endgame?

This is information your family needs. Your neighbors need. Your congregation needs.

Listen. Share. Protect each other.

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Dr. Chris Pernell joins the class for a conversation that is equal parts urgent and tender. As a public health physician, strategist, and NAACP Fellow, Dr. Pernell breaks down the Black maternal health crisis with unflinching clarity: racism kills. She unpacks how the medical industrial complex fails Black mothers, offers practical advocacy tools for birthing people and their loved ones, and navigates the dangerous terrain of vaccine misinformation in the current political climate.

But this conversation doesn't stop at systems—it goes to the soul. Dr. Pernell shares the lessons her parents taught her: a mother with "a PhD in love" who taught her how to protect her core, and a father who was "a fighter's fighter" who cultivated in her "a sense of self that racism can't touch." This is about survival, yes—but it's also about joy, freedom, and the ancestral wisdom that keeps us fighting.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why Black women are 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications—and what we can do about it
• The difference between misinformation and disinformation (and why it matters)
• Practical advocacy advice: "What else might this be?"
• How the current administration's attack on vaccines threatens public health for generations
• Guarding joy in the midst of systemic battles
• The legacy of love and resistance that fuels the fight for health equity

RESOURCES SHARED:

• American Academy of Pediatrics: https://www.aap.org
• Yale School of Public Health
• Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
• Commonwealth Fund
• The Political Determinants of Health by Daniel Dawes
• NAACP Center for Health Equity: https://naacp.org

FOLLOW DR. CHRIS PERNELL:

• Instagram: @thegooddoctormd
• LinkedIn: Dr. Chris T. Pernell
• NAACP.org

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Preston Mitchum returns fresh from a wedding that was equal parts celebration and declaration. He opens up about the revolutionary act of Black men loving Black men, what it means to center abundance and joy, and how chosen family showed up in full force.

As a policy advocate working at the intersections of race, sexuality, and gender, Preston also breaks down what's at stake in the 2026 midterms—voting rights, trans liberation, Title IX. He shares where he finds inspiration, how mutual aid sustains the work, and what it means to build a life with his partner that honors both togetherness and individual freedom.

This is a conversation about love as resistance, joy as defiance, and showing up for our people even when we don't have all the answers.

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

What does healthy love look like for Black people navigating a world that doesn't always welcome our relationships? In this powerful conversation, Prince Amari—the first certified Black gay matchmaker in the love industry—breaks down the four essential components of lasting love and why representation in relationships matters just as much as representation in media. From his journey as a dancer at Howard to becoming a matchmaker, dating coach, and hypnotherapist, Amari shares why community is essential to sustaining love and how queer folks can build relationships that affirm who we are.

Show Notes:

• Connect with Prince Amari: Instagram & YouTube @PrinceAmari
• Take the Dating Skill Quiz: DatingSkillQuiz.com
• Read: Lasting Love at Last: A Gay Guide to Attracting the Relationship of Your Dreams (International Bestseller)
• Upcoming: Love Alchemy: The Gay Guide to Transforming Love Blocks into Relationship Gold

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

This isn't just a podcast. This is us doing the work of protecting our babies—their minds, their futures, their right to learn truth and to live free.”The stakes are high. But so is our resolve. We're not done. We're just getting started.

This year, we're going to keep building. Keep learning. Keep pushing. Keep getting free.

#TeachTheBabies #TeachTheBabies Podcast. Listen. Like. Subscribe. Share

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"We Were Short on Cash, Not on Love: Liberation Psychology for the Holidays"Dr. Raquel Martin returns to the class to break down how families can resist capitalism's grip on the holiday season while building real community care. As a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in liberation psychology, Dr. Martin doesn't just help people cope—she helps them fight back.

In this conversation, she gets brutally honest about raising Black boys in the South, why "I prescribed activism as much as I prescribed coping skills," and the difference between protective versus proactive parenting. She shares how growing up "short on cash, not on love" taught her that traditions don't require money—they require energy and intention. And she explains why there's no such thing as individual wellness when we're all operating in oppressive systems.

Dr. Martin offers concrete strategies: how to talk to children about why the president is terrorizing communities, how to find your 15 minutes for joy even when exhausted, and why following the right people on social media is a survival tool. She also shares her favorite parenting resources and reminds us that apologizing to our children means changed behavior, not Roblox cards.

This isn't therapy. This is liberation psychology. This is how we build the communities that will sustain us through whatever comes next.

Show notes/resources: Books & AuthorsParenting Resources:

• "Raising Confident Black Kids" by M.J. Fievre
• "Raising Resilient Black Kids" by Dr. Erlanger Turner
• "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson

Digital Activists & Educators to Follow

• Dr. Lauren C. Mims- @drlaurenmims 
• Garrison Hayes- @garrisonh
• Blair Imani- @blairimani
• Mychal Threets- @mychal3ts
• Brittany Packnett Cunningham- @mspackyetti

Website: raquelmartinphd.com

Podcast: Mind Ya Mental Podcast

Social Media: @RaquelMartinPhDOrganizations & Communities Mentioned

• Malik and Mamas - Parenting group for community building
• Burn the Cape Community - Dr. Martin's online community for Black mental health
• Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts - Suggested for building community around shared interests

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

Real accountability isn't comfortable—but it's how we all get free. In this powerful third conversation of our Million Man March 30th Anniversary series, Dr. David J. Johns brings together three organizers whose work centers the intersections that harm Black communities the most: Kenya Hutton (CEO of the Center for Black Equity), Oluchi Omeoga (who leads  the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project), and Preston Mitchum (Black queer-loving lawyer, strategist, and advocate).

Together, they name what Black men owe Black women, trans folks, and each other—not through guilt, but through genuine repair. They expose how anti-blackness, misogyny, trans misogynoir, and homophobia work together to reinforce systems that harm us all. They challenge us to move beyond performance to practice: building actual structures of accountability that cross borders, cultures, and comfort zones. From the streets of DC to organizing spaces in South Africa, from the ballroom to the policy room, these three truth-tellers refuse to let us off easy.

This isn't about shame. It's about safety and solidarity. Protection rooted in love, not control. Refusing to give up on each other even when it's hard. And remembering that real accountability is a required act of love—because liberation requires all of us.

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

Chemistry teacher turned law student. Editor-in-Chief of the Howard Law Journal. Juliette Stanley is getting ready to get into some good, necessary trouble—and she's teaching the babies how to do it too.

In this powerful conversation, Dr. David J. Johns sits down with Juliette to explore the moment a flying ruler in her classroom changed everything. From teaching 10th graders chemistry in under-resourced Title I schools to leading one of the nation's most prestigious law journals, Juliette's journey is a masterclass in recognizing that sometimes the problem isn't in the building—it's in the law.

You'll hear about:

• Why she walked away from the chemistry classroom (and why she misses it)
• What it means to lead a publication explicitly dedicated to civil and human rights in this political moment
• How her student called her just to show her he was finally at peace (grab tissues for this one)
• The dangerous reality of how prior convictions silence Black voices in courtrooms
• Why grace—especially grace for yourself—is the most important tool for anyone fighting for justice

This isn't just a story about career development. It's about purpose, power, and what happens when you stop asking permission to disrupt systems that aren't serving the babies. From Alabama classrooms to Howard Law, Juliette Stanley is proof that good trouble comes in many forms—and sometimes it starts with asking: "Why don't we have enough chairs?"

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