As chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee of the Michigan PTA, and past PTA President at Norup International School, Jennifer Johnson is living out her purpose – to advocate for all children, and to take steps toward building true equity in education. Growing up in a family committed to Civil Rights and accompanying her mother to rallies from before she could walk, Jennifer feels purpose in her bones – and lives it out by speaking up and modeling for her children and her community.
On the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, Jennifer talks with host Lynne Golodner about how her post-Civil Rights childhood led her to a purpose-driven life. She’s spent a decade advocating for children and families, and recently earned a certificate in diversity and inclusion from Cornell University. The mom of a teenager and a 9-year-old, Jennifer leads by example, because, as she says, “The children are watching us.”
In this episode, Lynne and Jennifer discuss:
- How to truly understand the differences between Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity
- Race and privilege
- Interrupting bias
- Microaggressions
- The desires of schools to become more diverse and more inclusive
- Cancel culture
- The 50th anniversary of the merger between the National PTA and the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers
- The Detroit Civil Rights march featuring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- The 2020 election
- Decolonizing the curriculum
- The need for more male teachers and teachers representing all races and ethnicities
Links and Resources
- Michigan PTA
- What It Takes – John Hume and David Trimble
- Serial podcast, Nice White Parents
- Outlander
- Christian Cooper
- Rep. John Lewis
Coming up next on the Make Meaning Podcast: Lynne interviews Harry Sherwood of Consciously.org.
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