Traditionally, Black-led nonprofits have only received 2 to 4 percent of total philanthropic funding nationally. That’s in part why Liz Thompson co-founded The 1954 Project, which seeks to radically redesign how philanthropy connects with Black leaders in education. Every year, her organization awards a cohort of Luminaries with one million dollars each to continue their innovative work in education. In this episode, host Aimée Eubanks Davis is in conversation with Liz Thompson about her organization’s impact on the community.

The United Nations has declared the teacher shortage a global crisis. Who will teach the next generation of students? How will we recruit and retain Black educators, especially when they are leaving the profession at even higher rates? This week’s guest, Kimberly Eckert, is on a mission to address these problems in the state of Louisiana. With initiatives like hers, there is a glimmer of hope for saving our schools and in a larger sense, saving society.

The culture of our schools needs to change. In this episode, we hear from Morgan Jackson and her son and daughter, Kaleb and Aaliyah, about their education in predominantly white schools. Morgan is a Las Vegas educator, and a Ph.D student. She explains how she instills self-confidence and social awareness in her students and her own kids.

As a teen, Jason Brooks left his hometown of Watts in South L.A. to attend an all-boys boarding school. While he was there, he encountered many racist incidents with no adult to guide him through those experiences. That ignited his passion for teaching because he wanted to be there for kids like himself. In this episode, Jason recalls his teen years and speaks with his mentor Troy Kemp about how they reach and teach Black boys.

Forty percent of Black female undergraduates attending college are parents. This week’s guest is author of “Pregnant Girl,” Nicole Lynn Lewis, who had a newborn when she first enrolled at the College of William & Mary in the ‘90s. There, Nicole found a friend in her financial aid counselor, Tammy Currie. We reunited them after 20 years to discuss how that financial aid support helped Nicole feed her family and what colleges can do to support this invisible population of students.

An estimated 38 thousand Black educators and administrators in public schools were fired in the South after the Brown v Board of Education decision in 1954. This episode highlights the rich past of Black education through the research of professor Michele Foster, best known for interviewing Black teachers who taught in the ‘50s. Michele is in conversation with one of her former PhD students, Tryphenia Peele Eady.