Fighting Words with George M. Johnson

Sean Coleman joins George on the podcast to talk about how ballroom and incarceration shaped his life, why he wanted to change the non-profit sector and start Destination Tomorrow, and opening the first city-funded shelter for transgender homeless people. 

George is joined by Bishop Joseph William Tolton, who discusses the history of white Christian Nationalism in America, how this anti-democratic and anti-Black movement has spread around the world, and how to fight against it.

George is joined by storyteller and community organizer Charlene A. Carruthers. Charlene talks about how growing up in Chicago shaped her organizing, about occupying the Chicago police headquarters in 2020, doing her work through a Black queer feminist lens, and why telling stories is central to being an activist.  

George is joined by actor Greg Mathis Jr., who shares what it was like to work in DC for 10 years, trying to pass the Affordable Care Act, before switching careers to entertainment. Greg tells George about his latest role in the movie "Fighting to Be Me," which tells the story of transgender gang leader Dwen Curry. 

George is joined by Dana A. Williams, Dean of the Graduate School at Howard University and author of a new book "Toni at Random," about Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison's overlooked career as the first Black woman editor at Penguin Random House. Dana tells George about Toni's vision for editing and publishing Black authors, and how African-American literature helps make sense of the American experience as a whole.