Dr. David J. Johns, CEO and executive director of the National Black Justice Collective, spent two years as editor in chief of the Black Papers Project, working with more than 100 contributors to publish “The Black Papers: A Policy Agenda for Black Liberation in the 21st Century.”
The book, which is being published by Routledge on Nov. 13, is a collection of 26 policy briefs providing a roadmap for systemic change in areas ranging from health equity, housing, education and criminal justice reform to environmental justice and reparations.
Each chapter highlights people doing the work within communities, and also turns complex policy analysis by experts and scholars into clear, actionable steps that can be taken at the federal, state and local levels. Differing perspectives are juxtaposed throughout. For example, the community policing section pairs essays arguing for police reform with those arguing for abolition of police.
The project grew out of a 13-city grassroots tour featuring community convenings and previews of the papers. The NBJC’s research found that Black people nationwide want change and reform to the same policies, to the same degree, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, with the top priority being healthcare followed by affordability. Johns used that data to set priorities, highlight voter power, counter apathy narratives and misinformation and create coalitions of like-minded people and organizations.
Johns sees the book as more than simply a response to Project 2025, the right-wing policy agenda pushed by the Trump administration. He views it as affirmation — a charge to engage civically year-round and a practical tool to effect change.
The book “breaks down complex policies and political dynamics in ways that speak to our lived experiences,” Johns said.
This interview with Dr. David J. Johns has been edited for length and clarity.
Word In Black: What made you pursue this project? What was the gap you saw that needed to be filled?
Dr. David J. Johns: I was approached to take on this assignment by Angela Rye [an attorney and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus] and [political commentator] Joy Ann Reid, who were anchoring what has become the State of the People movement. It was our effort to push against the misinformation and disinformation that make it challenging for folks to make informed decisions.
That energy resulted in a 13-city tour, starting in Atlanta and ending with a national convening in Baltimore. Everywhere we went, we showed up to provide mutual aid to organizers doing this work, often without a spotlight, a microphone or an investment. Then we convened people to encourage them to stay the course, reminding them that you’re not crazy. Systems are working as designed.
We worked with Terrance Woodbury [of HIT Strategies] to test whether there was a difference between the policy priorities of Black people who are cisgender and heterosexual and those of us who are LGBTQIA+ or same gender loving. One of the key findings is that there’s no difference. Black people want the same policies, addressed in the same order, so we rolled out the papers in that order.
WIB: What did you learn while pulling this research together?
Johns: What I’m thankful for is AI — not artificial intelligence, but ancestral intelligence. Relying on community for sharpening and for contributions allowed me to be successful on the Hill and in the White House, and to complete and defend my dissertation. I employed those same strategies here.
WIB: What do you want to see this book accomplish?
Johns: I’m the grandson of a Black Baptist preacher, so I think in threes. When traditional media talks about us [Black people] as apathetic or manufactures a war over gender, my hope is that this is an affirming reminder that you are not crazy. As Bryan Stevenson [of the Equal Justice Initiative] says, systems work exactly as designed.
So, the affirmation is important. The second is the charge. It’s a reminder of what [writer-philosopher] bell hooks teaches, which is that too often we don’t teach each generation that democracy has to be defended. Every day we have opportunities to engage civically, to hold elected leaders accountable and to remind them that their job is to work on behalf of the people.
The third is that people will use it. The No. 1 policy priority for all of us is healthcare. The second is the cost of everything. I hope people will consider this another source of support. In our health equity chapter, “Five Years Lost,” we show that so many of the challenges Black people experience are no fault of our own. They’re about the policy decisions people are making. There’s a chapter led by the Honorable Marcia Fudge [former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development] that talks about housing as a right. And I want people to understand there’s a direct line between the maps used to redline houses and the maps now used to place data centers.
In every chapter, we highlight folks who are doing the work. If you don’t have a political home where you are growing, my hope is that, in the pages of this book, you will find one.
WIB: Is it safe to say this book underscores that everything old is new again because we’ve seen these issues before?
Johns: Absolutely. This is where the ancestral intelligence comes in because folks who are not as sophisticated would simply read this as a response to Project 2025. Someone asked, “Where was this during the Obama era?” My response is that there was the Urban League’s State of Black America report; the Joint Center [for Political and Economic Studies] is always publishing; and this is an extension of the Niagara Movement and the Gary Political Convention. We are the descendants of people who have been told to write the vision down and make it plain, and we’ve always done that. This is a legacy of the CBC, the conscience of the Congress. So yes, this is our response to Project 2025, but it’s so much more. It is a continuation of a legacy that has always been unapologetically Black and focused on all of us getting free.
WIB: If someone is short on time or bandwidth, or just feeling overwhelmed, what’s the first thing you want them to read?
Johns: We want everybody to pick a chapter. An easy way to back into it is the user guide. Flip through it. Look at the titles and the images. Think about what’s ailing you, what frustrates you, what pissed you off that day. I promise you there’s a throughline.
We designed the guide to start with why this is about you. Chapter eight is higher learning. You wonder if the college degree is worth the cost. You looked around a lecture hall and counted how many people looked like you on one hand. If any of those resonate, this might be the chapter for you. Then there are three things to know: Black Americans’ median lifetime earnings rise from $1.36 million with a high school diploma to $2.7 million with a postsecondary degree.
Just pick a chapter and go deep with it. Then go into another chapter. And before you know it, you will have completed all 26.
