Black Girls Deserve More Than Resilience with Dr. Monique Couvson

Dr. David J. Johns sits down with fellow TIME Magazine 2025 "Closer" Dr. Monique Couvson, President and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color. Dr. Couvson has moved over $26 million to more than 400 organizations by putting young people at the decision-making table. She challenges us to transform schools from places that demand endless resilience into locations for healing, and shares why bringing your whole self to inquiry—whether through research, documentary film, graphic novels, or storytelling—is essential to serving Black girls, Indigenous girls, trans girls of color, and gender-expansive youth.

Dr. Couvson offers a masterclass in participatory worldview, pulling young people in closer when they're struggling, and investing in our daughters with more than money. From the airport encounter that reminds her why she does this work to two critical assignments for parents and educators, this conversation is a call to action: harm festers in isolation, healing happens in community.

SHOW NOTES & RESOURCESConnect with Dr. Couvson:

• Website: drmoniquecouvson.com
• Grantmakers for Girls of Color: g4gc.org
• 1Billion4BlackGirls Campaign: 1billion4blackgirls.org
• Social Media: @drmoniquecouvson (Instagram), @MoniqueCouvson (Twitter)

Books by Dr. Monique Couvson:

• Girls, Unlimited: How to Invest in Our Daughters with More Than Money (The New Press, 2025) - NOW AVAILABLE
• Charisma's Turn: A Graphic Novel (The New Press, 2023) - Named one of ALA's Best Graphic Novels for Teens
• Cultivating Joyful Learning Spaces for Black Girls: Insights into Interrupting School Pushout (ASCD, 2022)
• Sing A Rhythm, Dance A Blues: Liberatory Education for Black and Brown Girls (The New Press, 2019)
• Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (The New Press, 2016)
• Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century (The New Press, 2014)
• Too Beautiful for Words (MWM Books, 2012)
• Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story with Kemba Smith (IBJ Book Publishing, 2011)

Films & Media:

• Documentary: PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (NAACP Image Award-nominated, streaming on Amazon Prime)
• Documentary Short: In Conversation: The Power of Imagination (featuring Dr. Nikki Giovanni)
• TED Talk: "How to Stop the Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools" (2+ million views, translated into 20 languages) - Watch here
• Countering PUSHOUT Learning Series for Educators

Additional Resources Mentioned:

• National Black Women's Justice Institute: nbwji.org
• Global Girl Media

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