What does it cost to teach with integrity in a system that demands your silence? In this powerful episode of The Exit Interview, Dr. Asia Lyons sits down with Akil Parkera former finance major turned math educator, tutor, and founder of All This Mathto explore his 20-year journey through classrooms, charter schools, and community spaces. Akil shares honest reflections on being pushed out of schools for challenging harmful norms, the emotional toll of being separated from students he deeply cared about, and the moment he realized he was no longer working for the systembut for the kids.

From surviving toxic school cultures to creating culturally rooted math content for families, Akils story is both a warning and a call to action. Whether you're a Black educator facing similar challenges or someone interested in true retention, this episode is a raw reminder: real education centers the child, not the institution.

This episode is a masterclass in reclaiming purpose, honoring your calling, and choosing wholeness over hustle. If youve ever been called too much for simply doing whats rightthis one is for you.

In this episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, Dr. Asia Lyons sits down with transformational leader Dr. Mary Hemphill for a powerful conversation about the cost of caring deeply inside systems that werent built for us. From returning to teach in her childhood classroom to leading statewide academic reform, Dr. Hemphill shares how purpose, pressure, and policy collided in her journeyand how her exit became a path to liberation.

Together, they explore:

• The tension between being vigilant and being labeled a vigilante

• Why transformational Black educators are often placed in the most broken schools

• How systemic neglect and adult complicity show up in schools (especially for Black boys)

• The challenge of leading with vision when the system prefers silence

• What wellness actually looks like for Black women leaders in education

This episode challenges us to reflect: What traits define us? Who are we outside of productivity?

In this deeply affirming conversation, Dr. Asia Lyons sits down with Amanda Miller Littlejohnexecutive coach, journalist, and author of The Rest Revolutionto unpack burnout, identity, and the systems that pressure Black educators to overperform at the expense of their wellness. Together, they explore how the culture of overachievement, often masked as Black excellence, can be a trauma response, and why rest is personal and political.

Amanda shares her story of hitting a wall during the pandemic, discovering that when her creativity disappeared, it was her bodys cry for help. With heartfelt wisdom, Amanda urges educators to reconnect with what brings them joy, pursue radical self-knowledge, and lean into community care as a form of wealth and resilience.

Whether you're an educator on the brink or an ally seeking to support Black professionals, this episode is a powerful reminder: we dont have to earn our restwe were always worthy of it.