GOT TIME

Georgia, the last former Confederate state readmitted to the Union is now the state that elected the first Black woman governor in American history. Keisha Lance Bottoms made history on November 3, 2026, and history, as it turns out, has a long memory and a sharper sense of timing. Georgia now holds eight Black women in key statewide positions, including Governor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Attorney Gen...

Four presidents. Four libraries. This episode explores the LBJ Library, where the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act reshaped the law. The JFK Library, where leadership, public service, and the enduring relevance of American ideals converge. The Carter Library, where human rights became foreign policy, but domestic racial equity continues to be a complicated story. And finally, the Obama Presi...

When and how did Black hair become political in America? And what does that long history tell us about why we are still fighting this fight in 2026? Here is the answer. It was never about hair. American beauty standards labeled natural Black hair "unkempt" and "unprofessional," pressuring generations to straighten, conform, and shrink. That was not a trend. It was a system of r...

Dr. Vaneesa Enoch comes to the table for a provocative conversation that challenges conventional narratives about power, politics, and who gets to shape the future of American democracy. Long before they were elected to public office, Black women were organizing communities, building institutions, mentoring future leaders, and creating the political infrastructure that has sustained movements for...

September is International Underground Railroad Month. And if you're looking for the blueprint on civil disobedience converged with social justice, look no further than the UGRR itself, a movement the Black church led. In this candid conversation, Rev. Dr. Richard Hughes shares his poignant perspective on the social justice identity of the Black Church.  We ask the question too many congregat...

For generations, Black filmmakers have challenged the stories America reveals about itself, reclaiming narratives too often erased, distorted, or ignored. Every frame has the power to preserve memory, spark dialogue, and inspire movements that transcend the screen.    In this episode of GOT TIME with Christopher John, we talk with Donna Dabbs, founder and executive director of the Greater Clevelan...

What happens when the institution entrusted with the pursuit of truth becomes an instrument of suppression? What does ethical leadership look like when the policy is the problem? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Darryl B. Rice, the Richard T. Farmer Associate Professor of Management at Miami University and Associate Editor at the Journal of Managerial Psychology. An award-winning scholar whos...

Hollywood's new civil rights thriller invents a mafia hitman to share the spotlight with a Black FBI agent hunting the killers of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi. The real story needs no invention. This episode tells the true account of Vernon Dahmer, a Black farmer and NAACP leader who was firebombed and murdered by the Klan for offering to pay poll taxes so his neighbors could vote...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Michael A. Battle, Sr., chaplain, scholar, and former U.S. Ambassador to both the African Union and Tanzania, for a conversation that refuses to stay small. We talk about foreign policy that serves people instead of politics. We talk about standing in rooms with Nelson Mandela and Ethiopian leadership, and what it means to represent a country that hasn't...

What happens when history becomes a portal to the future? In this thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Sojourner Tru to explore Portals of Remembrance , a powerful solo exhibition that merges archival photographs with digital art to reimagine the Black experience across time. Drawing from lesser-known histories of agricultural labor and migration, Sojourner Tru transforms historical fragmen...

As America 250 continues, one question refuses to be drowned out by pageantry: What does this nation owe to the people it built itself upon? In this installment of America Two-Fiddie , we examine the realities of reparatory justice: what it is, what it demands, and why the discomfort it produces is itself a form of evidence. Reparatory justice is not simply a check in the mail. It is a reckoning e...

Some buildings are more than brick and mortar. They are testimonies of resistance. They are the physical evidence that we were here and that we built, gathered, worshipped, organized, and thrived. In this installment, we explore the preservation of Black places and spaces: what it means to protect them, what we lose when we don't, and who is doing the sacred, unglamorous work of making sure o...

What if the greatest challenge facing America isn't that we've fallen short of our ideals, but that we've convinced ourselves we've already achieved them? As the nation commemorates America 250, this installment turns to the enduring words of James Baldwin, whose piercing observation still echoes across generations: he had never seen the American idealism this country so often...

Ryan Clark's firing from ESPN isn't just a sports media story, it's a case study of the hidden curriculum, the unwritten rules Black professionals learn just to survive inside institutions never built for them. This installment unpacks Clark's own words on concession and double standards, connects them to 2026's widening Black unemployment gap, and traces a straight line f...

It's about time to account for every voice, especially the voices of the oppressed and disenfranchised who built the pathway to our present day. This episode digs into the origin story behind "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the song many Black schools opened their day with as early as 1910, two decades before "The Star-Spangled Banner" was even named the official national ant...

What happens when the fight for land, belonging, and community never truly ends, but simply changes its language? In this episode, Christopher John illuminates the remarkable story of Zipporah Potter Atkins, a Black woman who purchased a home in Boston in 1670, long before the founding of the United States. Her story challenges familiar narratives about Black history and reveals how Black people c...

This episode cuts through the fireworks and flag waving to ask a harder question: what have we actually learned from the American experiment? Tracing a line from the first single color sparks of 1777 to the modern reckoning over race, power, and historical memory, this conversation confronts the resurgence of White grievance politics and names it for what it is, while making the case that Black re...

Genealogy is more than names on a family tree! Genealogist, Tracey N. Miller comes to the table for a powerful conversation exploring the intersection of family history, archival research, and the enduring legacy of the Creek Freedmen. Drawing from years of genealogical experience, Tracey shares how genealogy serves as a form of historical recovery; preserving stories that official records often o...

As WE continue to celebrate Juneteenth and America approaches its 250th anniversary, the question isn't just what we're celebrating, it's who is celebrating. In this episode, your scholar and gentleman pulls back the curtain on the founding documents enshrined in American mythology, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance, and...

In this meaningful episode, we explore the depth and complexity of Black life through the lens of joy, resistance, and humanity. Centered on the exhibition Black Joy, in Spite of… , this candid conversation illuminates how moments of happiness, connection, and pride persist even in the shadow of historical and ongoing struggle. Joining us is Brigette Janea Jones, the visionary guest curator behind...

In this powerful episode, we explore the enduring legacies of African Americans in STEM, stories of brilliance, resilience, and innovation that have shaped the world we live in today. From groundbreaking discoveries to transformative technologies, these contributions have often gone unrecognized yet remain foundational to progress across generations. Joining the conversation is Dr. Whitney Gaskins...

In this episode, Dr. Eric R. Jackson comes to the table to explore the legacy and current realities of Black Studies. Dr. Jackson is a Professor of History, and Associate Dean, in the College of Arts and Sciences, at Northern Kentucky University, with almost thirty-five years of academic experience at the university level, Dr. Eric R. Jackson has taught numerous classes in the fields of American a...

Storytelling is one of humanity’s oldest and most powerful tools, and at the heart of this tradition stands the Griot. In this episode, we explore the enduring legacy of the griot as historian, truth-teller, and cultural guardian, whose voice has preserved the memory, values, and identity of generations. Rooted in countries like Mali and Senegal, the griot tradition embodies the art of weaving his...

A candid conversation on access, advocacy, and the unfinished work of democracy! At a TIME when questions surrounding access, participation, and trust in the democratic process continue to shape our national conversation, this episode of GOT TIME with Christopher John takes a thoughtful and poignant look at the realities of voting in America. From voter suppression to voter fatigue, this dialogue...