parenting through the apocalypse

In the Season 2 finale of Apocalyptic Education, Kenjus and Tiffani chop it up with Wendy and Larry White, Simple Ant, and Cassandra Edwards to explore what it means to parent Black children at the end of the world. Framed as a return, both to family and to the original question that closed Season 1, this episode asks: Schools…take them or leave them? This time, instead of young people, it is the parents who respond.

What unfolds is a layered reflection on the afterlife of school, the grief of realizing harm done under the guise of love and survival, and the ongoing struggle to build something different. Each guest reflects honestly on their parenting journeys, through schooling, unschooling, community care, and a genuine reorientation to potential futures. They share what they wished they’d known, what they’re still learning, and how love has shaped their decisions along the way.

Wendy and Larry speak to the courage it takes to do things differently, and the quiet revolution that begins inside the home. Ant shares how walking away, literally and spiritually, from dominant institutions has been part of his family’s praxis. Cassandra reflects on the pain inherent in the truth that school was never built for our children to do well, and on the gift of returning to wisdom that predates these systems.

Together, this council of caregivers invites us to sit with the possibility of being together without control, without coercion, and without fear. There is humor, tenderness, contradiction, and clarity. And there is the sense that while none of us knows exactly what comes next, we are not alone in figuring it out.

In this episode, we also honor and acknowledge our ancestor, Grandma Betty McGee. Thank you for your life and your love. Thank you for continuing to guide us.

Stay connected: www.apocalypticeducation.org

Hosts: Tiffani Marie & Kenjus Watson
Guests: Canada Taylor Parker & Cassandra Edwards
Music By: Redtone Records
Production By: Jesse Strauss, Paxtone Records
Sponsored By: The Institute for Regenerative Futures

Note: All episodes this season explore themes of death, transition, and capture, with an emphasis on spiritual and ancestral grounding.

Black and BIPOC Care Resources and Contacts

Call BlackLine
Call 1 [phone]
*This resource is divested from the police
BlackLine provides a space for peer support, counseling, witnessing and affirming then lived experiences to folxs who are most impacted by systematic oppression with an LGBTQ+ Black femme lens.

Lines for Life Racial Equity Support Line

Call (503)-575-3764
Available Monday through Friday from 10AM-7PM PST.
This line is led by people with lived experience of racism and offers support for those who are experiencing the emotional impacts of racist violence and microaggressions.

BEAM-Black Emotional and Mental Wellness Collective

https://beam.community/wellness-tools/
The BEAM toolkit has outstanding resources to support your emotional wellness journey. Explore the BEAM website for grief resources and a local directory of Black wellness practitioners.