Interview with Dr. Joe-Joe McManus

Dr. Joe-Joe McManus, author of "A Brother’s Insight: Guidance on Defeating Racism and Advancing Freedom"

Dr. Joe-Joe McManus's Website

Dr. Joe-Joe McManus is an author and executive advisor on antiracism and inclusive excellence. He consults, writes, and speaks widely on topics at the intersections of antiracism, diversity and inclusion, and leadership development. His new book, A Brother’s Insight, offers guidance on living an impactful antiracist life.

Over the past three decades, Dr. Joe-Joe’s work has been largely behind the scenes, focused on developing programs and policy, and advising leaders on promoting systemic change toward inclusive excellence. McManus has held faculty, staff, and executive roles in higher education, including Chief Diversity Officer. He has served at an HBCU, an international university, an Ivy League institution, and at the university system level. He has also lectured, served on panels, presented, and consulted across the U.S. and internationally for more than three decades.

McManus serves on multiple boards including the National Advisory Council for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), the Board of Directors of Diversity 2000 (D2K), and the Advisory Team for the RaceConvo Podcast. Previously, he served as an Expert for the Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks (GDIB), the Board of Advisors for the Floyd Rights Campaign, and on the Board for the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME).

McManus’ academic and professional path began with what he learned growing up in a racially diverse, multicultural, and interreligious family in a small white-flight town south of Boston, Massachusetts. His early experience with racism, anti-Semitism, and classism changed his trajectory toward a life in service to the advancement of racial and social justice. A first-generation college student, Dr. McManus earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida A&M University (FAMU).

A Brother’s Insight is an invitation to get off the sidelines and contribute to ending racism in your own unique way.

This empowering and thought-provoking guide draws on the author’s personal story and professional experiences to help you understand key issues and how to make your own unique contributions to ending racism and other forms of oppression.

Dr. Joe-Joe McManus witnessed firsthand the devastating impact that racism had on his racially, ethnically, and religiously diverse family growing up in a white flight town south of Boston. This led him to dedicate his life to fighting for equity, inclusion, and justice across the full spectrum of diversity.

An executive advisor on antiracist leadership and inclusive excellence, “Dr. Joe-Joe” unpacks false narratives and explains how avoiding the antiracism conversation does harm to all of us. He breaks down what living an antiracist life means, focusing on decisions related to shopping, philanthropy, socializing, and even dating and how they impact individuals, as well as educational, economic, and other systems. Dr. Joe-Joe emphasizes that every antiracist effort we make matters and encourages you to recognize the importance of your voice, particularly within your circles of influence.

Michael Carter, Co-Host

Michael Carter's Website