White House’s David Johns Revisits Alma Mater Pali High, Inspires Students

By ALEXANDRIA BORDAS | Reporter

“Each of you, every single one of you, gets to live your dreams,” boomed David Johns, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African-Americans and alumnus of Palisades Charter High School. 

Johns made an historic visit to Pali High on Friday, Aug. 28 and held three motivational assemblies to encourage all students to pursue a higher education and to never forget the power of their dreams.

Johns was raised in Inglewood and graduated from Pali High in 2000. He triple majored in English, creative writing and African American Studies at Columbia University in New York City.

Johns went on to pursue a Master’s degree from Columbia while simultaneously teaching elementary school English.

“When I was your age, I would never have thought I was going to be here, but it’s what I was purposed to do,” Johns said to hundreds of attentive junior and senior students in a jam-packed Mercer Hall.

After completing graduate school, Johns continued working with low-income and minority students. His big break came in 2013 when he was appointed by President Barack Obama to close the achievement gap for students of color, specifically male students with an African-American background.

“During reelection season in 2012 I quit my job and drove cross-country to Nevada where we were told President Obama wasn’t going to win,” Johns explained. “I was jobless and working 20-hour days for two months but it didn’t matter. It was work I truly believed in.”

This level of dedication and perseverance impressed the White House staff and Johns’ work was more impactful than he was even aware of at the time.

“Growing up I spent a lot of time surrounded by people telling me I couldn’t do what I wanted to do,” Johns said. “Even though you will always come across someone trying to kill your dreams, find your passion and pursue it no matter what anybody tells you.”

Johns received a call shortly after President Obama was reelected and wasn’t surprised to hear that all of his colleagues had submitted his name for the position of executive director—a position that was more or less created for Johns by the President of the United States.

During one presentation, Johns addressed students who travel from cities outside of Pacific Palisades to receive a distinctive education that might not be found at their local high schools in their respective neighborhoods.

“Some of you have responsibilities at home that are heavy and real,” he said with a serious tone. “Some of these are struggles that adults in this very room wouldn’t even understand. So it’s important for you guys to take care of yourself and to take care of each other.”

He continued, “When you are facing a challenging time, go find somebody and talk to them about it.”

Next, Johns asked all of the male students to stand up in the gymnasium. Loud laughter, claps and whistles could be heard while Johns waited for the students to settle down.

“My brothers, young men at your age are committing suicide at rates that outsize any other age group and brothers like you are taking their lives at ridiculous rates,” he said to the hushed crowd. “We’ve been told men don’t cry or have emotions and that we need to suck it up. So I’m begging you to talk to someone when you need it.”

Johns balanced serious topics with relatable anecdotes, such as, “College is going to be the most fun time of your life so you don’t want to miss out.”

Students were noticeably drawn in by his warm demeanor, radiant smile and inspirational personal stories of how he came to be an appointed staff member at the White House.

Near the end of the presentation students asked questions and made comments and Johns responded enthusiastically by running up and down the aisles high-fiving everyone as he went.

“Nice suit!” one student shouted as Johns did a twirl for the audience to loud cheers.

“Coming out to events like this and speaking to you all is the most exciting part of my job,” Johns said. “My journey wasn’t easy but all of it mattered, getting up earlier than most of my friends to get on the bus or getting made fun of by friends back home for going to Pali. All of it mattered because it allowed me to do what I do now.”

Senior student Chloe Moore couldn’t hide her elation after the presentation was over.

“We don’t get speakers like this often, especially speakers that relate specifically to African-American students,” she said with a smile. “When he said, ‘don’t let people drag you down who don’t want you to achieve your dreams,’ that was the best part.”

Destiny Hawkins said her favorite quote from Johns’ speech was, “You can’t be a dime messing with pennies.”

Pali High seniors Krys Lopez, Tamir Rey, Shandia Gibson, Acasia Tyler and Akena Duerod were ecstatic and agreed that it was a day they will never forget.

“He came back to Pali just to talk to us and didn’t forget about us,” Rey said.

Gibson added, “I’m so inspired and motivated to tackle my last year here.”