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SouthBound: Tony Jack On His Journey From The Streets Of Miami To Harvard Yard

John Deputy

I met Tony Jack 10 years ago when I was on a fellowship at Harvard. It was the first day of a sociology class I was taking. Tony walked in looking like an NFL lineman – tall and thick and wearing a track suit. Then, the professor had us introduce ourselves. And about 10 seconds after Tony started talking, I knew he was the smartest one in the class.

He has spent his life outperforming expectations. He has made it from a poor neighborhood in Miami to his own job teaching at Harvard. And now he has written a book called “The Privileged Poor” about the realities of class division at elite universities. We talk about his book, his life, and his thoughts on the recent college admissions scandal. 

Let's keep the conversation going. Who do you want to hear from next on the SouthBound podcast? Submit your idea in the box below. You can also send a tweet to @tommytomlinson or @wfae, and email me at ttomlinson@wfae.org.

Show notes:

Other music in this episode:

  • Lee Rosevere, "Let That Sink In"
  • Lee Rosevere, "Systematic"

New episodes of SouthBound will come out every other week on Wednesday. Subscribe:

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SouthBound is a production of WFAE. Our host is Tommy Tomlinson. Our producer is Nick de la Canal. Our audience engagement manager is Joni Deutsch, and our main theme comes from Josh Turner.