Race, Joy, and Reclaiming Our Humanity

A Conversation with Jenée Johnson

A little over a year ago I was in a business mastermind with a woman named Jenée Johnson. I had never met this woman before, but in connecting with her, I was immediately struck by the radiance and joy she both embodies and transmits in nearly every interaction with her I experienced.

I was also struck and inspired by the work this woman was doing (and continues to do) in the world.

Jenée is Program Innovation Leader in San Francisco's public health department for Mindfulness, Trauma, and Racial Healing. She was a recent speaker at Wisdom 2.0 on Sankofa, was featured as the cover story in the October 2019 issue of Mindful Magazine, and is the founder of The Right Within Experience, an experiential mindfulness program that reclaims humanity, joy, and wellbeing for people of African ancestry. 

Recently I had a connection call with Jenée. I saw via social media that she had a new community offering coming out called The Joy Collective. Amidst all the pain and disconnection occurring in our world as a result of racial injustice, the sight of this black woman championing joy feels revolutionary and healing. 

After our conversation, I asked her if she'd be willing to have a live video conversation with me going more deeply into the conversation of race, joy, and what it means to reclaim our humanity.

One thing I'm excited to explore with her is what it means to create space for a new model of power in our world. Where it's not about white people shutting ourselves down so that black people can rise, but instead creating a space where we open doors so that we can share in joy, in power, in opportunity together.

This conversation is happening LIVE this Thursday (7/23) at 11am PDT on my Facebook Profile Page.  

Jenée will also share more about her new offering, The Joy Collective, for those interested in participating.

View Conversation Recording Here

I hope you see you there ~

Arielle Brown