“Because I am an artist, I see everything as a canvas.”

— Jessica Jamese

***12 Women San Diego Needs to Know***

***Women Who Inspire Us - Jessica Williams*** After she tweeted to Brené Brown, famed professor of social work and podcast host, “I want to have a conversation with you about how vulnerability looks different in Black skin,” Brown answered and began that conversation with her. Later, Brown and Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, asked Williams to contribute an essay to their anthology You Are Your Best Thing, which would become a New York Times best-seller.

Speaking to the radical idea of vital self-love as a fat Black queer woman from the South, artist and scholar Dr. Jessica Jamese Williams (Dr. J) will use principles of self-love and acceptance as a framework for shame resilience.

In this session, Dr. Williams (she/her/hers) discusses how the liberation of all people begins with sovereignty of self.

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You Are Your Best Thing You Are Your Best Thing features essays from (left to right) — Row 1: Jason Reynolds, Austin Channing Brown, Tanya Fields, Kiese Makeba Laymon, Prentis Hemphill; Row 2: Tracey Michae'l Lewis - Giggetts , Marc Lamont Hill, Kea… — You Are Your Best Thing You Are Your Best Thing features essays from (left to right) — Row 1: Jason Reynolds, Austin Channing Brown, Tanya Fields, Kiese Makeba Laymon, Prentis Hemphill; Row 2: Tracey Michae'l Lewis - Giggetts , Marc Lamont Hill, Keah Brown, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Shawn A. Ginwright; Row 3: Kaia Naadira, Deran Young, Sonya Renee Taylor, Irene Antonia Diane Reece, Yolo Akili Robinson; Row 4: Laverne Cox, **Jessica J. Williams**, Aiko D. Bethea, Imani Perry, Tarana Burke

Life Seen Through My Eyes

FOLLOW ME on Instagram @THEJESSICA_J

I think I’m uniquely suited for this conversation. And I want it. Tag @brenebrown if you’d like to see this dialogue happen. 2020 is for shooting shots.

I. Said. What. I. Said.

SPENT//the day on the island. I’m a little sunburned. A little high (Orange Kreamsicle). And feeling a lot better than I have in several days. Mental health, y’all. Its the priority.

VC15//your favorite showman’s favorite showman. And I’m tagging you CUZ YOU KNOW! Legit been watching Vince since he was at UNC and I’ve delighted in so many vincanity moments. #22years #VC15 🤍💜

BALANCE//is typically a strong suit of mine. But the levy very much broke. I went from not writing to avoid the truth that would inevitably fall from my fingertips to writing to focus on anything other than the pain. Only the words hurt just as much as the silence. So I teeter just like the rocks. Holding myself together relying on gravity and careful intention to do the rest.

Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera's names should be as well known as Dr. Martin Luther King's when it comes to talking about fighting for Civil Rights. Do you know their story? Many of the things that Marsha and Sylvia, two trans women of color--Black and Latinx respectively--fought for are things we are still fighting for today. An end to police brutality and unfair targeting of our community. The right to live peacefully without discrimination and prejudice. Why is it that some of us have to march in the streets just to demand our humanity? In this way, our stories are not separate, they are very, very much connected. I invite participants to join a dialogue lead by: •Dr. Nicholas Franco •Benjamin Mendoza •Ace Brooks In this dialogue we will learn more about activism within the Queer community, but also the perspective and narratives of three Queer people navigating complex social justice work. Pride may "look" separate from the Black Lives Matter movement, yet both are incredible forces that support the work of anti-racism, anti-White Supremacy, and social justice. Come learn where we connect and where we diverge, and how we can be better allies to one another.

LOVE THIS//perspective on parenting. One of the things I appreciated about how my sisters and I were raised, was that we were always taught to be our own people. I was reflecting earlier that, I got 27(ish) years and Father’s Days with my stepdad. But I’m only really truly in 11 months without him starting to fully grasp the impact his fathering had on who I am as an adult. As a woman. As a Black woman. I know for a fact my dad changed how my mother parented. He made everyone more patient. I think of every band or cheer practice, or teaching me how to drive, or goin back and forth to Knoxville, or making us ribs on the grill, as long as he has NPR or my preferred—good music, and a cigarette, he was good to go. “Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience” Gardening. My sisters and I take him up in different ways. Melissa has more of his temperament. Kelly his musicality and posture. And I think from Michael, I got a serious love of process. I love exploring how things and people tick. Watching Will and Jada today made smile. Made me nostalgic. Made me hopeful. Made me miss him but made me feel him right here🤍, too. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.

🤍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

THOUGHTS OF NOVEMBER//make my stomach turn. I really wish I could sit this one out.

YKWTFGO//Mercury is in Retrograde in Cancer through July 12. What does this mean? The cancer traits are going to be intensified; as a water sign much of this has to do with intuition and intention. Being responsive versus being reactive: this time begs you to trust. However let me be clear, it’s about to be a shit storm of chaos. Mercury impacts communication and technology which for us, right now? Scary. Work during this time to be particularly mindful of what communications you ingest and what communications you project out. DON’T WRITE WHAT YOU DON’T WANT! Instead now is the time to get clear on your desires and to speak them with conviction. It’s a beautiful time for manifesting if you know what you’re doing! The trick is, say less. Speak only when what you have to say improves the silence. Chew your words, taste them, make sure they are digestible and palatable. Cancers are known to be emotional, but don’t let your emotions carry you away because of miscommunication or because you’ve taken something too personally. Take a beat before you respond. When something upsets you, calculate the cost of rebuttal and if it costs you your peace, cancel the transaction. You may feel it’s time to move right now, I say go with it. Trust your gut. Just don’t get carried away, take your mind with you. And if you were thinking it’s time for a social media break? You’re right. Like I said communication and technology will be heavily impacted. You may find your phone brings you more stress than comfort. At which point, DITCH IT! Nothing is more important right now than you getting clear on what YOU want. Also—keep it witchy on the summer solstice. It’s going to be incredibly powerful and full of coincidence and little miracles🤍 #MercuryRx #MercuryRetrograde

WOMXN//in the fourth installment of the @healingdialogues series, it’s time to center the conversation around Womxn—all Womxn. I am not going to sugar coat things, we have to CENTER the lives of Black Trans Womxn in this movement. We have to make it a priority to surround and protect our most vulnerable. We have to reconcile our own femininity and masculinity. We have to attend to the internalized misogyny and misogynoir within our community. And we have to do that together without making it about men. My intention for this session is that we can come together and learn from one another how to be more supportive of one another. How we can practice radical self love, border less compassion, and experience shame free sovereignty within our own being. This conversation is open, but centered to elevate the voices of Womxn in dialogue with panelists @biggirlsparkle and @andsheshere_ Two leaders and activists who continually embody how passion, art, advocacy, and agency are daily rituals that collectively create a life “in service of”. They are true forces and I cannot wait to learn with and from them. Art this week is by Black Trans artist @spacehoe.art, please check them out for the original art—their self-portrait, and others!

TO THIS//the youth would say sksksksksksksksksks

MANIFEST IT//In this session, I want to describe what I know about the Law of Attraction and manifesting the life you want. I get asked about manifestation more than you can imagine. Rather than to continue to have one-off conversations, I thought I could have an open dialogue to answer any and all questions about manifestation, the law of attraction and tell you everything I know about the topic. While my Healing Dialogue series is, and will continue to be free of charge, there will be a charge for this event. Energy work is work, and it takes a lot of energy to both teach and attend to the energetic needs of the community at once. So, this event will require a $20 donation for attendance. Participants will not only have the session to ask questions, and a recorded copy sent for review afterwards... but I will pull an oracle tarot card with full explanation on that process as well as how to make meaning of the oracle's message. This is completely optional, but available for every participant. See you Wednesday evening 🤍 <<Link In Bio>>

GRIEF//comes in waves. I don’t remember who said this to me, but it’s the most accurate analogy for it. Sometimes it rolls in and recedes back gently and sometimes it’s a riptide. Inching closer to a year without my dad. I’m hyper aware of it even without trying. Hearing the loss of loved ones’ loved ones takes me right back there. It’s the most powerful and overwhelming feeling. Unbound love. Love without a landing place because your person is gone. And so everything you feel just goes everywhere. And that’s how you feel—all over the place. Like you can’t breathe. Like this version of life can’t be real and doesn’t even make sense. Like it’s all some bad dream you can wake up from, except it’s not. They’re gone and every second you’re reminded of it you have to choose to force air into your lungs and keep living without them. And yet and still with it being the most awful feeling, I would take a little bit more if only you could feel it a little bit less. That’s how much I love you. I hate the words I’m sorry. They’re so feeble in this moment. I’m devastated for your loss. I’m heart broken. I’m here. And I’ll hold your hand through all of it.

RESISTANCE TODAY//Looked like taking my fat black ass to Coronado to sunbathe for two hours then frolic in the ocean. Black joy was my chosen form of activism for the morning☀️

BEST//

“‘Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,’ said the wisest of wise men. ‘The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.” Excerpt From The Alchemist IYKYK and if you don’t, and you want to, ask 🤍

words will always fail to capture what silence so beautifully sings without effort or trial.

MI GENTE//the third installment of #HealingDialogues will center on strengthening solidarity between the Black and Brown (#Latinx) communities. Allies are certainly important, but the way I see it—we have to show up for one another. Right now, the fight is Black Lives Matter, but we also need families reunited. We also need children to NEVER be in cages. We need both police AND ICE defunded and reformed. Absolutely no one is illegal on stolen land. And while I know that is one narrative of Brown life in America, I know that being Latinx is also NOT a monolith. Come and learn how our communities connect and diverge, how we can be better allies to one another, and how we can learn to delight in and preserve our cultures while also staking claim to our Americanism, as well. Deeply complex work I could not do without my panelists who are ready to dive in to leadership, art, and dialogue this Sunday at 3:00pm pst. Join myself, @sinfullysinai @bagulachick And @ladonayiyi in our @healingdialogues for Black and Brown solidarity. <<link in bio>> ((Artwork by @ericalexia deeply grateful for her contribution to this work, please check our her IG for the original and other artwork))

VC15//your favorite showman’s favorite showman. And I’m tagging you CUZ YOU KNOW! Legit been watching Vince since he was at UNC and I’ve delighted in so many vincanity moments. #22years #VC15 🤍💜

LOVE THIS//perspective on parenting. One of the things I appreciated about how my sisters and I were raised, was that we were always taught to be our own people. I was reflecting earlier that, I got 27(ish) years and Father’s Days with my stepd

GRIEF//comes in waves. I don’t remember who said this to me, but it’s the most accurate analogy for it. Sometimes it rolls in and recedes back gently and sometimes it’s a riptide.
Inching closer to a year without my dad. I’m

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