Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Annie Ann Smith Thako stuff I never
told your flicture by HERDIO.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And for our activists around the world. We are in
the midst of Disability Pride Month, which happens to be
in July if you're in the US. So we are
celebrating the works and activism of self described quote disabled,
neurodivergent Afro Latino art activist and design educator jin White Johnson.
And that's from her site. White Johnson was born in Washington,
(00:41):
DC is currently living in Baltimore, Maryland. Her mother a
Puerto Rican woman, and her father from Chicago. White Johnson
has always been motivated to advocate for those most marginalized.
So White Johnson has been diagnosed with Graves disease and ADHD,
so understanding the need for advocating on an intersectional level
is something very important to her, and as a mother
(01:02):
of an African Latino son with autism, she wanted to
find a way to empower the voices of those in
the disability in anti racist communities which we love. She
earned her bachelors in Visual Arts from the University of
Maryland and completed her MSA in graphic design in the
Maryland is to do College of Art and has been
putting her passion into her activism. So again back to
(01:24):
her site, Jen hight Johnson dot com quote my mission,
there is a heart and soul in the journey that
breaks through the stigma of highlighting autistic joy in black
and brown lives. The goal of the space is to
share my creative collaborations while making them accessible to neurodiverse communities.
And again, we've talked about how important accessibility is for everyone,
(01:45):
especially the disabled communities, and we want to make sure
that we are highlighting when people do that, especially when
they focus on that. So accessibility has been something she
has made sure to be in the forefront of in
her works. So back to her site, he writes this,
my work explores the erasure of black disabled community in
digital and literary media. The visuals I make using photos
(02:08):
and designs are my acts of resistance that amplify conversations
with a disability community. It ignites the continued need to
develop anti racist, antiableist media. So a bit more of
information from her side, they write, Jen whit Johnson is
an Afro Latina disabled artists, designer, educator, and activists whose
visual work explores the intersection of content and caregiving with
(02:31):
an emphasis on redesigning of ablest visual culture. As an
artist educator with Graves disease and ADHD, her heart centered
an electric approach to disability. Advocacy bolsters those movements with
invaluable currencies, powerful dynamic art and media that all at
once educates, bridges divergent worlds, and builds a future that
(02:51):
mirrors her autistic Sun's experience. When her son was diagnosed
as autistic at age three, she began to examine the
absence of black disabled children in digital and LIFs media.
This motivated the release of an advocacy photo zine entitled
Knox Rocks, dedicated to her autistic son. And yes, obviously
she has done some amazing things and it's been centered
(03:12):
around her son Knox, which I love and with her
activism comes even more motivation. After the birth of her
son Knox, she wanted to create more visibility and conversations
about autism after his diagnosis, So in the interview with
Lyndscratch dot Com, she says this about her work and
her son. In the Awakening, I found not just a
personal calling, but a vibrant purpose my art and design
(03:35):
practice emerged as a dynamic force, a beacon guiding me
toward a framework of community engagement that transcend the traditional
boundaries of advocacy. No longer content with merely existing, I
became a proactive advocate for the beautiful, diverse world of
autistic communities. Each stroke of my artistic expression, every design nuance,
and every creative endeavor became a rallying cry, a galvanizing
(03:57):
force that resonates with a heartbeat of neurodiversion experiences. As
a disabled parent raising a disabled child, my mission crystallized
to weave a tapestry of vibrant engagement and redefine the
narratives surrounding that neurodiversity. Together, let us celebrate the kaleidoscope
of abilities and perspectives within our community through art and design.
(04:17):
We don't just advocate, we elevate. This is not just
a journey, It's a dynamic, ever evolving dance toward a
more inclusive and vibrant world. With each project, I ask
folks to join me in the symphony of empowerment, where
our collective voices echo the undeniable truth neurodivergency is not
a limitation, but a canvas for balanced possibilities a true
(04:38):
radical act of resistance. In the twenty threety three article
with Lyndscratch dot Com, Why Johnson is talking specifically about
her collaborative exhibit with our Son Knox titled Autistic Joy,
which she described as this our overarching mission to amplify
joy and justice through visual representation reverberated powerfully throughout the events,
(04:59):
Knox inspiring advocate sees the opportunity to forge meaningful connections
and engage in captivating conversations with visitors. Witnessing his comfort
and passionate while discussing the profound joy encapsulated in his
favorite photos was nothing short of extraordinary, A true testament
to our commitment to shatter stereotypes and I love this.
She talks specifically about her experience with people coming to
(05:21):
her and kind of giving like mourning the fact that
he had been diagnosed with autism, instead of understanding it
is not a barrier, it's something that could transcend. So
she really wanted to encapsulate that, like this is not
about changing him or something that's something that she had
to fix, but something that was beyond all that, and
that he was perfect as is and that we could
(05:43):
celebrate who he is and that autism was a part
of him, but not necessarily all of him.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
So it was kind of that level.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And I love the way she looked at that and
she understood that at the very beginning of his diagnosis,
which is amazing and such a profound thing to do,
because I know when ableless conversations come about, that is
kind of one of those things like this is a barrier,
we have to fix it.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
And she was not about that. So we'd love to
see stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
And Yeah, she's talked about how her own mother helped
influence her in this a bit from her interview with
nineteenth News dot org about zines specifically because we're going
to talk about more zines. Yes, you mentioned this earlier
who were talking more about zas. I didn't know, y'all.
I didn't know she was the artist, and then I
was like, oh, she's speaking my language right here. But
(06:26):
she talks about her mom and the influence she gave.
My mom would create these really small cards for me.
They were essentially little love letters. She started making a
lot of them when I had gone away to college.
I would come home and she'd give them to me,
or she'd mail, these small love letters and cards. I
considered those the first zines I ever saw. There are
these little notes that would be passed along to kind
(06:48):
of remind me of how unique and special I am.
She didn't really understand my undiagnosed ADHD at the time,
but we had our own ways of being able to
communicate with each other. Later on, once I got into design,
I realized the zines they were like the riot girl
zcenes or the feminist scenes I read later that were
photocopied and created with a typewriter that got at festivals
or concerts. Those scenes were some of the first things
(07:10):
that contain narratives that I resonated with about femininity and chaos.
I got to see a lot of feminist voices that
were being co opted or erased.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
And we've talked about the power of zines.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I think we've played this as like classics because we
loved this episode so much, and we'll come back, I'm sure,
and talk about it again. We've talked about the power
that it holds today, even so much so that people
have been arrested for just handling it.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Yep, not even the ones creating it.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Because it was powerful and they say this is propaganda,
this is terrorist propaganda, which is not. So you know,
that's the power of zines. The US's kind of showed
us that right now.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
So in the interview, she talks about her interest in
zines and zin making. She says, I love ze making
because it's such a democratic way to create. I've never
really been a standard design firm, corporate kind of creative,
and I love being able to create my own boxes.
It's always been difficult, and a lot of that has
to do with my ADHD and undiagnosed autism. A lot
of newer diversient people love very linear jobs and very
(08:15):
role based kind of approaches to their work. But I
love being able to bend things. I love being able
to explore multiple worlds of how to make something. I
love that zine making can be approached in a very
non practical, flexible freeway. Is very similar to jazz, and
I love that because when individuals create, it's so different.
They to create what's in their heart. Like I said,
I loved going to little small group meetups where people
(08:38):
would make zines.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I love these, I have a few of them, I
need more. I needmoreial send me your zines.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Anyway, moving on with her education, her passion, and her creativity,
she's been able to communicate and allow for others with
disabilities to communicate.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Through the lens of art and photos.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Because she's also an educator, she wanted to provide a
free and safe space for everyone to be able to
express themselves and represent themselves from these different mediums including photography,
zinies and all those. But with that, she also understood
the depth of communicating the levels of frustration and in
justice she saw the times. In twenty twenty, she designed
the Black Disabled Lives Matter symbol. For the same interview
(09:16):
with The Nineteenth News, she talks about the legacy of
the symbol as well as how it came up about
so she says, I felt like I had to answer
the call. There was a lot that wasn't being said
about black disabled voices, and a lot was being left out.
We were being left out of disabled narratives. But the
reason a lot of black and brown folks were being
victimized and dehumanized was in part because of their disabilities.
Disability just added fuel to the fire. Black disabled folks
(09:39):
get locked in cages. We are constantly misunderstood, We're dehumanized.
We're objectified, reviewed as crazy or angry, when really we
need support. All of those conversations were consistently being less
out of the narrative of Black Lives Matter. I felt
like not enough black disabled folks were being put in
position of authority to help lead these conversations. We know,
(10:00):
with the shooting of Elijah McClain in Colorado, there was
a lot of conversations about this very, very thing, about
the fact that he was a disabled black man who
actually was able to communicate that he had disabilities, but
no one was talking about it. No one was listening
to that, And I feel like a part of that
narrative was shut down because of so many other things.
(10:21):
There are so many injustices. This is one of the
most horrific things that I had seen, and we still
need to talk about it because no justice has happened. Unfortunately,
a lot of injustices happened because things have been kind
of pushed aside or dismissed, and we should not forget.
But he was a victim who was very vocal and
people around him were vocal about his disabilities and how
he was an amazing person, like his disabilities never stopped him,
(10:44):
but he understood the limitations that he may had and
let them know. But heartbreakingly that didn't work. But we
have to remember what he went through, and we have
to remember that he was a victim and he was
murdered because no one was willing to listen to him,
specifically those in authority. So so she goes on to
talk about the process of creating these symbols. She said,
(11:06):
I decided to play with a black power symbol and
created something that really helped intersect the conversation on black
nerddiversity and neudivergic culture. I wanted to make sure the
word disable to actually show up in the art, that
it was not a race from the conversation. I felt
that the symbol helped contribute more visibility to the conversations
that were already being held. I just played a part
in a huge movement that was here before I was
(11:28):
even born, and that will be here long after I'm gone.
I love that so and all of these amazing things
have definitely earned her some accolades, including a twenty twenty
honoree on the divers Abilities D thirty Impact List and
one of the twenty Latina artists to watch in twenty
twenty one by Today dot com. And she has her
orcs archived in different places like the National Museum of
(11:48):
Women in the Arts and the Smithsonian National African American
Museum of History and Culture and many others, so you
can definitely see her works.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
She is doing exhibits today. She has so many scenes
right now.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
You wanted to go look at her site Jinwhite Johnson
dot com, you can.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
She's got some great stuff on there.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
I love her art and photography, and I love what
she's doing, And kudos to are bringing attention to that
and having this conversation about the fact it is joy
and finding joy in those moments and making sure she's
sharing that and having NOTx being able to share that.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I just love it.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Yeah, absolutely well listeners, for sure go check out her work.
But also, yeah, let us know about the scenes. If
you've got a scene. If you make a scene, we
are fans, so let us know. You can email us
at Hello at stuff onever told you dot com. You
(12:43):
can find us on Blue Sky at Mom's Soop podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I've Never told you.
We're also on YouTube. We have some merchandise at Coom
Bureau and we have a book you can get wherever
you get your books. Thanks as always to our super
producers Casey Andrima and her executive producer Maya, thank you
and thanks to you for listening stuff and told he
his picture of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, you
can check out the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcast or
(13:04):
where you listen to your favorite shows