S2.E16. Black Pride - Extending The Black Liberation Movement To Include Our LGBTQ+ Family

June is Pride Month and while we can't celebrate like want to due to the pandemic, we can continue having amazing and thought-provoking discussions. The Amerikan Therapy team sits down with two powerhouses in the black LGBTQ+ advocacy space to talk about how the revolution and resistance this time around must openly embrace our queer family. We learn how Black LGBTQ+ advocates have always stood up for the liberation of black peoples everywhere, even when their own community may not have embraced them. The intercommunity discrimination against LGBTQ+ members of the black community is a nuance tail illustrating how systems of oppression function at all levels. This show illustrates the Amerikan Therapy team's dedication to continuing to grow our own understanding and definition of what black liberation looks like in all its forms.
Xaria James - LGBTQ+ Advocate:
Xaria James is a Hospitality Graduate of Johnson and Wales University and in 2020 became Certified in Executive Hospitality Management. She is a Transgender Professional and avid activistic. Her goals and ideals are to lead & inspire each and everyone around her in all positive facets of professional life and all-around well being. Xaria is a 2013 Cheer & Dance World Champion Recipient, a fitness enthusiast, and an all-around badass.

• National LGBTQ Task Force (Winter Party) Volunteer Relations Coordinator ' 2019 & 2020
• Pridelines, Colors Under The Rainbow Fundraiser’ 2020
• Key Note Speaker for FIU Transgender Day Of Remembrance ' Nov 2019
• Committee member of Miami Beach Pride' Dec'2019

David Johns - Executive Director of National Black Justice Coalition:
David J. Johns is known for his passion, public policy acumen, and fierce advocacy for youth. He is an enthusiast about equity—leveraging his time, talent, and treasures to address the needs of individuals and communities often neglected and ignored. A recognized thought leader and social justice champion, David’s career has focused on improving life outcomes and opportunities for Black people.

On September 1, 2017, David Johns began his next life chapter as the executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC)—a civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, including people living with HIV/AIDS. NBJC’s mission is to end racism, homophobia, and LGBTQ bias and stigma.

In 2013, Johns was appointed as the first executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans (Initiative) by President Barack H. Obama and served until the last day of the Obama Administration in January 2017. The Initiative worked across federal agencies and with partners and communities nationwide to produce a more effective continuum of education and workforce development programs for African American students of all ages. Under his leadership, the Initiative studied the experiences of students—leveraged a partnership with Johnson Publishing Company (EBONY Magazine) to produce a series of African American Educational Summits (AfAmEdSummits) at college campuses throughout the country, where the only experts who sat in front of the White House seal were students as young as elementary school. The recommendations that students made at AfAmEdSummits have been used to improve policies, programs, and practices, including curriculum, designed to ensure that students thrive—both in school and in life.

Prior to his White House appointment, Johns was a senior education policy advisor to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) under the leadership of U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Before working for the Senate HELP Committee, Johns served under the leadership of the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). Joh