The Trade
@journalism · 1:44
Tremaine Johnson : writer / author of upcoming "Black Genius"
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Hey, this is Deborah here on the Opens Forecast Journalism Channel. And today I'm going to initiate a conversation with Tremaine Johnson. I have to say I found out about trade through David Hoffman and in Yupod Academy. And you know that thing you do when you meet somebody and you don't know who they are and you Google them and you just find out who they are and their voice and their whole vibe. And I'm really intrigued by Trey. Welcome
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:44
Hey, Tremaine, this is Deb and I'm going to do a Reseller of your response to my question. You did it as a new conversation, and I think you meant to reply here, so I'm going to link it here and then we'll continue the interview, but I want to make sure people hear it here as well on this interview. I know it's a little confusing that the interface might have confused you
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:12
First, I want to understand some of your trajectory, like what good things happen to you that gave you the confidence that gave you the skill set to be where you are now, to have the courage to look back and see what didn't work. So what things work? Was it a person? Was it a group of people? Was it a school? Was it a what really formed the sort of the grit of your drive to do what you're doing now
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Tre Johnson
@TreJohns78 · 4:50
So when I think further think about additional life experiences, so much of my education work has made me super close and super grounded. Approximate to a lot of experiences for particularly working class or lower middle class black and Brown communities in places like Washington, DC and Philadelphia and just being forced to confront and absorb and also reawaken some of the things that I had been through as a child growing up, I started seeing the need and opportunity for writing to play a much bigger purpose than just telling my own story
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:10
Hey, Trey, it's so nice to hear about the community support that you have gotten throughout your life when it comes to writing groups. And Monique El Faizi, who I just interviewed before you, has had this same connection with her writing groups. And you ended your answer talking about telling other people's stories. So once you Tre in a group that obviously supports your ability to tell stories that gives you the strength and the foundation to go out and tell other stories
Tre Johnson
@TreJohns78 · 4:29
Yeah, I think trauma and storytelling are so deeply intertwined as an important method for determining and accessing justice for people. When I think about the utility of black genius, I've been telling my kind of elevator conversation or pitch around. This has often been the idea that there's an importance to tell not just a single story about the black experience, but to look at everywhere it's been present inside of the black experience in black society, the types of anti blackness and oppression that has reared its head
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:55
I want to understand from your perspective, as a journalist, have you come across anybody in the political arena that you trust in this conversation of reparations that has not just the language but the actual roadmap to see something like this be present at the federal level. And how do you feel about that
Tre Johnson
@TreJohns78 · 3:47
So I wanted to get in front of what ways that we were going to put some criteria in place in terms of people who are black, identifying and making sure that the through line was met with Fidelity about who would get access and advocate can see to those resources. So those are a couple of things that come to mind right now, and I'm happy to get a follow up note or something I can pull together some resources that might be a little more specific for people
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:18
So I'm going to share this conversation and social. I hope you can, too. And let's keep this conversation going. And we just want to support you in the project you're working on. Black Genius. It's just such an auspicious time to write when you are in so many conversations right now about Black Lives Matter movement this month. Everyone's talking about it more than usual. It's Black History Month. So it's just a live time to have these conversations
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