S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman on today's show , a black history profile of Brisa Johnson and her fight for worker justice. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. In commemoration of Black History Month. We're sitting down with local black trailblazers who are continuing to leave their mark on the community. Brisa Johnson has spent much of her life advocating for social justice , and currently she is the executive director of the San Diego Black Worker Center. Brisa joins me now to talk more about her journey and what it means to fight for worker's justice in 2026. Brisa , welcome back to the show. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
S1: Always glad to have you here. I mean , how are you doing ? Are you okay ? Are you.
S2: Good ? Yeah , I'm doing good. You know , one day at a time , right ? I'm stressed and blessed. That's what I tell people. There we go.
S1: Well , I know we've had you on the show several times before to talk about workers justice and community empowerment. But first , remind us what you do at the San Diego Black Worker Center and why that work is so important , especially in this current moment. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So at the San Diego Black Worker Center , I am the director , and we predominantly focus on making sure that we're creating an equitable environment for black workers. We address anti-Blackness and discrimination while continuing to push and advocate for progressive policy that creates healthy , equitable environments for black workers to thrive. From a livable wage to making sure that they have health care and that their their rights are respected and that they are able to work with dignity. And that's huge. Not only for this year , but just for the state of of black folks in America in general , who have had to be in spaces where we weren't always respected and where anti-Blackness continues to exist without being checked or without any policy to be held accountable. And now , in this year more than ever , it's been so important to have the black worker center because it continues to create a safe space for black people to not only express the hardships of dealing with racism and dealing with anti-Blackness in your workspace , but as a pathway for education and coping to make sure that we are , um , providing our members and the community with the weapon of knowledge , with the weapon of not only knowing their rights , but knowing how to advocate for themselves , knowing how to speak up about certain issues , how to deal with microaggressions , how to cope in the 9 to 5 , working in predominantly white spaces where they may not feel seen or heard. And right now we live in a time where we're seeing on a national level how disrespectful people of color are treated , how black people are treated , are watching them attempt to erase our history. We're watching them discredit our existence and our inventions , and the fact that American culture is black culture , and that a United States does not stand without us. We are the United States. We've given you food , music , your buildings , your technology , your inventions. And so that's why even now , the Black Worker Center is so important , where black is is attempting to be erased. It's one of the best things about the black worker center is being able to say black.
S1: I mean , you know , you mention anti-Blackness. Can you talk about just quickly some of the ways that that shows up in a workplace that people may not even recognize. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Sometimes it's it's anti-blackness. Looks like silencing the black experience. Sometimes it looks like dismissing one's , um , existence. Sometimes it looks like saying , well , that's not true. Um , to someone's lived experience and lives story. Um , anti-Blackness sometimes , uh , looks like discrediting one's history and ignoring it. You know , it's you don't associate it with racism because in your mind , you think , well , I don't hate you. You know , I don't despise you or or we've been programmed sometimes to look at racism through the lens of historical context , like the KKK and , and , and these kind of visceral , um , attacks on black culture. And so you think , well , I'm not that you don't realize that your anti-Blackness is rooted and still pushing white supremacy ideologies. anti-Blackness looks like looking at a black woman's natural hair and asking her why she doesn't straighten it more often. You know , it's trying to to get black people to be more like you , to be more white , to be more what you're comfortable with , what you already understand. And that is sometimes what anti-Blackness looks like. It's a dismissal. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well you know before you you took on social justice work. You were born and raised in San Diego. Yes. Tell me more about your upbringing.
S2: Oh yeah. Man I love this city. I'm born and raised here and and what I love most is the fact that I don't feel like I'm from a single neighborhood. I have lived history and experiences throughout all. I was born and and raised initially in North Park before gentrification and , um , and then my parents end up buying a house in Mira mesa. But then I went to school downtown , and I went to college in Point Loma , and , um , my best friends all grew up in southeast , and so I love being literally from the city and being able to drive anywhere and have a memory from childhood. And and my mother is Latina and my father's African American. So growing up in a border town and being able to see myself in so many parts of it was also really wonderful. Growing up with having such a huge Mexican community and Latino community out here and being able to to learn more about my culture in my own city , right.
S1:
S2: Um , a few professors , Darius Spearman and Professor Starla Lewis , and , um , Taquito Mesa and Teresa Ford were four influential professors here in San Diego between City and Mesa. That really poured into me and and broke some of the anti-Blackness I had within myself , some internalized racism that , you know , we didn't know we were being taught in the K through 12 system. And once I was able to be exposed to college and , and read certain books and be introduced to some historical figures and really learn about the stances of some of our , our ancestors and and those that are still living today was a huge epiphany and kind of decolonization of my mind that allowed me to start looking at social justice. And what was the major jump , though , was when Trayvon Martin was murdered in 2012. That was my activation. And I think all of us have that aha moment of like , I want to do something and I want to get involved. And Trayvon Martin , that was the moment his mother spoke. And it was in that moment that I said , there's no difference between me and her except for the grace of God , that no , no level of education , no level of income. It doesn't matter what neighborhood I live in. Nothing could protect me from the fact that I am black. And in this country I'm a target. And that was like the the it was the education from Mason city. And then this activation that led me to a career in social justice. Wow.
S1: Wow. That's that is powerful. I mean , and you got your degrees , as you mentioned , in Black Studies , then later political science.
S2: Yeah , from Point Loma Nazarene University. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S2: I wanted to study Stokely Carmichael and James Baldwin and and Angela Davis. And I wanted to know for myself outside of , um , Western media or propaganda , what really had to occur for these people to , become who they were and what were they studying ? What were they reading and , and really learn from them. And I think that historical piece of black history is really what has motivated me throughout this , is just knowing that there's already examples of examples of people who are where I want to be. And so really just following their footsteps and and being willing to be uncomfortable and having my thoughts and ideologies shift and changed and be challenged. Right.
S1: Right. That's so important to talk about too , is that it's how your ideologies shift and change and , and they do it while you're you're really trying to to gather people and create space for folks at the same time in such a public way. Right.
S2: I have two children and and really my first one. More so than anything , he's about to be 16. And so I had him when I was 22 , which was very young. And so we were really growing up together. And the more that he grew and the more questions he asked , it made me feel like I needed to grow and I needed to challenge myself more. Um , it really has to be a desire. And I think I was just really blessed that somebody was willing to take the time to plant the seed. And once the seed was planted , I did the work to find things to water it. But you got to be open to people planting the seed and and really chuck it up to the fact that , you know , none of this is ours. We are we are not entitled to this land. We are not entitled to this country. We are not entitled. And that I am just a vessel with a purpose and just trying to do my best to figure out what that purpose is. And you know , Alice Walker once said her activism was her rent to the planet. And I feel that that like the world continues to give to me and it is my job to give back. And , um , that requires me to constantly be a student.
S1: Yeah , you're brilliant in so many ways , and something our listeners might not know about you is that you're also a singer. In fact , you released music under a Brisa Lauren and I want to play a clip of your debut album in her Stillness.
S3: And Change You. And sometimes for the good. It's like finding the perfect home in an unexpected neighborhood. But if he didn't call me mine what I gave up yesterday.
S1: This song in her stillness. That is beautiful. Yeah.
S2: Yeah.
S1:
S2: Nothing about my love of music lives on the surface. Um. I was introduced to music by my father when I was very young. He was a producer , musician , and everyone on my dad's side of the family has some sort of talent. They play an instrument , they sing , they write , and my father plays piano and wrote music. And I was in the studio with him. And at four years old , he put me on the mic. He heard that I had a voice and he said , sing this line. And I'm actually on a recording of his singing the song called colorblind. And , um , that was the initial seed. And then over time , um , I just thank God I had parents who allowed me to explore music , but I was deep in my Aretha Franklin and Celine Dion back when I was very young , and I got to give it up to Ariel Little Mermaid for her additions to my sing along. But , um , yeah , I really fell in love with music at a very young age , but I fell in love with writing my own songs and really using music as a form of expression of my. Anything that I was going through , experiencing. Um , when I was a teenager , through Lauryn Hill , um , her Miseducation and her unplugged album were huge game changers for me. It was the first time that I saw music as a tool for vulnerability and as a tool for messaging. And , um , I use music moving forward as a therapy. I write all my songs from lived experiences and it is my way of releasing. It is my way of processing. And I love all music , you know ? And I think it is such a gift to the universe. It is universal. It is something that is shared. Um , and , uh. God , I love music.
S1: That is great. Well , you know , you love music. You love the work that you're doing. Um , and , you know , at this moment , there have been so many hard fought gains for racial justice , and it feels like there. Well , there is an effort to roll all that back. But in spite of everything going on in the world , what's keeping you grounded and bringing you joy ? Yeah.
S2: Um , I think , you know , a couple things keep me grounded. Obviously , I mentioned earlier , I have children and , um , being present with them. You know , they are my first ministry. As much as I love showing up for the community and and using my advocacy skills , my children are my first ministry. God gave them to me to , um , steward them in this life , to protect them , to provide for them. And so I have to I have to stay grounded. I have to stay as strong as possible to continue to be their their guide and their foundation. And then , um , God , you know , again , all of this is given to me by him. And so he keeps me grounded.
S1: All right. I have been speaking with Brisa Johnson , executive director of the San Diego Black Worker Center. Brisa , thank you so much for all you do. And thanks for coming in today.
S2: Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you. It's an honor.
S1: That's our show for today.
S4: I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
