Kendrick Lamar, Janet Jackson, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Wimbledon victor, Serena Williams and even the Reverend Dr. Foundation is flooding social media with the hashtags #crushthestigma #pocdepression and #itsnotaweakness to bring awareness to the much-needed dialogue. "The conversation has to start within our families since there is such a large genetic component to mental illness or brain illnesses," she says. She hopes to counter the longstanding cultural reticence in communities of color to speak on it. Heartrending stories of depression and anxiety in her own family catalyzed her to speak up and out to "crush" the paralyzing stigma of mental illness. With her mix of grace and grit, guts and glam, the self-professed "pop culture junkie" has made a career in entertainment amassing skills, connections, and resources along the way that blend seamlessly into her transition to social entrepreneurship. Nikki is a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-it-done kind of woman, but "Don't get me wrong, I still love a banging outfit," she says. READ on for more on this dancing queen, a “twirling” dervish tapping into the divine through movement, art, and storytelling. Can we be happy for twenty-five without any medications? That’s what I pray for,” she laughs. "So I just want one long marriage, a good twenty-five years of no Lipitor on either side. They all got sick after fifty because she was so many things," she laughs. "My great-grandmother had three husbands, and she killed all of them. Okay, Lenny Kravitz, he’s the exception." There is a bit of history behind her phobia.
"I feel like they are gonna have a heart attack. Though she's always looked forward to turning fifty, she conversely shies away from men who have reached 5-0. It was always the barometer of either I did, or I didn’t, that is, before Janet had her baby at the age of fifty,” she smiles. “My whole life I have wanted to be fifty. Reflective on the cusp of completing her forties, she shares her journey to date and ponders the approach of her 50th birthday next year. Though she initially eschewed social media, Lynda eventually dived into Instagram, sharing stories of Black brilliance with great enthusiasm.įollow Go On Girl! Book Club on Facebook, and see Lynda in video clips from the club’s author talks.īrooklyn, NY She's all about the girl squad, championing and amplifying the voices and stories of women a cheerleader of the highest order.įrom her ageless face shine eyes of wisdom Crystal Whaley spans generations - cradle to crone - an ancient soul perfectly suited to shepherd her curatorial project, M'Dear: Reclaiming Our Seat at the Table. Thank you for your example you personified the best in humanity – the kind of person we were blessed to know and should strive to be. I am grateful to have enjoyed a 20+-year friendship with her. My heart breaks for her adoring husband and all who deeply mourn her loss. She leaves a remarkable legacy in the national book club (over 50 chapters) she co-founded to champion Black literature, the many students fortunate to have learned from her, her journalistic contributions, and boundless love. She was as lovely a person as there is, the epitome of magnanimity, but you wouldn't want that smoke she was no pushover. She was selfless yet understood the import of self-care. She was a delightful being - kind, thoughtful, supportive, curious, imaginative, fun – her inherent goodness unparalleled. Using the past tense to speak of her is a painful adjustment. How glad I am that she did! We couldn't have known then that she would take flight in a decade, unexpectedly taking her place among the ancestors on a late September day. We talked well into the night and again in the morning over healthful meals she'd prepared. The humble visionary and cherished friend had invited me to her elegantly earthy home to share her story.
Hamilton Heights/Harlem, NY Ten years ago, Lynda Johnson, fashion journalist, FIT professor, Go On Girl! book club co-founder and best-greeting-card-picker-ever, appeared in the August "The Trove" feature on the Pendulum blog.