Tapping Your Higher Power: Jamia Wilson on Fulfilling Your Authentic Mission
Jamia Wilson, here signing one of her children’s books, will share her insights on power at Power Up.
Oh no, he didn’t.
When Jamia Wilson was an undergraduate at American University majoring in broadcast journalism, an older white male professor emeritus called her into his office over what he called “a cause for concern.”
“When @jamiaw was an undergraduate at @AmericanU, a white male professor called her into his office because of “a cause for concern”— her hair. #HairLove”
Wilson, now Executive Director and Publisher of Feminist Press at City University of New York, knew it was not about her grades, her work, her performance or anything she could imagine.
Wilson, a Black woman who wears her hair naturally, remembers, “He said, ‘I see you have promise and could do well but not unless you change your hair. You would not get work in major media markets.’”
Read more in Take The Lead on Black hair discrimination
Wilson, who was 19 at the time, and later graduated in 1998, says, “I had always imagined myself as the Black Christiane Amanpour. This was before Melissa Harris-Perry was on MSNBC.” Wilson remembers that he said, “You need to think about your image. You should look at Condoleezza Rice, she has a more polished look.”
This is what spurred Wilson into media activism. “It got me mad enough about the structures,” says Harris, who was recently named to Refinery29’s “17 Faces of the Future of Feminism.”
““It got me mad enough about the structures,” says @jamiaw, who was recently named to @Refinery29 ‘s “17 Faces of the #Future of #Feminism.””
Wilson, the former Women, Action, and the Media Executive Director, TED Prize Storyteller, and former Vice President of Programs at The Women’s Media Center, is a keynote speaker at Take The Lead’s upcoming Power Up: Igniting The Intentional Leader Within. She will inspire the audience with her talk, “Stay on Mission, Stay Engaged and Make a Difference.”
Wilson’s work has appeared in the New York Times, Elle, Rookie, Refinery 29, Glamour, Teen Vogue, and The Washington Post. She is the author of Young, Gifted, and Black; the introduction and oral history in Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World; Step Into Your Power: 23 Lessons on How to Live Your Best Life; ABC's of AOC, and the co-author of Roadmap for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Advocacy, and Activism for All. She has been featured on CNN, BBC, NBC and more.
As for proving the older prof was wrong? Of course she did.
“@Jamiaw is a keynote speaker at @takeleadwomen ‘s upcoming #PowerUp: Igniting The Intentional Leader Within conference. #Leadership”
“I was always interested in feminism,” says Wilson, who at five years old moved with her parents, who were a speech pathologist and a scientist, from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia for their work.
Living there, she says she saw “a gendered version of Jim Crow” as she and her mother had to sit in different sections of the bus from her father, and as a female, she was not allowed in certain stores.
Wilson spent the summers in the U.S., and her grandmother shared feminist books with her. As was the practice for children of Americans working abroad, Wilson went to an all-girl’s boarding school in Stevenson, MD., St. Timothy’s, where she now serves on the board, she says.
“I was deeply involved in the student newspaper, the yearbook; those experiences shaped my future interests,” says Wilson, who is also a staff writer for Rookie and contributor to several books such as Madonna and Me: Women Writers on the Queen of Pop, and I Still Believe Anita Hill.
Called a “true next generation leader,” Wilson has spoken at TED Women, Netroots Nation, and Facing Race, and speaks frequently across the country on issues of race, feminism and leadership. Wilson’s talk at Take The Lead’s Power Up conference she says stems from her mentorship by Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead.
“@Jamiaw ‘s talk at @takeleadwomen ‘s #PowerUp conference stems from her #mentorship by @GloriaFeldt, co-founder and president of #TakeTheLead.”
“I want to talk about what it would mean to reclaim your power and understand it was always there,” Wilson says of her Power Up keynote. “Your power can be tapped into at any age and I admired Gloria for teaching me that.”
The agelessness of accessing power is also the impetus behind Wilson writing children’s books. “My parents helped me to tap into my autonomy and strength and I thought, what if I had social emotional learning tools at an early age?”
At the Power Up conference that is two days of programming featuring more than three dozen leaders offering keynotes, panels, discussions, roundtables, lightning talks, informal gatherings and more, the intention is to share power tools, networking strategies and more.
“At the #PowerUp conference, women will experience two days of programming featuring more than three dozen #leaders, shared #powertools, #networking strategies and more. ”
Read more in Take The Lead on Power Up
Wilson says she is “unapologetic about power,” and is interested in “talking about power differently, not in a patriarchal way.” She resists the idea “that power can be given to you by somebody else.”
Wilson says she has a theme for herself in 2020 about understanding the boundaries of her power, and how it fits into the higher power of spirituality. “I want to fully understand my power and only do things that are aligned with my purpose or divine mission.” She adds, “I’m still working on clarity on power.”
“@Jamiaw says she has a theme for #2020 in understanding the boundaries of her #power, and how it fits into the higher power of spirituality. #InspiringWomen”
More advice Wilson will offer the participants of Power Up includes the importance of knowing your audience. “You have to work on being clear, consistent, compelling and concise, connecting to your audience,” she says.
Read more in Take The Lead on Power Up offerings
Your stories and communications need to “land effectively and efficiently.”
Another key strategy Wilson will share is that, “People yearn for authenticity, realness and connection in a very noisy echo chamber. People lack discernment about what is real, so you have to be authentic and real, though it might sound cliched.”
What is also important, Wilson says, are your ethics. “You have to be ethical about how you are connecting, and who is not in the room, who is uplifted by your message and who might be left behind.”
“@Jamiaw says ethics are important: “You have to be ethical about how you are connecting, and who is not in the room.” #LeadershipTool #WomenLeaders”
