Jabari's Spotlight Interview
Resilience
Nikki Giovanni says that “Black love is Black wealth”, so when I feel overwhelmed, I retreat to the people, places and things I love. I reach out to my close friends and family, I find some sun and a body of water, I collect some fresh ingredients for a home-cooked meal, and try to root in my own self-love and purpose. It took some inner work for me to be able to admit to myself that on some days I don’t feel my best. When supporting others, I offer them a similar path of first exploring personal permission to admit they are stressed and overwhelmed, and then inviting them to dream big about the things that regulate them and make them happy. Many of us live such limited lives that we forget how to dream.
Purpose-Driven
A few years ago, I made the difficult decision to resign from my position in local government. My role, Senior Advisor and Director of LGBTQ Affairs for the Office of the Mayor in Baltimore City, was a dream job for me at the time. While I applauded our government for creating this historic position, I eventually felt frustrated by the lack of urgency and bold thinking this type of work requires. I needed deeper, quicker impact. I found that I could code-switch as a bureaucrat, but at my core, I’m an organizer, an innovator and a disruptor. The decision was bittersweet. I think it served as a powerful example for how someone can be led by their values, even if job security is at risk.
Developmental Leadership
If I’m given the valuable opportunity to develop someone else, I always try to find something that I can learn from them as well, so the relationship is more bidirectional. As a former elementary, middle and high school teacher, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is about how much my students were teaching me while I had the responsibility of teaching them. I also stress accountability as a focus area. Accountability to your values, to yourself, to your mission and to our relationship.
Intersectionality
As a fat person, it can be tough to navigate nearly all communities and identities. Fatphobia is something that many different types of people agree on. As a queer community leader, I often find my reality as a fat person at odds with my reality as a queer leader. So many of us in the queer community are misled and intoxicated by beauty myths and body politics. As an unapologetic Black, fat, gender non-conforming person, when I’m leading, I force many of us to reckon with those insecurities. Instead of being embattled, I’ve used it as an opportunity to get closer to myself, and as a useful talking point to understand power, privilege and linked oppressions.
Future Facing Legacy
I want folks to honor my longevity, my focus and my unwavering love for community. I’ve devoted nearly 20 years to helping to build and lead a world where people can find joy and safety. I stepped into roles I was still growing into because I insisted change was possible and I welcomed the opportunity to be held accountable by the people I served. I also started my career quite young. I hope folks are inspired by my audacity to lead at a young age, and I hope youth leaders continue to believe they have what it takes to lead their communities.