If you’ve ever waded through grief, felt full rage, or struggled to hold onto a feeling of joy, this episode is for you.

I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Tahirah Walker, a personal and professional expert on the power of joy as resistance.

This episode explores joy and how it often co-exists with rage and grief. Dr. Walker explains how joy is resistance because our joy is power. It’s a power no one can take from you. And it a power amplified when shared with others.

In this conversation, we consider all the ways we use joy as protection, whether inserting humor to diffuse a difficult interaction, laughing uncontrollably to deter unwanted attention, or performing joy to reclaim a feeling of safety.

Along the way we arrive at a powerful realization: Feeling authentic joy (rather than performing it) requires safety. So, when we find ourselves in situations where we are performing joy or having trouble accessing joy, it might be worth asking: what’s making us feel unsafe?

As you listen, you’ll delight in the joyful moments throughout our conversation. We cover everything from the thrill of making a basketball hoop from across the court, to Pittsburgh poet Toi Derricotte, to Ghostbusters blasting “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher,” to comedian Richard Pryor, to bee-shaped pins and fabulous hats.

Enjoy the wisdom and joy of Dr. Tahirah Walker!

More about this episode's guest:

Tahirah Walker is an educator, researcher, creative writer, and mother. She is the author of Rhetoric, Intersectionality, and Black Women in Pittsburgh: Living Enough for the City, a book about the power of words to both oppress and resist. She is the two-time recipient of the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh grant. Tahirah has a degree in Anthropology from Sarah Lawrence College, a Masters in Education and Instructional Technology from Carnegie Mellon University, and a PhD in Rhetoric from Duquesne University. Tahirah currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Community Engagement & Leadership at Rowland School of Business at Point Park University, where she has taught for many years. She has also served as faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University,and Bethany College. Beyond her professional and academic accomplishments, Tahirah is a fierce believer in the power of joy as resistance.

Connect with Dr. Tahirah: https://blackbooklady.com/

Have you felt responsible for attracting unwanted advances, touching, or harassment?

Have you wished you would have spoken up, resisted, or fought back?

You are not alone.

Victim-blaming is so pervasive in our society that, when we become a victim, it’s tempting to blame ourselves.

I know this because, for decades, I blamed myself for the assault I experienced in high school Even as I began my self-defense training, I felt responsible for what happened. I believed that, if I could just master self-defense, I could guarantee my safety in the future.

It took me years to realize: no matter how much self-defense I mastered, I would never be able to predict or control the behavior of other people.

In this episode, I propose an alternative to the victim-blaming (or self-blaming) mindset that so often colors self-defense courses.

Instead, I suggest reframing self-defense as a reclamation of our power.

Our power to respond.

Our power to chart our own unique self-defense journey.

Our power to reclaim the narrative, to tell our truth.

Check it out. Let me know what you think.

Want to stay connected and learn more about how you too can incorporate empowerment and self care into your daily life?

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