Jasika Nicole and Creative Liberation

We are celebrating JUNETEENTH! All. Month. Long. The theme for our Juneteenth commemoration is Creative Liberation. Inspired by Alexis Pauline Gumbs teaching that "Freedom isn't a secret. It is a practice," the Stitch Please podcast celebrates the many ways that Black women, girls, and femmes continually practice creative ways to get, be, and stay free. Today Lisa chats with the ever-amazing Jasika Nicole, actress, painter, potter, and sewing enthusiast - on the month's topic of creative liberation. Jasika shares her insights on how the Hollywood industry essentially runs as a corporation, and how bureaucracy can destroy the creative process. In order to use her creative muscles Jasika sews clothes and shares them on social media. Sewing has brought balance into her life, allowing her to be creative, while still maintaining her career. Jasika practices creative liberation by giving herself permission to explore all the different aspects of herself. Her experience has taught her she cannot look to institutions for freedom as they are designed to protect themselves. Creative liberation is important because it asks us to identify what we value, outside of things capitalism tells us to value. It asks us to be our whole selves, and show up for our community without limitations. It is a practice that needs to be exercised. Jasika Nicole has been showing up as her whole self and helping others find the strength to do so as well.