Johnson’s influence spans politics, media, and advocacy. She served on the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Joe Biden, usually behind the scenes, shifting conversations from the margins to the mainstream. Her work isn’t nearly visibility—it’s about transformation. While serving as Director of Public Engagement at Planned Parenthood, she was instrumental in launching the groundbreaking Stand With Black Women marketing campaign, which turned a rallying cry throughout the nation. From there, she based 1063 West Broad, a social influence company named after her childhood residence handle in Virginia, devoted to constructing technique, tradition, and group for folks and organizations dedicated to fairness. Her affect extends far past political campaigns. As a sought-after commentator, Johnson’s voice has been featured throughout MSNBC, CNN, BET, and in publications like The Washington Post, Essence, and proper right here at Glamour.
Now, with the discharge of her debut guide Flip the Tables: The Everyday Disruptor’s Guide to Finding Courage and Making Change, Johnson invitations us deeper. Rooted within the biblical story of Jesus flipping over the tables within the temple, the guide is an element information, half problem, and half non secular reckoning.
“My religion grounds me in my life, and particularly the work to higher the world round me,” she writes. “It’s crucial for all of us to have some non secular anchor.” In a time when the thought of religion is commonly distorted by white Christian nationalism, Johnson is reclaiming Christianity as a software for justice, not oppression.
That non secular readability fuels her critique of right now’s political and company local weather. In an period the place many establishments backpedal below political strain, Johnson refuses to remain silent. “It’s been fairly disgusting to see so many firms cave rapidly to the manager actions,” she says. “They neglect the affect they’ve over the president.” Her message is unwavering: proximity to energy just isn’t the identical as having energy. True energy belongs to these keen to flip the desk when the desk itself is damaged.
Johnson has spent her profession doing simply that—flipping tables, constructing bridges, and calling us all to be braver, bolder, and extra rooted in goal. With Flip the Tables, she’s not simply sharing her story. She’s handing us the toolkit.
Courtesy of Shaleena Cole
Glamour: I wish to begin along with your “Red Flag Is You” chapter. You describe the second you realized you already had all the pieces you wanted inside you. In an period of fixed self-optimization—one other panel, one other self-help guide—it’s straightforward to really feel like we’re at all times one step away from being “prepared.” How can we, particularly as Black ladies, study to belief ourselves and cease delaying our personal energy?
Alencia Johnson: I discovered myself always considering, “I can’t wait to speak to my therapist about this on Monday at 5.” Then in the future, I used to be sitting in a church discuss led by a psychological well being skilled who’s a good friend, and I believed: You already know this. You’re simply afraid to belief your self. And I’ll be trustworthy—remedy was popping out of my pocket. I used to be shopping for the books, spending $200 per week on recommendation I may give my associates, however couldn’t take myself. That was the second I spotted: that is the place the true work begins. I’ve been out and in of remedy most of my life, and I’ll return—it’s a useful resource for various seasons. But I couldn’t maintain utilizing it as a crutch whereas telling others to belief themselves. I wasn’t getting into my very own energy. I used to be the roadblock.
