UNLOCK 21.1 Against the Hierarchy of Bodies w/ Michelle Cassandra Johnson pt 2

Back with Michelle, and pivoting from diagnosis to practice. We get a powerful story from her anti-racism work about calling someone into accountability without shaming or discarding them — and what real healing can look like in the room.

We explore how multiracial, multicultural communities of care are built on the ground through shared language, listening, and repair. Why is the backlash against DEI and why relationship remains a quiet, radical force against fascism.

Michelle also reflects on growing up in the Black Baptist church, how her spiritual life has always been inseparable from her political life, and why faith — in something beyond what we can currently see — may be essential to sustaining resistance.

CODA: A story from Antifascist Dad about the first inklings I had as a kid that I was white, and what that meant.

Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial equity consultant and educator, and intuitive and shamanic healer. For over 25 years as a racial equity educator, she has worked with large corporations, non-profits, and community groups. Michelle is a six-time published author, and in May 2025, her sixth book, The Wisdom of the Hive, co-written with her best friend, Amy Burtaine, was released.

She lives in North Carolina with her husband, sweet dog, Jasper, and her honeybees.

https://www.michellecjohnson.com/.

Notes:

All theme music by the amazing www.kalliemarie.com.

Antifascist Dad: Urgent Conversations with Young People in Chaotic Times (North Atlantic Books, April 2026).
Preorder: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/807656/antifascist-dad-by-matthew-remski/

Instagram: @matthew_remski

TikTok: @antifascistdad

Bluesky: @matthewremski.bsky.social (Bluesky Social)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AntifascistDad

Chapters

• (00:02:15) - The Secret to Anti-Racism Healing
• (00:06:59) - The Community of Anti-Fascism
• (00:12:08) - Collective Care and Community Care
• (00:15:58) - Inter-Spiritual Direction
• (00:20:57) - The Use of Religion as a Tool of Oppression
• (00:23:08) - Religion and Political Life
• (00:27:29) - The End of Capitalism
• (00:35:14) - How I first realized I was white