Jennifer White-Johnson facts for kids

Jennifer White-Johnson (born around 1990) is an artist and activist from Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She is an Afro-Latina artist who has ADHD and Graves' Disease. She uses her art, like graphic design and photography, to talk about how disability rights and anti-racism are connected. She also wants to make sure that people whose voices are often not heard get a chance to be seen and understood. After getting her master's degree, she taught Visual Communication Design at Bowie State University. Some of her well-known works include the Black Disabled Lives Matter symbol and a special book called a zine called Knox Roxs. This zine celebrates Black Autistic Joy.

Growing Up and Learning

Jennifer grew up in Maryland and Washington, D.C.. Her mother is from Puerto Rico, and her father is from Chicago.

She studied Visual Arts at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Later, she earned a master's degree in Graphic Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Her Work and Impact

Jennifer White-Johnson has shared her knowledge as a guest speaker. She taught at the University of Minnesota School of Design's Design Justice Initiative.

She also worked as an assistant professor of Visual Communications at Bowie State University. There, she helped lead the student group for the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). Jennifer has also worked with big companies like Nike, Converse, Twitter, Amazon, Today at Apple, and Google Stories. For these companies, she created events and talked about how art and disability activism come together.

In 2019, she was part of a discussion called "How to be a Black Designer Without Losing Your Soul." In 2020, Jennifer was honored on the D-30 Disability Impact List for her protest art and designs against racism. The next year, in 2021, the Today Show named her one of 20 Latino Artists to Watch.

Art and Activism

Black Disabled Lives Matter Symbol

In 2020, Jennifer created the Black Disabled Lives Matter symbol. She made it because people were talking a lot about police violence. She took the image of the Black power fist and added the infinity symbol. The infinity symbol stands for the Autistic spectrum and the larger neurodiversity movement.

Jennifer made the symbol free to download from her website. People used it in protests in the United States and the United Kingdom. Even former president Barack Obama used it. The symbol was seen at a protest in Washington, D.C. on June 6, led by two Black disabled activists, Justice Shorter and Keri Gray.

Jennifer's goal was to get more people talking about disability and how different parts of identity connect in activism. She wanted to share the message that "To Be Pro-Neurodiversity is to be Anti-Racist." The symbol has been shown in Teen Vogue and on the Black Education Matter's Black Disabled Lives Matter resource page.

Knox Roxs Zine

In 2018, Jennifer White-Johnson released a special photography book called Knox Roxs. It was a limited-edition zine. The book features her son, Knox, who is Autistic, with 72 pages of photos.

This book aims to show more neurodiverse children of color and celebrate Black Autistic Joy. After the book came out, it led to many family zine workshops. These workshops showed how caring for others can be a form of activism. The zine has also been featured in AfroPunk and at the 2019 Women's March in Washington. It is now part of the permanent collections in the libraries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Art Shows and Campaigns

Disrupt and Resist

Jennifer White-Johnson helped organize and was part of an art show called "Disrupt and Resist." This show was at George Mason University's Mason Exhibitions gallery in Fall 2023. Other artists in the show included Andy Slater, Finnegan Shannon, Indira Allegra, Robert Andy Coombs, Alx Veloxo, and Gwynneth VanLaven.

The Art of Disability Culture

Jennifer's art was chosen for an exhibition called The Art of Disability Culture: Artists with Disabilities Dispelling Myths, Dissolving Barriers, and Disrupting Prejudice. This show was at the Palo Alto Arts Center from September to December 2021. The exhibition aimed to create a feeling of community by showing disability culture through art. All the artists in the show had disabilities, and their work highlighted their creative ways of sharing their experiences.

The Future Generation Exhibition

In May 2019, China Martins and Jennifer White-Johnson hosted an open-house event about motherhood. It was a chance to talk about being a mother and making art. People who attended were encouraged to make zines to explore their own feelings about motherhood.

Autism Acceptance Campaign

In April 2017, Jennifer released a series of photos and a statement for Autism Awareness Month. The photos featured her son. She wanted to share the message to "Advocate autistic voices, Advocate acceptance, Advocate autistic love, Advocate for your autistic self, Advocate autistic opinions, Advocate inclusion."

Personal Life

Jennifer White-Johnson is married to Kevin, and they have one son.