We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Freda K. Johnson, DHA, LCSW-S a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Freda K., thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

Before sharing about the idea for my business, I need to give you and your readers some background on two events that were the reason for forming my business.

The first event was me finally surrendering to a place God had been calling me to be. In November 2020, I had a meeting with former coworkers regarding cultural events planned at my former place of employment. One of my colleagues was working on the Black History program. During the meeting, I was sharing about some work I was performing on a National level and community, I was asked to be a speaker at my former place of employment Black History month program. I quickly declined the offer. After the meeting, I did not have any rest spiritually regarding my answer to my colleague. I declined because of the thought who am I, and I prefer being in the background. After a couple of weeks, I emailed her to apologize for saying no, and I would be a speaker for their program. My colleague was shocked with my email. She said, “I never heard you say No.” However, they needed a speaker for the Women’s Month program and asked if I would speak. I agreed. I nervously over prepared for my presentation and constantly prayed, which is funny because I conduct trainings and group therapy without being anxious. In March 2021, I presented. After my presentation, I received an email from the director and other leaders about my presentation. I received texts from several of my former colleagues with tearful emojis. One person equated the presentation to a Soulful Sunday episode. I said to God, “Oh that’s what you want me to do motivational speaking. I can do that!”

Second, Mr. George Floyd’s murder was a breaking point for me as a Black woman. To deal with my grief, I turned to my skills as a clinical social worker. I created support group for my community as a safe place to process their grief and trauma. At my place of employment, I led listening sessions about their experience of racism in the workplace. Until, I had to seek counseling to deal with my personal racial traumatic experiences in 2021. The weight of hearing about the death of so many Black by police (people of authority) who we suppose to trust or whites who were not being convicted. I felt my life in the US larger society was worthless! Although, I had a successful career as a clinical social worker and respected in my community meant nothing, I was in some people eyes only the color of my skin. My lived experienced as a Black woman with filled with microaggression and oppression in the workplace and coupled with being a parent of black children. It was and is living in a constant state of fear if your child will be next. For my healing, I needed to an outlet that did not focus on heavily on the traumatic experiences of people of color but on building the community. The narrative needed shifting, and I wanted to be apart of the shift.

When a dear friend of mine shared her vision about capturing the stories of people of color journey to success, I was intrigued about the project. I prayed about it the project. The more I discussed the project with her; the more I became at peace in my spirit and passion about contribution to uplifting communities of color. We named the project BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in America. BIPOC in America (BIA) is special because we give a voice to everyday people in historically marginalized communities impacting their community. What makes these individuals stand out is their ability to overcome the challenges of being an American of color. The stories are relatable, and a place of healing for those who lived experience includes racial trauma or negative stereotypes. Each personal story reflects the depth and level of diversity of BIPOC individuals in every aspect of their culture. The shift is to transform the image of individuals that focus on negative stereotypes and provide a pathway of inspiration to future generations. A visual collection and historic digital artifacts of individuals that have made significant contributions to American culture is the success of the project because there are not many in this space.

With these two events, I needed to form a business that would allow me develop creative works. I researched to find a business that would allow for multiple types of medias. A production company seemed to fit. Al Hall Production was created.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have a Doctoral degree in Health Administration, Masters and Bachelors degree in Social Work, a certified Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Specialist; Author; and Entrepreneur. My degrees in Social Work have laid the foundation for my entrepreneurial pursuits. As a clinical social worker, I honed my in public speaking, interviewing, project management, and research skills. Working with different populations, I desired to improve my work and obtained my certification as DEI specialist. These skills are essential to my companies current projects and future projects for clients.

My production company, Al Hall Production, current projects focus on historical marginalized communities. BIA is a docu-series in season 4. Three full length documentaries, Finding Ken, Fighting for Christ, and The Voice of a Diva, one is completed and two in post-production. Each body of work give a voice to a population and/or community’s successes, challenges, and resiliency. With production partnerships and clients, we want to create media that has a global impact on cultural, social norms, and perspectives.

As a public speaker and author, my goal are to inspire people and coach them to accomplish their personal goals. I have used various mediums to connect with individuals such as podcasts, webinars, conferences, and corporate events. During public speaking events, I work to tap into the resilient power within audience members. In a couple of months, I will release my first book “I Am Greater.” In the book, I share my journey in overcoming traumas in my life and draw on the greatness within me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was a non-traditional student because my high school college counselor told me that I was not college material. However, my senior guidance counselor did believe I was. He gave me a scholarship application. I was awarded a scholarship to Bethune Cookman College before I was accepted into the institution. Unfortunately, I did not attend and went into the workforce. A year later, I applied and was accepted into Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Six months prior to leaving for college, I found out that I was pregnant. I decided not to attend school and got married.

A year and a half later, I applied and was accepted into local community college. My major was computer engineering. During my first semester, I found out I was pregnant and did not return for my second semester. Life was happening. I end up divorcing my husband and losing my job. I was lost for a few years. My father never stopped telling me to return to school.

In 1997, I started working as a school bus driver. My co-workers would constantly seek me for counsel. I said to myself, “I need them to pay me for this!” One day, an older Hispanic gentlemen came to my bus and shared his issues with his wife and daughter. Before this day, we never met. This was my sign to re-enroll in college. A few weeks later, I enrolled at Broward Community College. Just to make sure, I understood the career path. I took a career inventory assessment. My results were clergy, teacher, psychology, and social work. I selected my major as psychology, but later changed it to social work. Three years into my studies, I became pregnant with my third child. At this point, quitting was not an option for me. I continued with my studies. I graduated with honors with AA and 3.8 and higher for my other degrees.

I learned to never allow anyone to tell me what I cannot do. I now use their negativity a fuel to reach my goal. Also, my obstacles in life are opportunities for me to find new ways. I tell myself failure is not an option!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The mission is to heal and grow. We can become imprisoned as human in our personal traumas. Once we forgive those who hurt us, ourselves, and release the guilt and shame, the healing process can begin. When individuals are healing, they can speak truths about oneself and identify areas for growth. There are many ways for this process to happen. On my creativity journey, its learning which media medium is best to accomplish the mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alhallproduction.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/al_hall_production/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlHallProduction
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI6CZfTJEGN43HKs8yHPtWA
• Other: https://bianetwork.uscreen.io/?_ga=2.125692297.226423692.1656274397-507965615.1653352536

Image Credits

Kimber Greenwood – Pink dress (personal photo)
Jarvis Curry- Black Dress and photo Speaking in gold
Kennedy Shivers- Camera shot of interview