Hidden Gems: Meet Danielle Shaleece of SoJourney Together

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Shaleece.

Hi Danielle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was a little girl, my father moved my family and I from Oakland, California, to San Diego, California due to his responsibilities in the military. While growing up in San Diego, I navigated experiences where racism, classism, ableism, and sexism permeated the television shows I watched, class sessions I attended as a student, and doctor’s offices I visited to receive treatment. I have found refuge in the ability to share my story and hear the stories of others. Many of these burdening experiences gave birth to my passion for creating change and social justice using poetry as my primary medium while gathering people together to implore social change. Through storytelling, I have also found that travel is an essential tool in order to create a world with more empathetic individuals. I left the country for the first time when I was 16 to visit Spain and Portugal and it shaped not only how I view myself but how I view the world. It caused me to question how I was raised and who I am as a Black woman who happened to be born in the United States. I have since been to over five continents and have been able to take students on Civil Rights Tours and to Ghana to learn how our experiences as Black people today are attributed to our past struggles and joys. I believe that in order for us to move forward, we need to face our past and be willing to do collective healing work.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The pandemic has caused various challenges throughout the organization’s process, specifically because our program is designed to be in person. Though we’ve adapted well, we’ve struggled with navigating through a pandemic while building a strong organization. From our correspondence with different state departments and keeping in contact with our community. Tangibly, we’ve had to cancel trips, limit our interactions and communications with key stakeholders and endure having delayed response times with different organizations and business-related departments.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We not only focus on the history of Black people but also on what it looks like for us to actually heal our racial trauma and what tools exist for us to do that well. We also provide and curate experiential learning trips to give people the opportunity to learn about Black history and to experience first-hand the narrative, joy, and plight of Black people. What sets us apart from other organizations who do this work is our mission to include all individuals who wish to engage in anti-racism work and who are not afraid to face the realities of how Black people have been mistreated on a global scale. If you are not only willing to learn but also willing to act, you are invited to do this work with us.

What’s next?
We recently filed with the government and officially have our EIN number, which means that we are able conduct business professionally and offer our services to the communities legitimately. We are looking forward to doing trips in person, offering our program to the public, and investing in our community when it comes to their educational journeys. We believe that our programming is essential especially because of the racial uprising that occurred in 2020.

Contact Info:

• Email: sojourneytogether@gmail.com
• Website: www.danielleshaleece.com
• Instagram: @sojourneytogether and @danielleshaleece