Touch Plans: Touch as Lifesaving Technology. An Intro to Racism + Exploration of Dark & Tender. October 2nd, 10am Pacific Time.


Join us in welcoming Aaron Johnson — co-founder of both Holistic Resistance and Grief to Action — as we kick off the beginning of our programming as Stellar Village! This webinar is part 1 of a continuing series - stay tuned for the next webinars in the series (early 2025).

Agenda (Approximate Times):
10:00 - 10:30 | Introduction to the basic concepts of racism
10:30 - 11:30 | Dark & Tender
11:30 - 11:35 | Bio Break
11:35 - 12:00 | Q&A
12:00 - 12:30 | Optional Bonus! Racial affinity group breakout meetings; one for BIPOC/PGM (held by Aaron) and one for white folks (held by Grisha). Breakout meetings will not be recorded.

About the Dark & Tender portion of the webinar:
Join us in exploring the Black Brute archetype and the shaping of America’s extractive sexual and violent touch story today. Touch and holding include physical touch as well as energetic presence, song, movement, nature connection, and deep listening. Aaron will lead us through building questions to help us see our own internal bias and become aware of how oppression is shaped around this. We will also explore real-life examples of touch plans. Students will also have access to Aaron's newly-released film Dark & Tender that documents these explorations, which they can watch before or after the class.

Disclaimer:
This is a mixed container. The first half hour will be helping to introduce the basic concepts of racism, which may or may not be helpful for PGM folks to witness. After that, the content will be useful to people of all races.

  • Learn the basics of antiracism.

  • Explore the Black Brute archetype and expand awareness of your internal bias.

  • Get instant access to the Dark & Tender Film.

  • Live online session - you'll also get access to the recording afterwards if you can't make it live or want to rewatch over and over.

  • Signing up for a lot of online dog training? Diamond Members get ALL webinars and courses in the school for a low monthly fee.

  • Includes an optional bonus: a racial affinity breakout session to explore your experiences.

Expand your self and community awareness!

Learn about the vital positive affect of safe touch on survivors of oppressive harm

  • 2 Hours of Content

    Includes the recorded webinar and interactive Q&A with Aaron. Accessibility: Recording includes automated session transcript and English captions.

  • Resources

    Includes a .pdf of the Presentation Slides (low resolution, for your personal use only).

  • Continue Learning

    Course students are also eligible to continue the conversation in the Grisha Stewart Learner Support Facebook Group.

    Diamond members can also always post in the special group for Diamonds.

Meet Aaron

Touch Activist, Butterfly Council member

Aaron Johnson

Aaron Johnson is a facilitator, public speaker, and touch activist who practices closeness as a way to break down barriers between people. As co-founder of both Holistic Resistance and Grief to Action, Aaron takes the time to hold the stories of Black people around homophobia, transphobia, internalized racism, and those that are Chronically UnderTouched.

Grief to Action is a semi-mobile camp with a land-based community in the Mojave Desert. The community holds space on the land and with the land for deep grief and rage that gives birth to the creative solutions we need to resist and end oppressive systems. The land and sanctuary are Black-owned and Black-led, centering the needed grief support for African-heritage folks and all People of the Global Majority.

Interrupting four hundred years of the Black Brute archetype. Tender, caring, platonic touch between Black men, the Chronically UnderTouched (CUT) Project’s short film, Dark and Tender, drops Fall 2024.

Because oppression is a part of historical and present American culture, the long term impact of those trauma stories should be acknowledged and held as a map for our collective healing.

Aaron Johnson practices and invites various methods of moving through these stories, such as the communal listening ear, sound healing, meditation, and closeness to the earth.

Ready to learn and build community?

It's your choice: buy this live webinar individually or get it (and a lot more) for FREE as a Diamond Member.

  • $29.00

    $29.00Touch Plans: Touch as Lifesaving Technology with Aaron Johnson, October 2nd at 10am Pacific Time.

    One-time payment to add this recording of a live webinar to your online library. Your access will not expire.
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    $29.00MicroSigns Dog Body Language Webinar: Would You Have Noticed? with Katrien Lismont

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  • $39.99 / month

    $39.99 / monthDiamond Membership All Access Pass

    Great value! Access to ALL live and on-demand streaming content on the site, including this webinar. Over 55 courses with several hundred hours of video, growing every month! Also special events, student coupons, and other perks just for Diamond members.
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If you choose to purchase a Diamond membership, it will go for a month from the start date and then renew automatically each month after that. You can easily cancel renewal at any time and your access to the content will just expire on your renewal date.