5 star rating

Highly recommend!

Debbie Martin

Wow! The work Aaron Johnson is doing applies to everyone. One of the best webinars I have experienced. He got me thinking about so many sensitive subjects wi...

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Wow! The work Aaron Johnson is doing applies to everyone. One of the best webinars I have experienced. He got me thinking about so many sensitive subjects without evoking shame and blame. His empathy and thoughtful use of language immediately set the tone. If you are human, you should watch this webinar.

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5 star rating

Wonderful webinar thought provoking and a must watch!!

Yvette Potter

So enjoyed this incredible webinar with a very charismatic Aaron, we need more of these. Empowering and intelligent with compassion and love.

So enjoyed this incredible webinar with a very charismatic Aaron, we need more of these. Empowering and intelligent with compassion and love.

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5 star rating

A challenging but necessary discussions about internal bi...

Aaron Smith

The Touch Plans webinar was an incredibly profound experience. The content not only deeply resonated with my experience but with others on the call as well a...

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The Touch Plans webinar was an incredibly profound experience. The content not only deeply resonated with my experience but with others on the call as well as Aaron opened a powerful space for reflection and healing. Aaron also led us through challenging but necessary discussions about internal biases and how they shape both personal and collective experiences of oppression. It wasn’t just about theory; the real-life examples of "touch plans" gave tangible ways to incorporate these ideas into everyday life and relationships. What stood out the most was the way the session addressed not just the physical aspect of touch, but also energetic presence and the nature connection to our dogs. The emphasis on deep listening felt particularly empowering as a BIPOC person, helping to reclaim narratives of tenderness and care from a history steeped in violence. A powerful complement to the webinar was Aaron’s film Dark & Tender, which documented these explorations in greater depth that I'll be watching this week!

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The Inspiring Power of Tenderness and Platonic Touch to Save Black Men's Lives

Note: This class is a Stellar Village production. Stellar Village is the sibling project to GSA that Grisha founded to explore topics of connection, relating and healing outside of the context of dog training. This class will remain on GSA as a sample of the amazing content that can be found on Stellar Village, and if you're a GSA Diamond Member you will have access to many Stellar Village live events (go to the Diamond Home Page to access the links to the live events!). If you're interested in more Stellar Village content, visit the Stellar Village website to learn more.

Aaron Johnson is co-founder of both Holistic Resistance and Grief to Action and also a core member of the Butterfly Council in Stellar Village. His workshop was the first harvest of our work together in Stellar Village, and we have lots of great opportunities coming up! This webinar is part 1 of a continuing series, so watch this and stay tuned for the follow-up sessions in 2025.

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 that persists today. Platonic touch and holding are healing technologies, and include physical touch as well as energetic presence, song, movement, nature connection, and deep listening. Aaron will lead you through crafting questions to help you see your own internal bias and become aware of how oppression is shaped around this. Aaron also explored real-life examples of touch plans. This is aligned with Aaron's new documentary film, Dark & Tender that documents these explorations.

Disclaimer:
This was recorded for a mixed container. The first half hour or so introduced the basic concepts of racism, which may or may not be helpful for PGM folks (although Aaron, coming from a family of activists, has a long view on this work that we think is worth a watch). After that, the content is useful to people of all races.

  • Tenderness as an antidote to the harms of systemic oppression. This somatic, tactile, touch-based approach can save lives and improve quality of life.

  • This is a shame-free zone, because that actually gets in the way of coming to terms with this work.

  • The workshop opens with a nuanced, embodied overview of the basics of antiracism.

  • Explore the harmful 'Black Brute' archetype and expand awareness of your internal bias. You may believe in this myth more than you are consciously aware.

  • Surprise bonus content!

  • This is a recording of a live webinar.

Expand your awareness of self and community!

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

  • 2 Hours of Content

    The recorded webinar includes Aaron's presentation and questions throughout from the host (Grisha Stewart) and the live audience. Accessibility: Recording includes automated session transcript and English captions.

  • Surprise bonus content

    We would tell you what it is, but then it wouldn't be a surprise. We can tell you to bring tissues.

  • 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 watch Touch Plans?

This is now for purchase at Stellar Village. If you're a Diamond member, log in and use the button at the top of this page for folks who are enrolled.

See purchase options