Jamila Aisha Brown is an activist, communicator, adjunct professor, and founder of HUE, a social entrepreneurship that provides communications training, strategy, and capacity building to human rights organizations and social justice movements throughout the African diaspora. Jamila recognizes the power of storytelling – especially the traditions of griots who carry the histories and cultures of Black communities worldwide. This career path found Jamila by happenstance. Originally, she thought her studies of international relations would lead her to become the ambassador to Panama. However, life had other plans. Because she was always the youngest person in the room, her international development colleagues looked to her to handle social media posts. It was then that Jamila discovered her natural talent for digital and traditional communications. While pursuing a master’s degree in International Service, finally acquiesced to a career in communications when the development organization in Honduras she was writing her thesis about asked her to create a Facebook page for them.
Working in digital communications and human rights campaigning helped Jamila realize that the internet made the world a smaller and more interconnected place. It gives us the ability to communicate and share stories across borders. Jamila’s work uses digital tools to craft stories of liberation. She works with organizations and advocates to shape their stories, craft their narratives, and unify their voices. This storytelling has taken on different forms, especially with new media tools and technology to reach out to multiple audiences amplifying the voices that have always been there, but we have long ignored.
