This episode features Jaha Nailah Avery, UNC law school alum turned griot and professional storyteller. Jaha shares her journey from practicing law to freelance writing for outlets like Vanity Fair and The New York Times, explaining how she left a lucrative tech career to pursue meaningful storytelling work. She discusses her books, including Those Who Saw the Sun: African American Oral Histories from the Jim Crow South, and her role as a keeper of cultural memory. The conversation explores the importance of documenting Black history, the courage required to tell truth in dangerous times, and strategies for resistance through joy, creativity, and ancestral connection.

Sources:

Jaha Nailah Avery, I Heard: An American Journey (Penguin Random House, 2024)

Jaha Nailah Avery, Those Who Saw the Sun: African American Oral Histories from the Jim Crow South (Levine Querido, 2023).

A selection of Jaha's public works:

• “10 Black History Tours and Experiences in New Orleans” (Conde Nast, 2024)
• “As it Nears 25, ‘Eve’s Bayou’ is Still Radical—and Wonderful” (Vanity Fair, 2022)
• “Fashion on a Mission: Celebrating Black Life, One Thread At a Time” (Essence, 2026) [See also Jaha’s author’s page on Essence]
• “How the Peacock Chair Became a Symbol of Black Power and Liberation” (Architectural Digest, 2023)
• “Where Rihanna Got Her Style Groove” (New York Times, 2022)