Shawnda Chapman Brown

In this episode of Perspective, Shawnda Chapman Brown joins Ted for a conversation centered primarily around sexual abuse and it’s effects on women of color in particular. Shawnda is a researcher and social justice advocate who lives and works in New York City. With a particular focus on marginalized and vulnerable populations, Shawnda has gained broad experience by both developing as well as implementing research, monitoring and evaluation materials both in the U.S. and internationally. Partially fueled by her own experiences, her work has focused on racial justice, gender justice and understanding the ways girls of color get pushed into the criminal justice system. 

Shawnda is able to speak with a unique level of insight and empathy on topics like these. While she and Tedd share some of their own stories, they also give significant time to discussing accusations of the sexual misconduct of recognizable figures like R. Kelly and Bill Cosby. The two discuss the balance between being sensitive to victims while also upholding the belief that as adults we have a responsibility to deal with past trauma in order to better ourselves and function better in relationships. As an application, Shawnda advises listeners to review their opinions and patterns of behavior, even to recreate new ones when necessary, as a means of gaining a new perspective on these important issues. 

Follow Shawnda Chapman Brown on Twitter @shawndachapmanb

Learn more about the Vera Institute of Justice, where she is a program specialist:
https://www.vera.org/projects/ending-girls-incarceration-in-new-york-city