Jazzalyn
Jazzalyn is an activist, fitness instructor, and business woman from Los Angeles. She is also one of the Co-Founders of Black Girls Leadership Academy. To many of us, she is also Queen Jazzalyn of the South of Central House Los Angeles, former chair of (in my opinion) the best BSU Board to ever grace the campus of UC San Diego (maybe biased).
More importantly than all of that, she is single-handedly one of the most influential and most impactful people that I have encountered throughout my time on this floating rock of ours. I met her within my first week on-campus at UCSD, when I went over to her apartment for the most important night of my collegiate career - the night I met several amazing Black women leaders on campus. Fast forward a few years, and I couldn’t have scripted the growth that our relationship took, that’s really big sister.
There’s this moment in 2012’s The Avengers where Hawkeye and Black Widow (Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson) are trying to take down the Chitauri army, and Black Widow says to Hawkeye “Just like Budapest all over again” to which he replies “You and I remember Budapest very differently.” I love this movie for way more reasons than that quote, but this quote reminds me of Jazzy and I’s experiences at UCSD - so many stories and moments that the audience is unaware of, but can tell there’s a lot of depth to whatever happened in “Budapest.”
As a leader, sister, and friend, she has expanded my view of the world in really human and loving ways. I knew our conversation on the podcast would be an exceptional and moving one, which is why it needed to be split in 2. In part 1, we get to know Jazzalyn’s story growing up in South Central LA, and the origin stories of her fight against the systems of incarceration in our society. We also let the audience in a little on “Budapest” as we discuss UCSD stories and how activism needs to come from the heart to be authentic. In Part 2, we take a deep dive into the founding story of Black Girls Leadership Academy as well as the importance of representation in mentorship. Jazzalyn also gives us a sample of the atmosphere she aims to curate as a fitness instructor with some deep breathing, a key ingredient to her self-care routine as she navigates her life’s journey
