Touch begins far before actually making contact.

Touch Activist Program 2024

The Touch Activist Program is creating a critical mass of practitioners and every day humans to offer conscious, caring, carnage-informed holding for Black bodies and People of the Global Majority.

August 20 - December 17, 2024
Facilitated by Aaron Johnson + Team

Applications due August 12, 2024

This program will benefit all People of the Global Majority (PGM), but will be focusing specifically on the Chronically UnderTouched Black body and will do a deep evaluation of the Black Brute archetype and the shaping of America’s extractive sexual and violent touch story today. Touch and holding include physical touch as well as energetic presence, song, movement, nature connection, and deep listening. The Touch Activist Program is for both formal practitioners in related areas of expertise, as well as anyone who wants to interrupt the Chronically UnderTouched trauma story and be a part of the collective healing of closeness.

The Touch Activist Program acknowledges that holding, cuddling and getting close to each other through touch is a life-saving act.

Schedule

Interrupting the Chronically UnderTouched Trauma Story
Class Series 1 (Online)
AUG 20 - SEPT 10, 2024 (Tuesdays, 5-7pm PST / 4 weeks)

Anatomy of the Black Brute
Class Series 2 (Online)
OCT 1-22, 2024 (Tuesdays, 5-7pm PST / 4 weeks)

Weekend Immersion (In-Person)
The Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama
NOV 15-17, 2024 ( Friday - Sunday)

Preparing the Body for Deep Holding
Class Series 3 (Online)
NOV 26 - DEC 17, 2024 (Tuesdays, 5-7pm PST / 4 weeks)

The Training

Full Program, Online Course Packages and Immersion Only Packages available. All come with one-on-one support calls built in.

New for 2024: the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park Legacy Site is now OPEN and an Alumni Tier for Montgomery Immersion.

Applications due August 12, 2024.

  • August 20 - December 17, 2024

    Includes In-Person Immersion Weekend at The Legacy Sites in Montgomery, AL; a three Month online Class Series Package; and three or more 1:1 calls with Aaron Johnson.

    Access: $3,980
    Break Even: $7,980
    Redistribution: $11,980

    Includes admission to the Legacy Sites; Access rate three 1:1 calls with Aaron; Break Even rate includes four 1:1 calls Redistribution rate includes 5 or more calls. Does not include travel or lodging for Immersion Weekend.

  • For the culmination of the program, we will gather together for three days in Montgomery, Alabama, learning and focusing on physical sessions, holding each other and the material in real time as we work with the historical and present day content of The Legacy Sites.

    Nov. 15-17, 2024
    Montgomery, Alabama
    Includes admission to the Legacy Sites; does not include travel or lodging.

    Immersion Only
    Access: $980
    Break Even: $2000
    Redistribution: $4000
    TAP Alumni: $480

  • Each Class Series is 4 weeks of online class with an intimate cohort. Classes run Tuesdays, 5-7pm PST.

    Classes are designed to be cumulative, and we encourage a single series drop-ins. Each series comes with a 1:1 call with Aaron Johnson.

    Class Series 1: Interrupting the Chronically UnderTouched Trauma Story — Aug/Sept 2024

    Class Series 2: Anatomy of the Black Brute — October 2024

    Class Series 3: Preparing the Body for Deep Holding — Nov./Dec. 2024

    Individual Class Series
    Includes a 4-week Class Series and a 1:1 call with Aaron Johnson.

    Access: $1,250
    Break Even: $2,650
    Redistribution: $4,000

    Class Series Package
    Includes all Class Series and three 1:1 sessions with Aaron Johnson.

    Access: $2,980
    Break Even: $5,980
    Redistribution: $8,000

  • We have 3 partial work trade positions for reduced tuition, estimated at 40-50 hours of work, each. These positions are designed for Full Program participants and will support our time together and the future of the program.

    APPLY FOR PARTIAL WORK TRADE WITH YOUR APPLICATION: bit.ly/TouchActivistApp2024

    Zoom Tech
    Holds down the online zoom classes on Tuesday evenings for all 3 Class Series. Sets up breakout rooms as needed. Meets with the team briefly before the class to understand media sharing needs for that day. Experience with breakout rooms, screen sharing, and sound sharing desired. This might be you if you have consistent internet access or if you do well with multi-tasking to focus. Tuition for this position is $730.

    Videographer + Video Archivist
    Reviews class footage and captures memorable quotes and video clips. Uses these clips to, in collaboration with the program team, create a video about the program. Basic video editing skills and editing software desired. External hard drive provided. iPhone provided for Montgomery Immersion to support documentation there. This may be you if you have some video editing experience and enjoy reviewing and slowing down with the content. Tuition for this position is $730.

    Funds Shifter (Grant Writer)
    Researches and, in collaboration with the team, applies for grants and funding for the first People of the Global Majority (PGM) Touch Activist Cohort. This may be you if you have grant writing experience or are a passionate internet scourer. Tuition for this position is $600.

Payment plans are available. Please complete final payment by the 15th of the third month of your program. Or, reach out to us for an alternate arrangement.

Or, apply with your voice.

Rather send us a voice message than fill out the form?

STEP 1: Please email us at info@holisticresistance.com letting us know you’ve applied with a voice message, so we can be in touch about your application.

STEP 2: Click “Start Recording” to answer the application questions that way. Please begin with your name and pronoun/s (if you like). There is a 90 second limit per voice message, so you may need to leave more than one message.

  • “Held in a supportive group, my capacity to bear witness to historical and present-day carnage became much wider and deeper than if I attempted this alone.”

    Danny Huffsmith, Cohort Participant

  • “I was deeply moved by the depth of our container, the invitation to bear witness and be in a grief ceremony while taking care not to 'out grieve the griever'. Carrying these sacred intentions personally and collectively, meeting in the deep South as a mostly white group, Aaron's guidance and instruction helped us interrupt usual patterns of gathering.”

    Siri Gunnarson, Cohort Participant

  • “This program was unique in its ability to communicate difficult material while maintaining an awareness of the capacities of different nervous systems. We were given tools to help us hold, process, and integrate what we learned. This made it possible for a depth and quality of understanding that I haven't seen in other antiracism programs.”

    Danny Huffsmith, Cohort Participant

  • “The Scratch Holding practice deepens our individual understanding and movements while creating coherence and a depth of community care and resilience that did not feel casual. I am particularly moved by the physical sessions that continue to guide my work for the long arc.”

    Siri Gunnarson, Cohort Participant

  • “This program is not purely intellectual. It addresses the physical, biological patterns of trauma that keep us from being able to connect with each other and with ourselves, and provides the tools to gently heal from those patterns together in real time.”

    Danny Huffsmith, Cohort Participant

Would you like to support People of the Global Majority (PGM) to participate in this training at low to no cost?

We are fundraising for scholarships for a PGM Touch Specialist Cohort, which, if funded, will run alongside next year’s cohort.