Please help me extend a warm welcome to Monique Johnson.

Welcome to the PBS Blog!

What is your name and where are you from?

I am Monique R Johnson, Los Angeles, CA born and raised, but moved to Fort Worth, Texas in 2019.

Nice. Cali to Texas is a big transition. What inspired the move?

I considered Texas several years prior. A couple of people I grew up with made the move over 15 years ago. It was when I started dating a guy I worked with who, later took a job in Texas, that I reconsidered. 

What would your perfect writing / reading room look like?

My perfect writing and reading room would look like a university library.

Nicee! I’m loving it already.

I’d have a writing desk with the perfect desk lamp for late-night writing. I’d have a bookcase with books from various genres: motivation, Christian spiritual, financial, self-help, poetry, and a few children’s books for my grands. I would have a leather recliner and a tall, full bird of paradise plant in the corner near the window.

What is the most annoying habit that you have?

Correcting grammar. It gets on everyone’s nerves.

So YOU the grammar police!

If you could do anything else, what job do you think you’d be really good at?

Lawyer. I love to make my point.

Lol. Any siblings Monique?

Three biological brothers, one step-brother, and three step-sisters.

If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like?

Mansion, with an east and west wing, two kitchens, game room, media room, living room, enclosed patio, herb and vegetable garden on one side of the back yard, a dog run in the other, and an in-ground swimming pool in the center. The house would have a balcony with an amazing view. The bathroom would have a walk-in shower, with a waterfall feature and a sitting area.

Let’s get into writing a bit. What genre do you write in and why?

Mixed Genre of non-fiction with a dramatic approach and a sprinkle of poetry to end each chapter. I love writing this way because it makes it more engaging and easier to explain how people can get unstuck.

Why is writing important to you?

I write for my family and generations to come so that they will know how I made it through the toughest times in my life. I want readers of my work, be it my poetry, my magazine articles, or my novel, to know that an everyday person like themselves can get through whatever they are dealing with if they decide to believe that they can.

When did you publish your first book?

My first Anthology was published December 2021. My first memoir was published June 30, 2022. It was exciting and challenging for me. I learned that publishing is not the hard part, it’s the promotion and marketing that’s hard for me.

I get it. So what takes up too much of your time?

Figuring out systems for my business and now my book journey.

In your book, you talked a lot about how your faith got you through a lot of the pain. Do you consider yourself a religious person?

I am not religious in that I do not believe in all of the rules and traditions that mark religions. I do follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. I believe Christ was a spiritual teacher and healer, but the world was not ready to receive such a reality. Religion nailed him to the cross.

If you had one superpower that could change the world, what would it be?

To make everyone love each other with a Godly love.

What does a Godly love look like?

A Godly love looks like a man and woman who puts God first, demonstrates unconditional love, sacrifices for one another, and goes to God in prayer over situations the couple cannot handle in their own strength.

What are your thoughts on race?

We should embrace our differences, and not be opinionated on who is the better of the races. The conflict is in the ignorance of one or the other and the fear.

What do you think of police brutality in the black community?

I am mixed on it. I am a mother of black sons and they express to me that they know how to do the psychological game with the police so, thank God, they’ve not been a victim of it. They have been stopped, even arrested, but never mishandled. How can we do better? I think all of our people who have been victimized, profiled, or targeted by law enforcement should learn to use psychology, or better yet wisdom instead of responding with emotions. That is not helping during intense situations.

How would one use the study of the mind to avoid police brutality? Can you give some examples of how getting overly emotional could worsen already intense situations?

For example, if an officer is approaching a black man on a routine traffic stop, or suspicious activity, the black man should not react in a defensive, or in any way that can be taken as uncooperative, or threatening. Instead, he should be compliant, ask what the stop is for, ask if he is being put under arrest, and get the officers names. A calm, unemotional state of mind will put the officer a little more at ease, thus de-escalating the situation.

Now Monique…

You KNOW I got more questions, chile. But, let’s move on.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Life is not always pretty. We all experience hardship every now and again.

What is your best advice for reducing stress?

Get enough word in you to have something to meditate on when you are getting overwhelmed. Walk, bike ride, or spend time doing dedicated workouts. Eat healthy.

In your own words, what is humility?

Maintaining a grateful attitude, not thinking you deserve all the accolades, but are willing to share the spotlight. Gracious in your acceptance of gifts, complements, and is not easily offended.

What is love?

God. It is receiving others right where they are without judgement. Accepting the good and the bad. Tolerance. Caring about your fellow human. Forgiving.

Thank you, Monique, for spending this time with us.We enjoyed you!

Monique Johnson is a native Californian who relocated to Texas in pursuit of new opportunities just before the world-wide pandemic and social unrest. She is the former founder and president of a nonprofit after school program she created to help keep teens off of the streets. She brought awareness to the Prison Industrial Complex and how it’s growth was planned based on statistics pulled from the minority population. These stats have been improperly used to build more prisons, thus keeping this population incarcerated. She mentored youth to keep them from making bad choices that could land them in the unforgiving criminal justice system.

Johnson motivates single mothers, women in general, as well as young men to push through the hard parts of life. She is an experienced trainer, speaker, project manager, and has a gift of leadership as displayed in her professional career and community. Her books and her upcoming workshops are geared toward her goal to help women and men in their business, personal and spiritual development.

Check out my review of Monique’s book here!