Dr. Joniesha Hickson (she/her)
Founder
Ida Bell and John's granddaughter.
Nancy’s daughter.
Jasmine and Nicholas’ baby sister.
Dr. Joniesha Hickson is a proud Jersey City native, community organizer, and clinical psychologist whose work sits at the sacred intersection of Black mental health, ancestral healing, and liberation psychology. She is a recent graduate of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where she earned her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.), and the architect of The Ujima Model — a research-based framework that explores how young Black American activists navigate racial trauma and shape their identities through resistance, spirituality, and collective care.
Rooted in a lineage of radical love and survival, Dr. Hickson’s approach is deeply informed by African-centered psychology, the teachings of the Black Panther Party, and the community wisdom of Black women, elders, and freedom fighters. Her clinical and community work spans healing justice circles, educational workshops, and racial trauma trainings offered in partnership with organizations like the Association of Black Psychologists, Inc., and the D.C. Psychological Association.
As the CEO and founding member of Dear Black Prophets, Co., a D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Dr. Hickson is building a world where Black folx are not just surviving — but healing, thriving, and returning home to themselves. Whether through spiritual care, research, or ritual, our mission is simple and powerful: to create spaces where Black folks can grieve together, build together, and be whole together.
Explore the Research
Dr. Joniesha Hickson is a clinical psychologist, community healer, and researcher whose work bridges African-centered psychology, racial trauma studies, and liberation theory. Her scholarship centers the psychological and spiritual lives of Black folx, with a particular focus on how young Black activists navigate identity, resistance, and healing in response to systemic oppression.
Her doctoral research, The Ujima Model: The Alchemy of Black American Activists, introduces a culturally grounded, Afrocentric framework that maps the nonlinear process of activist identity development — rooted in racial trauma, ancestral spirituality, and collective care.
Dr. Hickson’s work merges theory and practice to create liberatory healing models grounded in ancestral knowledge, radical love, and community accountability.
In addition to her dissertation work, Dr. Hickson is a co-author of several influential publications:
