WOKE AND ZEN
Justin Michael Williams, a dynamic author, musician, public speaker, and meditation teacher, possesses a warmth and wisdom that defies his just-over three decades on the planet. But whether Williams was born a baby Buddha or had to work hard to become a master of mindfulness who now shares stages with Deepak Chopra, he is certain of this: he was born Black and queer.
His childhood wasn’t always easy in Pittsburgh, Calif., a rough suburb just outside Oakland, where he says, “There’s gunshot holes outside of the house I grew up in.” Looking back, his parents “did the best they could” and gave him “a lot of love,” but he also recalls feeling isolated, shamed, and bullied for being different.
“The challenges of being a young, queer, Black boy, you know, it’s so specific,” Williams says, recounting a particularly painful story of the first time he was told he
