Ja'Meda Reaves | Literacy Specialist | Digital Educator

They're Coming for Education: Here's How We Fight Back Trump has just announced that he's closing the Department of Education for a few days and firing 50% of the staff.

Trump is shutting down the Dept. of Ed for a few days to fire 50% of the staff.

This isn’t “trimming bureaucracy.” It’s the first step toward dismantling the department & a direct attack on public education, literacy, and democracy.

📖 Read more: https://bit.ly/4bMvu67

#SubstackSky

Two powerhouse voices illuminate paths to self-love & resilience. Tabitha Brown nurtures our souls, and Michelle Obama lights the way through uncertainty. These books are like conversations with the wisest women in our lives uplifting, guiding, & reminding us of our strength. #blackbooksky #booksky

Reading as exploration: Black women's stories reveal powerful transformations. Two books capture this journey. One traces ancestral journeys, the other charts artistic freedom. Whether looking back or moving forward, travel changes us in ways staying still never could. #blackbooksky #booksky

Healing starts with understanding. These powerful books shed light on personal growth: Yaa Gyasi's generational story and Nedra Glover Tawwab's therapeutic insights offer compassionate roadmaps to self-discovery. 📚 #blackbooksky #booksky

I love books that inspire joy. Both Talia Hibbert's charming romance & Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts' soul-nourishing guide celebrate Black joy in different ways. Add them to your TBR list because sometimes the most revolutionary thing we can do is choose happiness. 📚✨
#blackbooksky #booksky

It's my pleasure! I hope you enjoy it. 💙

These two books had me examining my relationship with rest. From Tricia Hersey's radical rest manifesto to Jayne Allen's powerful novel - both remind us that Black women deserve more than exhaustion. We deserve rest. Period. 📚

#blackbooksky #booksky

Join the Black Literati Collective: A Virtual Book Club for Black Literature Celebrate iconic 1990s & 2000s Black literature in the Black Literati Collective, a virtual book club with online discussions via Threads and The StoryGraph. Low-pressure, introvert-friendly, and perfect for nostalgic readers! Sign up now to rediscover the stories that shaped us!

Whether you're juggling work deadlines, kid activities, or that self-care you're trying to prioritize, this space is for you. Fellow introverts who light up talking books but find group discussions draining - this is for you too.

Join us:

The Black Literati Collective is a pressure-free space celebrating the magic of '90s-'00s Black literature. No scheduled meetings to stress about. No rigid reading deadlines. Just a community of Black women sharing thoughts and reactions whenever the spirit moves you.

After a few conversations, I found out I wasn't alone. Others like me wanted a pressure-free book club too! So, I created one.

I dreaded the pressure of finishing books by specific dates or trying to squeeze meetings into an already-packed schedule. Though I truly love book discussions, they left my social battery empty by the end of the meeting. Can anyone relate?

I'm an avid reader and I love the idea of book clubs in theory. Getting lost in a good book, sharing those 'OMG did you get to that part?' moments. But as my life became more busy, it became challenging to participate in traditional book clubs.

#booksky📚💙 #blackbooksky #blackbooksmatter

For GenX & Xennial Black women readers, the 90s was a wonderful time to be alive!! That was a golden age for Black books, & J. California Cooper, E. Lynn Harris, Terry McMillan, Tina McElroy Ansa, Bebe Moore-Campbell, Connie Briscoe, Pearl Cleage (and more) had us in a chokehold!! #BookSky

In 1949, George Orwell published 1984, which detailed the dangers of authoritarianism, propaganda, mass surveillance, and censorship. 

In 1993, Octavia Butler published 'Parable of the Sower,' detailing the dangers of climate change and social inequality.

Welcome to 2025.

#BookSky

These are beautiful 😍

I just finished the audiobook of Hollywood Ending by Ken Auletta today. It’s a deep dive into the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein, and it did not disappoint! True crime is one of my favorite genres, and I'm always looking for my next read. Any recommendations? #Booksky

💬 "Community is survival."

Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower shows us that the path to resilience isn’t walked alone. We thrive by finding, building, and nurturing community.

At Journey with Jae, we create spaces where connection and growth go hand in hand—because together, we rise. 🌱

In 2017, I had to give up a 22-year career for health reasons. Starting over at 47 wasn’t easy. But it gave me the chance to rediscover my passions — books, food, and travel.

Now, I’m creating a community for Black women to grow, connect, and transform through those very things. 💜

This journey is deeply personal for me. It started with a life-changing wake-up call, a conversation with a coach, and a serendipitous gift in the mail.

I’m finally bringing it to life.

If this speaks to you, join us. There’s so much more to come. 💜

Here’s what I believe:

📖 Stories shape us.
🌍 Experiences transform us.
🤝 Meaningful connections sustain us.

That’s why I’m building Journey with Jae: Books, Bites, & Flights — a community for Black women who love books, food, and travel.⬇️

But one thing kept me going:

The dream of creating a community for Black women who love books, food, and travel — and crave meaningful connection.

Now, I’m bringing that vision to life through Journey with Jae: Books, Bites, & Flights. ⬇️

That moment — the arrival of Parable of the Sower — felt like confirmation that I was on the right path.

But starting over wasn’t easy.

I had to let go of my identity as a career educator. I had to battle self-doubt, fear, and uncertainty.⬇️

Inside was an early birthday gift: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.

The EXACT book the coach had referenced hours earlier.
The timing felt too perfect to be a coincidence. It felt like Divine confirmation. ⬇️

That conversation planted a seed. But what happened later that day still gives me chills.

A man I had gone on one date with — someone I hadn’t spoken to in almost a year — texted me out of the blue.
He said, ‘Check your mailbox.’⬇️

Then he gave me an example:

‘Let’s say you’re reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. You could build an experience around that — take people to Northern California where the book is set, and create a themed brunch.’⬇️

In early Feb. 2018, I was on a discovery call with a business coach. He asked me a question that changed everything:

‘If you could get paid to do anything, what would it be?’
Without thinking, I said:
📚 Read.
✈️ Travel.
🍽️ Eat.

He told me I could absolutely do that. Of course, I was skeptical. ⬇️

I was working in education then, a career I thought I’d retire from. But it was killing me.

So, I walked away from a 22-year career, with no idea what was next.

Starting over at 47 is terrifying.

It took me a while to figure out what was next.⬇️

In March 2016, I had heart surgery to repair my mitral valve. I thought surviving the surgery would be the hard part.

I was wrong.

A year later, my cardiologist sat me down and said:
‘The stress from your job is damaging your newly repaired heart.’ ⬇️

#Booksky

Hi, Mia! Thank you so much for the follow. I'm following back. I apologize for the delay, but I'm not on social media every day. Thanks for connecting! 🙂

I’ve been thinking a lot about how rest is a form of resistance. It’s something I’m learning to embrace, and it’s deeply tied to my love of books and storytelling. What’s your go-to way to recharge? 💛