Denisha is an afro indigenous woman, a storyteller, and a sexual assault survivor. At the very young age of 5, Denisha was prostituted by her brother, and at age 14 she was sexually assaulted again. Being surrounded by this heavy amount of trauma, she has had to grow up very quickly. Therapy was not a big help for her, but once she entered college and got diagnosed with PTSD, she was able to begin her healing journey. With a lot of love and patience towards herself, she was able to accept her reality and use the gifts she was given to become a storyteller. She speaks about what people get wrong about her, her snapshot of everyday life that makes her content, and what she is excited about.

And Still We Rise is written and produced by 165 students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as part of the Social Justice, Human Rights, and the Media course. The show features discussions with both formerly and currently incarcerated women whose lives have been adversely impacted by the Criminal Justice System in America. Special thanks to graphic designer Hannah Timm, composer Anne McConkey, producer Terry Keef, writers Kate Aleknavicius, Landon Brown, Emerson Gilfry, Sadie Ingram, Nick Karas, Paige Kotik, Brynn Novotny, Caitlyn Thomas, and Emily Whitney.

This episode was produced by Kasha Cherek.

Resource Links

https://www.seeusrise.org/

https://nebraskanewsservice.net/krnu-home/

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/NE.html