“Race is the child of racism, not the father.” ”
“Each time a person reaches across caste and makes a connection, it helps break the back of caste. Multiplied by millions in a given day, it becomes the flap of a butterfly wing that shifts the air and builds to a hurricane across an ocean.””
“The lords of this strange and terrible land indeed live lives within such complex and murderous knots. We have all seen them whether we have sieged the castle of one or been seduced by the hospitality of another; we have all had a finger through at least a loop in such a knot.””
“White People: I don’t want you to understand me better; I want you to understand yourselves. Your survival has never depended on your knowledge of white culture. In fact, it’s required your ignorance.””
My Lens
I’m A lover of stories, wisdom, languages, history, culture and community.
Some twenty years ago, my first employer put every one of its employees through undoing racism training with the People's Institute. While I was already committed to justice and social change and a student of history, I hadn't internalized white privilege. I also didn't understand how relentless racism is for people of color. It was uncomfortable and unfamiliar.
For me, work was a place to be professional and not show your feelings. I also thought efficiency and the final product mattered more than the process, culture and relationships. It took awhile, but I know better now.
In addition to joy and curiosity about the world, the people, the training and the work we did were all critical to my development, critical to my ability to teach my kids from when they were very small, critical for my ability to do my job today.
I am committed to continually challenging myself and the status quo. Our survival depends on it, as well as how culturally rich or impoverished we are as individuals and as a collective. I urge all people and organizations to do this challenging internal work, to invest in ongoing awakening and healing and applying this understanding to changing who we are and how we think and show up. Every person, every business, every foundation and nonprofit has a role to play in addressing the ongoing atrocity of racism. We’re all connected in the joy or sorrow of reaching or falling far short of our potential as individuals and as a collective.
What are you reading to increase your depth and expand your view? I’d love to know. Some of my treasured reads include Decolonizing Wealth, The Souls of Black Folk, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, The Warmth of Other Suns and How Long ‘Til Black Future Month. An unexpected find based on a real witch trial from the past, Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch, is funny, sad and insightful, especially in these divisive times. The Swimmers is a fascinating book all in the 2nd person by Julie Otsuka — even more relatable if you’ve logged hours in the pool and occasionally ponder mortality. On the subject of mortality, American Gods by Neil Gaiman offers quite the head trip, magnified by the fact that the author is English.