What have you learned about yourself from books, podcasts, essays, speeches and words of Black and brown people?
Reading Octavia Butler as a teenager opened my eyes to the limited worldview of white evangelicalism that I was raised in. In her science fiction, she creates worlds where spirituality evolves, young girls lead movements and people grapple with the nuances of the human experience without providing easy answers in ways that build compassion without providing easy answers. From ALOK I’ve learned my deep need to give and receive compassion is more important than my desire to know or be right. They have challenged me to seek authenticity over conformity and comfort. They have challenged my concept of status quo by showing me that freedom comes from self-knowledge and self-acceptance rather than external norms. bell hooks has showed me that a world of communion with myself and others is not only possible but worth fighting for. She also showed me not to be too hard on myself, that we may not always get it right, that as humans we are always evolving and it’s through deep relationship with others — not in isolation— that we heal and grow. All of these thinkers, writers, poets have taught me to sit with paradox and complexity, listening and validating the experiences of others without prioritizing my own.
What can you do to counter the idolization and demonization of Black and Brown people?
Listening is so undervalued in our society. Listening is a practice; it takes conscious effort. Listening just to listen, not to postulate or respond, but to really take in others’ stories and experiences as valid and true, accepting them as is a radical act.
Where has/does binary thinking create a barrier to your growth in your anti-racism social justice work?
Binary thinking creates a world of either/or— pitting certain ideas, culture, people against each other, making us choose one at the expense of the other, limiting possibilities and opportunities for growth. The world becomes much more expansive and inclusive by thinking in terms of both/and. We both can exist and be better as we learn from each other. Rest and resistance can coexist, as can spectrums of experience. This isn’t to say that there aren’t pitfalls at either end, extremes that can trap us and prevent growth. But there’s beauty to be found in the tension between seemingly opposite ideas and this is where the richer, fuller life exists.
Question to ask yourself- “What questions are missing to practice truth and reconciliation as I continue to take responsibility for racism and acknowledge it in me, around me, and in the systems, I partake in?”
Why isn’t there more dancing?*
*Disco began as an inclusive non-partnered dancing experience in New York. DJ David Mancuso hosted non-commercial dance parties, inviting people of all races, sexual orientations and socio-economic backgrounds to gather at a time many experienced harassment, and worse, at nightclubs. These parties led to a collective euphoric experience on the dance floor driven by the music. Some of these spaces exist today but most of us need more dancing in our lives.
Thank you for your energy, time, voice and presence in studio and within the community! Sending you so much love and gratitude as you are a true force of allyship and representation of possibilities of UNITY!!
July 2, 2024
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