Going to dive right in here… I heard a super interesting episode of Armchair Expert with Michael Tubbs, the young, black mayor of Stockton, CA. He grew up as an underprivileged youth in Stockton – His mom had him at 16, and his father was incarcerated throughout his childhood.  He overcame enormous inequity to achieve admission to Stanford University and became the first black mayor of Stockton at 26 years old (26!!).  He’s 30 now,  recently had his first child, and he says it would be “terrible” for his son to have a leg up at admissions at Stanford just because both his parents went there.   That his son shouldn’t get a leg up over a future, younger version of himself…. Think about this.  I’m generalizing here, but it’s the exact opposite sentiment of the hegemonic group (i.e. white in America, ruling tribe in Cameroon, highest caste in India) in which I place myself (I’m not placing judgement on this sentiment by the way…labels are for jars).  The hegemonic individual would say [in general], “Of course my offspring deserves preferential treatment because of who I am / what I’ve done.  I worked my ass off to achieve x, y, z and that should mean something”  Here, Michael is saying, no – I was that person competing with the hegemonic offspring, and I don’t think my son should benefit from the merit of his parents. Powerful. BONUS: He made a comment in passing that I found so beautiful and has stuck with me:  how do we ‘put purpose to our privilege’?  Check out the episode HERE! 

Also…

This week, the Code Switch Podcast explored race and friendship: Keep Your Friends Closer   –  A statistic from this research that was truly shocking: In the United States, 75% of white people have 0 (ZERO!) friends of color.  So while the US is more diverse then it’s ever been, our (white American) social networks are almost entirely homogenous.  There are many sociality systems that are designed to product this outcome (HELLO – remember Dan Heath and Upstream!!!) i.e. segregated housing markets, segregated schools.  The research outlines that not only are cross-racial friendships difficult to establish, they are also difficult to maintain.  The maintenance part of this really rang true for me – I had a very close black friend while working for FDA in Minneapolis, and we both ended up moving to Washington, DC.  When I moved back to Minneapolis, we fell out of touch, and now, I can’t help but question if our drifting apart has anything to do with race. So my action… reach out to her and attempt to rekindle the friendship.   

Are we better today than we were last week?  What purpose are we putting to our privilege?

#courageconversations #blacklivesmatter #purposetoprivilege

This was a really historic week for American politics – Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate.  She’s the first woman of color to run on a major party’s ballot.  Regardless of anyone’s political leanings, it’s an encouraging step toward diversifying nominees even at the highest level.  I’ll concede that no candidate is perfect which reminds me of a great voting analogy that a friend shared with me the other day from Twitter:  “Voting isn’t marriage.  It’s public transport.  You’re not waiting for “the one”.  You’re getting on the bus.  And if there isn’t one going exactly to your destination, you don’t stay home and sulk.  You take the one that’s going closest to where you want to be.” 

In other news, this article from the NY Times was highlighted in the BSC Daily Digest email: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/health/microaggression-medicine-doctors.html .  It discusses the microaggressions doctors of color face in the work place.  The article begins with a succinct explanation of the term ‘microaggression’ which I think is widely misinterpreted.  The article states, “The term, coined in the 1970s by Dr. Chester Pierce, a psychiatrist, refers to “subtle, stunning, often automatic, and nonverbal exchanges which are ‘put downs’” of Black people and members of other minority groups; “micro” refers to their routine frequency, not the scale of their impact.” [I added the emphasis]. 

Lastly, I really can’t get enough of the No Stupid Questions podcast.  Here’s another episode: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/nsq-comparison/  The only person  you should compare yourself  to is a previous version of yourself.  Are you better today than you were last week?? 

#knowbetterdobetter #blacklivesmatter #courageousconversations

TL;DR: Check out Nice White Parents podcast series. 

August is here!  Usually in MN, August is a long, hot month with a lot of lake swimming, bonfires, and general awareness that school will begin after Labor day.  Apparently in CA, August means back to school!  Our oldest son will begin kindergarten this year, and obviously it won’t look exactly as we had imagined. 

I’m pretty laid back about my kids and school (or so I’ve always thought…).  In general, I feel strongly that academic achievement does not solely equate to success, I value effort and determination in the face of adversity over innate intelligence, and I think failure is key especially for kids (re: failure – I worship Wendy Mogel’s The Blessing of a Skinned Knee and am currently reading Jessica Lahey The Gift of Failure).  I thought, perhaps naïvely, that I wouldn’t succumb to the general obsession about ‘getting into a good school’, whatever that meant. 

All of this was theoretical until this past winter when we needed to start the enrollment process in Petaluma public schools for my son.   My neighbor told me the elementary school we’re zoned for wasn’t “a great school” so I should open enroll in another elementary school a couple miles away (as she had done with her daughter).  I diligently toured multiple schools and ultimately agreed with her. My zoned school is a little run down, has lower test scores, and serves a more diverse population (both socioeconomically and racially).   I submitted the paperwork for the transfer and was granted admission to the school of my choice.  You may be wondering, what does this saga have to do with standing up to intolerance and racism (assuming you’re even still reading)?  It’s coming…

Then, last Sunday, This American Life podcast released the first episode of a new series called Nice White Parents (Link to the Series) which is made in partnership with the New York Times.  I started listening, and you know that feeling when you realize you’ve done something that is in direct conflict with who you think you are?  When your narrative self and your experiential self clash?!   (Insert Raised Hand Emoji)  The series is about the segregation in the public school system, and more specifically, the immense power white parents yield.  Frankly, it’s cringe worthy when you listen, and yet, I have to admit I used my own privilege to change schools!  I didn’t equate my actions regarding school choice with systemic racism despite the fact that it’s now so obvious. If I’m really sold on my beliefs about kids and school that I outlined above, why did I try to find a more ‘academically rigorous’ school for my 5 year old?! Needless to say, the podcast series has had a profound effect on my own journey toward combating racism.  I’m not entirely sure what’s next but admitting my part in perpetuating the power of the collective ‘white parent’ feels like the right, first step. 

#knowbetterdobetter

Hope everyone found something to be grateful for this past week.  It really is the small things that help put everything into perspective.  For some cool conversation around happiness and how it changes with age, check out the podcast No Stupid Questions with Steven Dubner and Angela Duckworth (author of best selling book Grit):  https://freakonomics.com/podcast/no-stupid-questions/

#blacklivesmatter #courageousconversations #wecandobetter

Until next time

This week, I was completely captivated by an economist named Glenn Loury – he’s interviewed in Part 2 of Freakonomics’s series on reparations (Here’s the episode!).  I listened to his commentary twice because it was so rich with insight that I didn’t want to miss anything! I love the fact that he’s not easy to categorize (i.e. dem/rep, liberal/conserve, etc)!  My favorite high school teacher always said, “Labels are for jars” which I’ve come to find as the most succinct way to explain the complexity of humans.  There is so much nuance to understanding each other and to solving complex societal issues.  I have to constantly check myself from making judgements of someone based on one piece of information – i.e. their political leanings, their race, their religion, etc. We are all works in progress and fortunately, the work never ends 

This week, there was a great episode on the Freakonomics Radio podcast.  Freakonomics is one of my favorite books, and it’s fun to listen to weekly episodes that highlight examples of the Law of Unintended Consequences… 

The episode is the first in a multi-part series on Reparations… not only looking at race but also exploring the history of women’s soccer (for all you sports fans!) Here it is:

As discussions about racism continue both in the workplace and outside of it, I’m finding it increasingly important to be able to distinguish the people from the systems.  If we don’t recognize this distinction, our natural human tendency is to defend ourselves as ‘good people’ which will never lead to change.  For example, I recently heard someone claim ‘my husband is a cop, and he’s a good guy’.  That can be true AND the policing system can be designed in such a way to uphold discrimination. It’s not one or the other.  I’m purposefully not describing the policing system as “broken” after exploring the ideas in Dan Heath’s new book Upstream. His premise is based around this quote: “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets,” – Paul Batalden.  So while I personally believe the results of current policing practices are flawed, I shouldn’t claim that the system itself is broken. It’s operating as designed.  (Insert emoji of me getting off my soapbox…)

I’ll spare you from my new obsession which is exploring how the concepts in Upstream can be applied to our day jobs  

Have a wonderful weekend,

#courageousconversations #blacklivesmatter #wecandobetter

I hope everyone had a little rest and relaxation last weekend for the holiday.  I spent the weekend with family and my 2 best friends from college, and it really further highlighted how fortunate and privileged I am during this pandemic and social unrest.  I had many conversations with my friends about race, privilege, & *white fragility*.  Like the rest of America, I’m reading White Fragility  by Robin Diangelo and participating in the BSC book club for this book.  I have to say, this book outlines racism and white privilege in a way that is so eye opening.  I’ve uncovered so many of my own blind spots through Robin’s close examination of the white experience.  Move over Shakespeare, this should be mandatory reading in school!

Admittedly, I’ve been a bit removed from the news cycle the past week – and I think it’s by design.  I really don’t want the passion and intensity that is necessary to bring about change to die down.  I’m scared that’s what I will find if I turn on the TV…

Further supporting that fear is this episode of the podcast Code Switch from a few weeks ago:

It explores why George Floyd’s murder has elicited such an intense response from white people.  Spoiler alert: Covid-19 plays a big part.

Speaking of Covid, we’re seeing the numbers skyrocket in the US including CA.  So please, be safe and speak up if you have any concerns. 

Until next time,

This week I’m extra excited to share a podcast from one of my favorite humans on the planet… Malcolm Gladwell recently released a bonus episode of his podcast Revisionist History called “The Limits of Power”.   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revisionist-history-presents-the-limits-of-power/id1119389968?i=1000476517088

It’s a chapter from his book David and Goliath (2013) about a riot in Belfast 50 years ago and subsequent policing practices related to religion and class as opposed to race.  There are parallels to be drawn between Belfast 50 years ago and policing in America today – a common denominator being the use or abuse of Power. 

Malcom has been researching and writing on police brutality and race throughout his books for the last 15 years. As a biracial man from Canada, he approaches the topic with an outsider’s perspective. In his most recent book, Talking to Strangers, he spotlights the Sandra Bland case as one storyline amid many which highlight how bad humans are at assessing each other. If you’re interested, I highly recommend the audiobook version as it includes original recordings, reenactments, and music. 

If you come across any interesting content (books, articles, podcasts, movies, etc), please share!  I’d love any recommendations you have and for this to be a dialogue.  

#blacklivesmatter #thelimitsofpower #keeptheconversationgoing

Over the last few weeks, Ibram Kendi’s book How to be an Antiracist has risen to the top of the best-selling nonfiction books list.  He has some really thought provoking insight about the distinction between “I’m not racist” and “I’m an anti- racist”. Ibram was on the Armchair Expert podcast last week if you want to hear a long-format interview on the topic:

On the same theme of tolerance and inclusion…  this week, we also saw two pivotal Supreme Court decisions – the first said that the Civil Rights Act protects LGBTQ workers from discrimination and the second decision blocked the administration’s attempt to end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) which protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US as children from deportation.  Both of these topics are very important to me as I have friends and family that are impacted by these decisions.  I’ll take these wins in light of all the challenges of 2020!