Jun 15, 2020
I want to acknowledge and address the
traumatic, heartbreaking reality of our country’s anti-black
socialization, systemic racism and the internalized racist
worldview that is ingrained in being white. I am reaching out,
retreating, asking others, asking myself, learning, unlearning,
doing, undoing, reflecting, listening, making mistakes, and
striving for growth. I truly want to be as present to the
discomfort, awkwardness and pain as I can be, of the racial
inequality of our shared American history. I’ve been so moved by
the younger generation, particularly my adult children, nieces and
nephews as they continue to challenge, stimulate and expand my
understanding of racial injustice and what it means to be
white.
My guests today are 2 of my nieces, Siri Carr and Kirsti Carr. Siri
is a teacher of 8th grade writing in a Boston charter school. She
cares deeply about making the world a better place, trusting that
with love, we are capable of so much more. Kirsti is an
environmental biologist, who has studied raptors in California and
Nevada and is currently working on a red-headed woodpecker project
in Minnesota. She is uplifted by the collective action that is
happening across the country and around the world, hundreds of
thousands of people standing together, demanding equal
justice.
Both Siri and Kirsti invited our extended family into a family Zoom
meeting to discuss white privilege. So even though the family Zoom
hasn’t yet occurred, I wanted to highlight the initiative they
took. As I hear so many white people ask what can I do, I hope Siri
and Kirsti’s efforts might be a tangible thing you could try with
your own families.
Siri and Kirsti help challenge me to think about how we can openly
practice anti-racism in our lives. I know there is a lot of
individual and collective work before us and I hope we can inspire
each other on the journey. Check out the show notes for links to
resources we discuss. Enjoy the podcast!
Programming Note:
Next Monday, June 22, my guest will be author, director &
activist Kimberly
Jones. You may
have seen her viral
video that Joel
Cross, Trevor
Noah, and others
have shared. I'm eager to shine light on Kimberly and the truth she
speaks.
Links:
Teens In
Print
Storyteller Carolyn
Finney
"Black Faces in White Places"
by Randal Pinkett
"America, This is Your
Chance" by Michelle
Alexander, NY Times