Is Violence Progress?

These days it seems like EVERYTHING is about race. And it is! While it can feel overwhelming, the number and variety of ways everything is about race these days, its important to pause and to recognize the ways we ourselves may be used to reading race into things without ever realizing it. It can be as simple as they way we respond to a play like James Baldwin's The Amen Corner.

Over the past few months Canada has been rocked in scandal over multiple mass graves found at the sites of so-called residential schools run by the Catholic Church throughout the 20th century. These schools operated to erase indigenous culture and languages from Canada by kidnapping indigenous children, separating them from family and community, and forcing them to abandon their cultural practices.Moving on to the Olympics, we have a few stories to unpack. A swim cap designed to accommodate natural black hairstyles was deemed unnecessary and unfit for the international competition. We also have two Nigerian women barred from competition because their testosterone levels, while natural, are too high. And for years now Simone Biles, arguably the greatest gymnast of all time, has been punished and diminished for literally being too skilled and therefore, somehow, unfair to her competitors. What can we learn about white supremacy and bias here? Whiteness operates as such an unquestioned “norm” that when athletes demand equipment that fit their bodies, we see it as superfluous or a special accommodation rather than a basic and legitimate need. In the USA many are arguing that testosterone is too high in men transitioning to women and therefore unfair for them to enter women’s competitions at the same time world athletic governing bodies disqualify two black women for their own naturally occurring levels. They are effectively banned for being to fit for competition. Similarly Simone Biles’ natural abilities have long been punished. Yet if we take the case of Michael Phelps, a white man, we learn quickly that there’s nothing wrong with natural talent or abnormal bodies. The conclusion is that the dominance of black athletes must be checked, measured and analyzed against an unrealistic, insatiable, constantly moving standard. There is history and tradition in these biases. The same that whiteness has always applied to other people’s bodies. We have a long tradition of using the bodies of black and other racialized people to justify all sorts of horrors. Through phrenology we justified the innate stupidity of black people. Eugenics was similarly used to justify why racialized groups we fit for anything from extermination to slave labor.

You can find Clifford Cartel's latest album Today Pigs Fly on most major streaming platforms. In addition to that, Cliff is always busy around Washington DC, including establishing a summer education program for kids, and applying his distinct philosophy to the practice of yoga. Follow him on social media @ClifordCartel. Find the Kentucky education legislation here. Its only 7 pages, so make sure you check it out! We'll be referencing this language in future episodes. 

Thanks again, so much, to Richard Becker, West Coast Regional Coordinator with ANSWER Coalition!Here's a few resources to support the conversation1. Learn more about ANSWER Coalition at their website2. Check out Richard's book Palestine, Israel and US Empire3. At (7:58) of the podcast Richard references "putting Palestinians on a diet" 4. At (14:55) of the podcast Richard references Israel "mowing the lawn" in Gaza

This episode relies upon the transcript of Senator Scott's rebuttal. We used this article.We also referenced Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neill, which can be purchased here. 

The murder trial of Dereck Chauvin came to an end last week. In past episodes we've discussed extensively the ideas and tensions underlying police brutality, so in this episode we simply consider, very briefly, what's next after the guilty verdict. Then we move into some deep reflection on the role of anti-Asian bigotry in our collective conscious, and how that informs the bright but brief publicity of #StopAsianHate. Finally, we take a quick look at how our white savior complex can disguise itself as passion and purpose, sneakily poisoning and undermining the ways we show up as anti-racists.

Why does a podcast about white supremacy need to talk about table top gaming? As you may be able to imagine (queue the stereotypical image of white nerds in their moms' basements!) there isn't much diversity in the gaming industry. While there are many black gamers, game developers (and therefore games) are typically limited to white cultures and imaginations which is very odd for an industry focused so far from the limitations of reality.  This is both a result and a continuation of white privilege and supremacy. To learn how, we hear from some of the Factions team: co-creators Jason Crayton and Pete Ferry, and game illustrator Brianna Cole.The game is set to launch on Kickstarter November 10th. This is a BEAUTIFULLY designed game with absolutely stunning character designs. Its worth a visit to their website just to see it all! Be sure to mark your calendar for November 10th to support their launch!Bonus story: Early in our conversation Brianna referred to Jason as Mr Crayton (which seemed a little odd, but I rolled with it). Well, Pete later explained that Jason had been Brianna's art teacher in high school and he later hired her onto the Factions team to design one of the 8 Factions! SO COOL!  What an awesome story!Be sure to follow @factionsbattlegrounds and @bee.zknees on Instagram!

To get involved in Hack Racism, send an email with subject header “Hack Racism” to [email protected]. You can also find more information about this event by clicking here.Be sure to check out Angel’s book History of the Black Dollar and download her award winning financial literacy game Credit Stacker Pro on iOS and Android.

In this episode, Steve reflects on what the past 6 months of tension and violence (like accused multiple murderer Kyle Rittenhouse) mean in the struggle against white supremacy, and asks, Is this progress? Or is this a setback? Its been a very difficult week with the tension and pain surrounding Wisconsin police officer Rusten Shesky's shooting of Jacob Blake, and the subsequent multiple murders of protestors by alleged shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager from Illinois. How do we process everything? Have we finally stopped ignoring the issue of racism and white supremacy?

Companies all across the country are attempting to grapple with the issues raised by the movement for black lives. In this episode we explore diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. We speak with two women who have taken leadership roles in confronting these issues in their careers, as they help us unpack the challenges black and other people of color face in the office and the obstacles white people face in coming to terms with our roles in a work culture that systematically empowers white sensibilities and devalues differing perspectives.Tisha Held is a Principle Auditor with BECU credit union. A long time advocate for women and people of color in the workplace,  she is professional development chair of BECU women's leadership group, and member of Belonging Inclusion Leveraging Differences (BILD) and Black Alliance Coop.Norah Castillo is Manager of HR Analytics with a healthcare firm. Her role naturally coincides with DEI efforts in her company and additionally she serves as a member of her firm's employee -led advisory council. Particularly in the days of protest since the killing of George Floyd, she has found herself as a vocal leader in her workplace confronting issues of whiteness, privilege and racism.Want more conversation on this topic? Try this discussion from the Harvard Business Review.