A few months ago, I was listening to a podcast between two white men who speak at a lot of conferences. One of them complained about conferences trying to be more diverse.

 

He said that it was not fair that he, a white guy, might not get to speak because of a ‘token.’ He was speaking about women, but you can insert ‘black people’ or any minority. 

 

He said that if you’re good enough, you’d already be speaking on stage, you’d get the speaking slots you applied for.

 

I unpack this idea on today's episode and talk about the importance of being mindful of diversity and inclusivity when choosing our podcast guests.

 

Podcasters for Justice

Danielle Desir, head of the WOC Podcasters Community, will be on the podcast in a few weeks. She started a Podcasters for Justice campaign and her text is below for you to use:

 

Collectively, we have built engaged audiences that listen to our voices regularly, and with coordinated effort, we can combine OUR voices to take a STRONG stance against racism and police brutality.

We serve many audiences, but we can speak with one voice. One voice that does not mince words and demands justice.

We created this simple PSA for podcasters or any content creator to post and share in hopes that we can come together across digital spaces to support the work of activists on the front lines of change, who risk themselves daily to create a better world for us all.

Please join us in using your voice to take a stand and encourage action at this critical time by issuing the following statement on your podcast or other digital platform(s):

We are (podcasters/bloggers/youtubers/influencer/etc.) united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many many others at the hands of police. This is a continuation of the systemic racism pervasive in our country since its inception and we are committed to standing against racism in all its forms.

We believe that to be silent is to be complicit.

We believe that Black lives matter.

We believe that Black lives are more important than property.

We believe that we have a responsibility to use our platforms to speak out against this injustice whenever and wherever we are witness to it.

In creating digital media we have built audiences that return week after week to hear our voices and we will use our voices to speak against anti-blackness and police brutality, and we encourage our audiences to be educated, engaged, and to take action.

Here are three ways podcasters and content creators can participate:

1. Read this statement on your next show release & post the above statement and graphic to your social media feeds.
2. Donate a portion of your show proceeds and ask audience members to donate to any of the following:George Floyd Memorial Fund:

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