One White Teacher

Dr. Rachelle Rogers-Ard. Rachelle is a published author, adjunct professor, district administrator and she has over 25 years experience as an organizational development specialist focused on coaching school and business leaders in effective approaches for dismantling racist policies, practices and procedures that threaten organizational health. Currently, Dr. Ard is the Principal Lead for Harvest Consulting.

REAL relationships, Rachelle points out, are based on the people in those relationships being SEEN… and being SEEN is a prerequisite for the possibility to engage in COURAGEOUS conversations.

In this conversation, which I’m so grateful to be able to share with other “white” people who are sincere in their efforts to heal the destructive racial divisions in this country, Rachelle describes, with uncommon clarity, the mindset required for us to make forward progress.

One particularly helpful insight I gained from Rachelle for checking my ‘whiteness’ in relation to Black people is to be aware of my surprise - spoken, thought or wordlessly felt - in response to Black people’s intelligence, accomplishments, skills, etc., etc.

Have you ever noticed that response in yourself, even if you didn’t give voice to it? THAT is clear evidence of how we, as ‘white’ people, have been programmed as ‘superior’ and to expect inferior intelligence, accomplishments and skills from Black people.

THIS is the insidious nature (to use Rachelle’s vocabulary) of how ‘white’ privilege and ‘white’ supremacy manifest… most often under the radar of our own conscious awareness.

It hurts a LOT to tell you I’ve caught those thoughts, which I hate to admit, even to myself, but if I don’t catch them, and I don’t admit to myself that I caught them, then how else can I become more conscious of, and eventually eliminate, the programming I and all of us ‘whites’ grew up with?

Rachelle tells us that we need to ‘name what is invisible to make it visible,’ because as Ibram X. Kendi explains, ‘The heartbeat of racism is denial.’

… a little bit more about Rachelle:

Her upcoming remote leadership engagement series is: “WOKENESS DON’T STOP BULLETS: Authentic Leadership to Challenge Intersectional Racism.” The purpose of this 3-day remote leadership engagement series is to “shake systems and soothe souls.” Dates are August 9th, 10th & 13th, (2021) from 9am - noon PST.  For more info contact: [email protected]

Rachelle’s recently published book, “Black Educational Leadership: From Silencing to Authenticity” which she co-authored with Christopher Knaus, PhD, explores a topic few of us ‘white’ people are even aware needs attention.  The book’s dedication reads “To the many, many children who grow up without being able to learn from powerful, authentic Black school leaders and to the many, many Black educators who feel they cannot be who they are and keep their jobs.”  A dedication that clearly speaks to an unacceptable deficiency in our educational systems that we ‘whites’ must acknowledge, absorb, and be intentional in helping to correct.  

Rachelle's website link.

YouTube link for our conversation:  https://youtu.be/Bky6WpsjeoA

Are you, like me, finally realizing that it’s up to so-called “white” people, to examine our woefully incomplete knowledge of history, and current realities, so that we are better able to contribute, in whatever ways feel most right for each of us, to practical and constructive solutions that will move all of us, as Americans, permanently forward.  We've come a long way, yet we need to remain open to how very much more we need to learn and understand so we can consciously be part of the solutions, rather than continuing to unconsciously enable systemic racism in America.

Today’s conversation is with Ashley Scott, a realtor and visionary entrepreneur. Ashley is a fireball of positive, practical and constructive energy, and she’s dedicated to creating a safe future, characterized by fully realized potentials for her family, her friends’ families, and all future generations of Black families in America.

Towards the end of Ashley’s and my conversation, the connection got a little wobbly, but I hope you’ll listen all the way through… and then I very much hope you’ll check this show’s notes for links to the sites Ashley shared with us.

Organizations suggested by Ashley deserving of your attention and contributions:

The Freedom Georgia Initiative: Creating generational wealth for Black families. Providing a place for safety, restoration, recreation, and reformation for Black families during this time of racial trauma and economic instabilities across the United States of America. All well-wishers are invited to upcoming events and support our fundraiser. We are doing a new thing. We are building for ourselves!

Freedom Georgia’s GO FUND ME page: Help us build a new future for Black families and our allies by bringing amenities and utilities to our 96.71 acres of land in Toomsboro, GA.

The Black Achievement Fund:  Working together with the Freedom Georgia Initiative to establish safe communities, towns and municipalities for Black people across the country in which we have our own police departments, court systems, and control of our own social, political and economic affairs.

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People): A multigenerational network of activists dismantling structural racism by taking action on the most pressing issues of our time.

A small sampling of the media coverage Freedom, Georgia has attracted:

CNN video: 19 families buy nearly 97 acres of land in Georgia to create a city safe for Black people

Newsweek article: 'We're Creating a City in Georgia for Black People to Live Without Racism'

USA Today Article:  “19 Black families bought 97 acres of land, and they want to turn it into a city called Freedom”

Please help more people to learn about this podcast by rating and leaving a review on Apple podcasts, which will help to make this podcast more visible for others who, like us, want to do more than stating the obvious that Black Lives Matter… but who want to increase their awareness and understanding, which is the sole intention of this podcast.

“The Souls of Black Folk,” by W. E. B. Du Bois, Chapter 2 (Of the Dawn of Freedom)  This link connects to The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Souls of Black Folk, by W. E. B. Du Bois. (FREE.)

Forty acres and a mule (from Wikipedia): is part of Special Field Orders No. 15, a wartime order proclaimed by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman on January 16, 1865, during the American Civil War, to allot land to some freed families, in plots of land no larger than 40 acres (16 ha). Sherman later ordered the army to lend mules for the agrarian reform effort. However, Abraham Lincoln's successor as president, Andrew Johnson, explicitly reversed and annulled proclamations such as Special Field Orders No. 15 and the Freedmen's Bureau bills.

You can learn more about, and contribute to Adriene Lipscomb’s 40 Acres Project here: https://40acresproject.com/

And, as always, regardless of your "race," gender, political affiliation, sexual orientation, etc., you are warmly invited to learn more about (and join) the Black Achievement Fund. The goal of the BAF is to create a sustainable independent source of capital to fund a national Black economic and community development agenda and to support the talent of Black people to foster a new Black Renaissance that reflects the collective genius of people of African descent.

In this episode, about the INVENTION OF WHITENESS, I share conversation with Mussadiq. The name on Mussadiq’s birth certificate reads Brian Thomas, but that name that has no meaning for him… (and that will be a whole other conversation I hope he and I will share with you in the near future). Mussadiq’s full chosen name is Mussadiq Abdur Rashid, which means: truth telling servant of the guide to the right path. As I said, definitely a whole other conversation…

In this conversation, Mussadiq and I are making our first attempts at unpacking the history of the INVENTION OF WHITENESS. (Yes, it was invented.) Mussadiq, a systems analyst for the last 20 years, has engaged in a lifelong respect for the facts of history that need to be revealed, so he really is the perfect person for this conversation.

Please check this show’s notes, below, to access a few of the resources Mussadiq wanted to share with you. And do know that there will be more resources the next time he and I go into more of the long-term, wide-ranging harmful effects caused by the invention of whiteness. AND… as I briefly mentioned, we’ll bring some positive focus onto the creativity and intelligence with which the white supremacy mentality is being overcome and sidestepped, because even though many challenges still exist, so, too, do many opportunities … not the least of which is the Black Achievement Fund… the organization through which Mussadiq and I met… and which I enthusiastically recommend to other ‘white’ people who seek to take their first steps towards being true allies. The Black Achievement Fund is a nonprofit 501 (c)3 corporation. All membership contributions and donations are 100% tax deductible, and membership to the Black Achievement Fund is open to anyone who believes in its mission and Guiding Principles regardless of "race," religion, political preference, or sexual orientation.

The Black Achievement Fund: https://www.baf.solutions

(5 minute YouTube video):  “How white supremacy harms white people,” with Jacqueline Battalora  

“Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” by Ibram X. Kendi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25898216-stamped-from-the-beginning

“Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors” by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing https://www.afriwarebooks.com/store/p135/ISIS-PAPERS-FRANCES-CRESS-WELSING.html

Education for Life Academy - where Black history lives: https://educationforlifeacademy.com

In this episode, about the INVENTION OF WHITENESS, I share conversation with Mussadiq. The name on Mussadiq’s birth certificate reads Brian Thomas, but that name that has no meaning for him… (and that will be a whole other conversation I hope he and I will share with you in the near future). Mussadiq’s full chosen name is Mussadiq Abdur Rashid, which means: truth telling servant of the guide to the right path. As I said, definitely a whole other CONVERSATION…

In this conversation, Mussadiq and I are making our first attempts at unpacking the history of the INVENTION OF WHITENESS. (Yes, it was invented.) Mussadiq, a systems analyst for the last 20 years, has engaged in a lifelong respect for the facts of history that need to be revealed, so he really is the perfect person for this conversation.

Please check this show’s notes, below, to access a few of the resources Mussadiq wanted to share with you. And do know that there will be more resources the next time he and I go into more of the long-term, wide-ranging harmful effects caused by the invention of whiteness. AND… as I briefly mentioned, we’ll bring some positive focus onto the creativity and intelligence with which the white supremacy mentality is being overcome and sidestepped, because even though many challenges still exist, so, too, do many opportunities … not the least of which is the Black Achievement Fund… the organization through which Mussadiq and I met… and which I enthusiastically recommend to other ‘white’ people who seek to take their first steps towards being true allies. The Black Achievement Fund is a nonprofit 501 (c)3 corporation. All membership contributions and donations are 100% tax deductible, and membership to the Black Achievement Fund is open to anyone who believes in its mission and Guiding Principles regardless of "race," religion, political preference, or sexual orientation.

The Black Achievement Fund: https://www.baf.solutions

(5 minute YouTube video):  “How white supremacy harms white people,” with Jacqueline Battalora

“Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” by Ibram X. Kendi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25898216-stamped-from-the-beginning

“Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors” by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing https://www.afriwarebooks.com/store/p135/ISIS-PAPERS-FRANCES-CRESS-WELSING.html

Education for Life Academy - where Black history lives: https://educationforlifeacademy.com

Welcome to the One White Woman podcast… Being here means you’re probably aware of how much more aware you could be about the facts and the challenges that underly the realities of systemic racism in the United States.  Hopefully, too, you yearn for opportunities to heal the wounds brought on by the appalling facts of our country’s history. That’s why I’m here, sharing conversations I’m having with people who can help you and me to increase our understanding AND help us to become more effective in the repair, on all levels, that needs to happen… for everyone’s sake moving forward.

The upcoming conversation is with Rachelle Zola, a 72-year old “white” woman who has an impressive history of her own, volunteering all over the world for causes that mattered to her… and who, like me, only recently gained clarity about the harsh realities of life in America for Black people. Her response is a mixture of dedication to peeling back the layers of miseducation in which we’ve all been immersed, ardent emotions and iron-willed convictions that white passivity is NOT an option. Reparations are very much in her sights… not WHAT reparations should look like, because that’s a different conversation she respectfully explains must include the Black community’s perspective and input… but simply and certainly THAT reparations must happen… that they’re long, long overdue.

Rachelle’s hunger strike will begin on May 16th, 2021. You can learn more about plans and how the strike is progressing at any of her social media sites, all of which contain the words RachelleforHR40, and which will be updated by her volunteer support team. Please refer to the show’s notes to find Rachelle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

https://www.facebook.com/RachelleForHR40

https://twitter.com/rachelleforhr40

https://www.instagram.com/rachelleforhr40/

I would also like to share with everyone about an organization that has given me an abundance of hope and energy because its solutions-oriented approaches reflect uncommon levels of intelligence, integrity and practical, creative positivity across the full spectrum of human development and aspirational achievements. The organization is the Black Achievement Fund. You can learn more at their website: www.baf.solutions. (NOT www.baf.com. It’s www.baf.solutions, because solutions really is what the Black Achievement Fund is all about.)

“Whites, it must frankly be said, are not putting in a similar mass effort to reeducate themselves out of their racial ignorance. It is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people of America believe they have so little to learn.”

Those words from MLK would have hurt me and/or (I’m embarrassed to tell you) insulted me just a year ago… and then we witnessed George Floyd’s murder … not just his murder, but the way it came to pass, and not just the way, but by whom - by a policeman. A policeman, and 3 more policemen standing close by.

How much could we learn from those 8 minutes if we consistently exercised our truest intention to comprehend, to venture into feeling, to move beyond comfortable compassion towards and into the empathy that exhausts the heart while it does the work of healing our roots, healing the wounds we don’t even know that we have, that we live with, move with, walk and talk with?

I don’t know the full and complete answers, or if there even are full and complete answers, but I do know that the more I listen, the more I read, the more moxie I muster to learn about the America Black people live in, compared to the America I live in… the more I succeed at catching myself in “programmed” conclusions and responses… the more adept I am becoming, slowly but truly, at reframing, even UNframing previously foregone conclusions and responses … I am gaining a liberation I never knew I needed… waking up to the manipulative programming that’s been woven into the commerce, the education, the society, the recreation, the blood and the bones of everything that I never paid attention to … ever … at all.

Please stay in touch via Facebook or Instagram.

This podcast exists to learn about the love, the dignity and the creative power of Black people who are our fellow Americans… and… This podcast exists to value differences, while breaking down conscious and unconscious barriers of separation which are sometimes caused by those differences.

In this October episode I am scary grateful and supremely honored to be sharing conversation with Freddie Taylor, the Founder and CEO of Sankofa Club… an online resource for Black parents to supplement their children’s education, and, in Freddie’s words: “to keep the miseducation away.”

Mis-education? Oh yes!  Plenty of miseducation about Black people’s history… and the time is long overdue for real-world facts to be acknowledged and affirmed … because the facts about Black people’s history and legacy extend faaar beyond the cruel and dehumanizing chapter of their enslavement in this country. Because one month each year is just. not. enough. Not. Even. Close.

Freddie Taylor is dedicated, in the best sense of that word, to providing well-researched facts about Black’s people’s creative contributions, courage and leadership to today’s Black children, because today’s Black children deserve to grow up with pride in the true worth of their community, their culture, their ancestors….

I have watched hours and hours of Freddie’s online offerings, and the number one impression for me has been the deep Rightness of his motivations, his intentions, his service mindset… and all of that with uncommon generosity and positive energy.

As white people, we have so much to learn about Black people’s lives and experiences… and a lot of what we need to be learning, understanding and absorbing is difficult, uncomfortable … painful. You don’t really need me to tell you that. It’s common knowledge, and it’s probably a big part of why you’re sharing some of your learning journey with me. The thing is, we also need to learn, to try to understand and to absorb Black people’s strengths, their values, their energy and their intelligence… which is why I was so grateful that Freddie agreed to share his thoughts with us… and I highly recommend that you go to his website: UrbanIntellectuals.com to get a broader sense of his activities and contributions, and the wider circle of his associates. We all need inspiration to remain energized and hopeful, so thank you Freddie Taylor… and thank you listeners. 

If you haven’t already, please tell your friends about this podcast and subscribe … I promise you, this podcast is just going to become more and more worthwhile.

Patrice Register is my favorite kind of person: one whose life is all about moving forward on every front, no matter the external obstacles, while being a force for positive growth along the way. Growing up Black in Georgia is one part of Patrice’s story. Another part is her big-hearted family. And, are you ready for this? Patrice was a police officer in Georgia. A Black. Woman. Police officer.  This woman is sooo solid. And NOT to be put into a ‘box’ of simple and predictable labels. After serving as a police officer, Patrice went on to earn an Executive MBA from Colorado State Tech University. She uses that education in a wide variety of ways: •as a business coach, •as a member of community organizations, •as a mentor to start-up companies, as an *advocate for women and girls, and as a *life-skills teacher for ‘at-risk students… and there’s more, which you’ll learn about in our conversation. 

I’m not the only one who appreciates and respects Patrice. She was nominated for the 2012 Small Business Influencer Award and recognized as 2014’s 50 Most Influential Women in Arizona Business. In 2016 she was a nominee for Arizona State University’s Spirit of Enterprise Award. Also in 2016 she was a nominee for BBB Torch Award for Ethics. Bottom line, Patrice is wise, generous and full of positive energy.  

I LOVED this conversation, and I feel permanently enriched by connecting with this beautiful human being. Learn more about Patrice:  https://wefunder.com/stories.that.binds.us  and   https://twitter.com/patriceregister  and  www.plrservices.com 

Contact me:  [email protected]

Police are in the news a lot these days. Too much, really, since the news about police is mostly bad, unacceptable, despicable and even terrifying.

So, don’t ask me how, because I really don’t remember, but I came across a YouTube video with Police Chief Thomas Connolly. On the 5-minute video, he clearly expressed his strength-based humility alongside his invitation to the citizens of his town to participate in constructive partnership.

It was abundantly clear that Chief Connolly meant every word he said, so I had to invite him to join me in conversation on this podcast, because you and I need more good news coming our way these days.

The hour-long conversation you’re about to hear, was on a whole other level. Police Chief Connolly shares his insights and 40+ years of experience in ways that help us to appreciate and respect the human side of his very challenging responsibilities, as well as the challenges of appropriately carrying out those responsibilities. He doesn’t present himself as perfect or having all the answers, but the answers he does have are definitely worth listening to.

Get ready to come away from this episode wishing Police Chief Connolly’s approach was the standard rather than the exception for leadership in our country’s police departments. And be sure to join the One White Woman Podcast Facebook page so you can get the link to Chief Connolly’s YouTube video. It’s worth watching. It really is.

There is no doubt in my mind, that if anyone can create constructive outcomes amongst diverse factions it is that man.  I’m definitely planning on reaching out to him again in about 6 months’ to learn what progress has been realized with the meetings he’s planned.

If you have questions or suggestions for different topics, different people you’d like me to invite onto this podcast, I hope you’ll let me know. Again, the best way to reach me is on the One White Woman Podcast Facebook page.

Thanks for being here. We have so much learning and growing to do, and it really is on us white people to wake up to the countless ways in which systems throughout our country’s culture are, have always been, disproportionately advantageous to whites. In future episodes I plan to share with you some of the important books I’ve been reading, which will include insights from some of the best minds that are focusing on the multi-leveled challenges of racism in our country….

No matter how much we know and feel the truth that #Black Lives Matter, none of us with light skin can possibly comprehend the hard realities of living in this country as a non-white…. and learning from African Americans and other people of color so that we can take in those realities on deeper and deeper levels is the purpose of this podcast.  I hope you’ll stay with me… so we can learn and grow together.