In this final episode of the Whiteness as Shape-Shifter series, Maureen turns the finger inward. From the loudness of fascism to the subtle betrayals of liberalism, this series has traced how whiteness hides and adapts. Here, the focus is on the most difficult terrain: the reflexes that live inside the body, the mind, and the spirit.

Drawing wisdom from Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Paulo Freire,  Richard Brody’s reading of Sinners, and Octavia E. Butler’s Wild Seed, Maureen asks: what has to die inside me for me to evolve, to transform, to transmute?

The episode is inspired by Annie’s devastating choice in Sinners as a metaphor for radical boundaries, while weaving in ancestral and feminist lineages where shapeshifting is not sinister, but sacred. Diedra Barber reminds us that patriarchy and white supremacy stole this gift of the goddess—and that reclaiming it is a return to power-with, not power-over.

This conversation is not about shame, but about practicing transparency, vulnerability, and love as acts of liberation.

This week’s reflection:

• What does my body do when I’m protecting whiteness?
• What part of me feels like it will die if I don’t?
• And what might be born in me if I let that part go?

When discomfort rises—in parenting, teaching, art-making, activism, or healing—how do my somatic cues shape my choices?

This episode is a closing invitation to pause, notice, and reclaim the sacred power to shapeshift—not to disappear, but to appear more fully in alignment with love, accountability, and collective liberation.

Support the show

This episode was created with deep love, and deep thanks to the frameworks and tools within Cultivating Intersectional Leadership, a course I co-created with Diedra Barber.

CIL isn’t just a training. It’s a transformative journey—one that supports individuals and organizations in making the systemic, strategic, and spiritual shifts needed to build something different.
Something rooted in justice. Something aligned with who we say we want to be.

You're invited to learn more or inquire about participation at:
🌐 www.cultivatingintersectionalleadership.com
Or visit our podcast site at:
🎧 www.eyesonwhiteness.com

If this episode stirred something in you, share it.
If you’re holding big questions, write them down.
And if you’re tired—rest. But don’t quit.