Reckoning With Historical Harm | The Inheritance We'd Rather Not Claim

This is the episode many people don't want to hear.

Because it requires us to look at the parts of our inheritance we'd rather not claim. It asks us to acknowledge that some of what we've inherited isn't just personal pain—it's participation in systems of harm. Benefits we receive from historical violence. Ways our comfort is built on someone else's suffering.

This is uncomfortable. It should be. But discomfort is not the same as harm. And avoiding discomfort doesn't make us innocent.

If we're going to talk about ancestry honestly, we have to reckon with historical harm.

In this episode, we confront what many inherit:

✨ Some inherit privilege from ancestors who colonized, enslaved, or benefited from exploitation. Some inherit trauma from ancestors who were colonized, enslaved, displaced. Many inherit both.

✨ You didn't personally do it—but you're living inside those systems right now, receiving benefits (often invisible) built on harm

✨ This is not about guilt. Guilt is useless and centers your feelings instead of the harm. This is about responsibility.

✨ The question isn't "Am I guilty?" It's "What am I doing with the power and access I have?"

Innocence is a myth. We are all implicated. We are all part of systems we didn't create but participate in every day.

Reckoning means: (1) Learning the real history—the uncomfortable truth (2) Acknowledging your participation now—what privileges you carry (3) Taking action—repair is material, concrete, the redistribution of resources and power

Reckoning without repair is just performance. Every choice either perpetuates harm or interrupts it.

Next episode: Belonging—claiming your place in the human family while honoring distinct lineages.