In this episode, I speak to my friend Spencer. I learned a lot from him, including some specific talking points for my kids when talking about race, about respecting everyone, and also standing up for what’s right. I appreciated how openly he talked about his experiences, and I think it’s important to underscore that we were both only talking about our unique perspectives, and that his experience is only his experience.

But I think that’s the beauty of these conversations: there’s always something to learn from anyone that can generalize to everyday life for everyday people. And perhaps the biggest lesson I took away from my conversation with Spencer is that our intentions, words, and actions can have lasting impacts. And it’s incumbent on us to take accountability for ourselves, and to always ask “why” we do the things we do.

This conversation was far too short. After re-listening to the episode, I realized there was so much I didn’t get a chance to delve into, like his great grandmother’s experience growing up in Georgia in the early 1900s, or his father’s side of the family as members of the Black Panthers. Needless to say, I hope to have him on again soon.

And the last thing: we use some pretty strong language during this conversation. We talked a lot about race, and we used specific examples of derogatory language that we’ve heard.

Please enjoy my conversation with my good friend, Spencer Corbett.

If you’d like to learn more about me or what I’m up to, please check out my parenting blog, Tim the Dad, or my personal blog. And please reach out!