Tell it Proud

Today's episode is an essay I wrote titled the practice of ubuntu for bridging divides. Originating in the Bantu and Xhosa people of Southern Africa and popularized by Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, it's a philosophical concept and set of practices about interconnectedness of human existence, and emphasizes that one's humanity is inextricably tied to the recognition of others' humanity. This philosophy stands in contrast to Western philosophical traditions that often prioritize individual autonomy and self-determination over collective and communal approaches to living. Ubuntu encompasses several key principles including interconnectedness, communal responsibility, reciprocity and harmony, and respect for human dignity. In this episode you'll hear more about the history and evolution of these principles, and the ways they can be used to navigate conflict and build community.

This episode is a replay of a live performance from Change My Mind: a live storytelling experience in NYC. This story covers my own journey of moving across country on a 3 day train from from NJ back to my hometown in Utah with my mother and siblings, how intergenerational trauma lives in our DNA, the history of nuclear families and chosen families, and the importance of building community and relationships beyond just DNA related relatives.

If you want to hear more stories like this, I've started a non-profit called the The New Quo Foundation and am running a fundraising campaign to bring Change My Mind storytelling events to communities near you. These free storytelling events unite strangers through true personal stories of courage, and research shows they actually work to counter polarization and isolation. Every donation helps host more events, pay storytellers fairly, and helps build a nationwide movement proving we have more in common than we think. You can support and learn more about the cause here: bit.ly/ccmcampaign

Catastrophic weather events are an increasing norm due to climate change, sped up by the destructive consumption and production practices within businesses and societal norms. In times of grieving and loss, it's understandable to feel overwhelmed and a growing hopelessness about what can be done, but a powerful counterpractice is to look to untold history for cultural insights and solutions for the problems we're facing, and this episode dives into Indigenous practice of cultural burnings to control wildfires.

Today's episode is about You Got to Move, an underknown and incredible documentary following the transformation of six ordinary people into activists through their attendance at Highlander Folk School, an activist training ground that was founded in the 1930s, trained 100K everyday people, and still exists today. The people featured in the documentary are both Black and White individuals who lived in the U.S. South during the height of segregation, and became unsung heroes fighting against various forms of discrimination. Their model of activism was groundbreaking, as students taught each other based on their own knowledge and work experiences, creating a system where students and teachers became one and the same.

Trust is the foundation of healthy relationships and a functioning society. Without trust, we cannot function or meet our basic needs. When we have high levels of trust in our relationships we work together better, and feel a deeper sense of wellbeing and safety. While pundits and politicians on the far-right complain about the woke DEI mind-virus, those of us who live in reality understand our society is experiencing a crisis in trust and DEI is necessary to improve trust. It's at the root of why our relationships and democratic processes are suffering. To rebuild trust requires accurate historical and cultural education, which would explain the root causes and solutions to these inequality issues so many people feel the impacts of, but this type of education is under attack. This episide covers why DEI is critical for trust and functioning democracy.

Today's episode is an essay I wrote about what social justice can learn from sports. I'm highly critical of corporate sports. The industry is rife with misogyny, racism, and classism, encoding values into millions of viewers that keep them dissociated and passive, particularly for male-identifying folks. I've had debates with sports-loving friends on how I find it to be a red flag when someone's core identity is deeply tied to franchised sports, as if rooting for a team para-socially is as good as playing the game oneself. And yet, I noticed something amongst this NBA Finals and Knicks fever that took over the city I live in and love that social-justice minded people could learn from -- that marrying joy with any movement is the fastest path to justice.

Welcome to Tell it Proud, stories of courage too good to erase or ignore. I'm your host Christina Blacken. I'm a public speaker, performer, writer, and founder of The New Quo which helps every day people practice authentic leadership through daily acts of courage that improves trust and wellbeing in how we live and work together.

Today's episode is an essay I wrote titled "why imperfection is your greatest strength," which dives into the concept of wabi-sabi -- an aesthetic and philosophical practice from Japan that values and celebrates imperfection. Western culture is obsessed with perfectionism. We're ambushed by messages embedded in our institutions about striving for perfection. Whether it's education, or sports, our physical bodies, or careers, we're inundated with messages about how we're not thin enough, fast enough, light skinned enough, smart enough, talented enough, rich enough – it sounds like a bad rap song about how we need to be different to deserve love and safety. Wabi-sabi is an antidote to this detrimental perfectionism and different approach worth exploring.

Today's episode is an essay I wrote for The New Quo Learning Community of a review of an incredible book by Cole Arthur Riley called This Here Fles. It's a poetic masterpiece of personal storytelling focused on discovering and practicing the wisdom and lessons within our familial stories, generational wounds, and personal experiences, so we can liberate ourselves from beliefs and practices that harm us and others. It's a work of art that grounds the practices of liberation in personal spirituality.

This episode of Tell it Proud is an instagram live interview of TaShun Bowden-Lewis, who made a historic first in her career as the first Black Chief Public Defender for the state of Connecticut. We discuss her earliest memory of courage as an "only" growing up in an all white school, her lessons from defending the most vulnerable, and what she calls the pivot under pressure when facing adversity.

Welcome to Tell it Proud, stories of courage too good to erase or ignore. I'm your host Christina Blacken. I'm a public speaker, performer, writer, and founder of The New Quo which helps every day people practice authentic leadership through daily acts of courage that improves trust and wellbeing in how we live and work together.

If you felt a stomach dropping, heart skipping clutch of fear at any point today, I'm guessing you weren't zig zagging from a wild beast trying to catch you, you were experiencing what I've dubbed MPTs or Modern Protection Thoughts (acronyms are fun). These MPTs are typically a daily, even hourly, occurrence and can be triggered by having to make any decision that has potential risks or downsides. They come alive as nagging voices of doubt, anxiety, or panic that can make you sweat plate sized pit stains through your shirt (hopefully it's not a button up shirt, because you can't hide shit with a button up shirt). This fear can even stifle you from doing, saying, or being the "wrong thing." This episode addresses how to overcome MPTs to have a healthier relationship with fear and others overall.