Tell it Proud

Today's episode is focused on the cultural principles of influence, and is a reading from an essay Christina Blacken originally wrote for The New Quo Learning Community where she curates overlooked ethical and cultural wisdom straight to the inboxes of members who are passionate about finding new insight and inspiration to practice their social justice values.

This essay is titled 'chosen family and the fallacy of nuclear love', and is poetic look into the history of the nuclear family and the ways people have built community and deep love outside of these norms, especially in the LGBTQIA community. It also ends with some prose from Chrsitina with a family story of her own.

If you'd like to further support this podcast and connect with other like minded people join The New Quo Learning Community. Learn more at bit.ly/TNQcommunity

Today's story is a replay from a storytelling event hosted and produced by Christina Blacken titled 'Change My Mind: a live storytelling experience' where everyday people tell true non-fiction stories about an event that changed their minds for the better. It's another form of ethical and cultural wisdom from their lived experiences that creates meaningful connection, conversation, and education around issues we typically don't talk about. The story highlighted from that show for this episode is from Christina's friend Joel Scott sharing his story about his family's immigration to the United States and his process of love, loss, grief while getting into bed with old people. You'll also get to hear the audience's reactions to his story when it was performed lived in Brooklyn, New York.

Joel Scott is an educator, coach, creative, and overall shit talker. Known as The Oracle to some Joel has been in the education space for over 20 years and excels at being a leadership coach, innovator, and learning experience curator. Spend some time with him and you are guaranteed to engage in a wonderful plate or drink, deep ideas exploration, and a little bit of nonsense. He cares more about questions, listens with both ears, and is grateful for his West Indian roots and hairline. You can reach him at [email protected].

Today's episode is focused on the ethical principle of power, and how power can show up in really unconventional ways, especially from people who seem like they may not have any power. This is a reading from an essay originally written for The New Quo Learning Community of curated overlooked ethical and cultural wisdom that goes straight to the inboxes of members who are passionate about finding new insight and inspiration to practice their social justice values.

This essay is titled 'courage is the antidote to oppression," and is historic recap into the life of Ida B. Wells, who was one of the first writers to practice investigative journalism during a time when lynchings were on the rise.

Episode highlights:

• what is ethical and cultural wisdom?

• Ida B. Wells trajectory from enslaved to writer and activist

• an activity to increase personal courage to take action on values you care about

If you'd like to further support this podcast and connect with other like minded people join The New Quo Learning Community. Learn more at bit.ly/TNQcommunity

In this episode me and my guest Aurora Higgs have such a rich conversation that beginning with Aurora's experiences and insights as a transgender individual, activist, and performer. Aurora is an activist and advocate, appointed to Virginia's LGBTQIA+ Advisory Board and elected Vice Chair, and is a scholar studying for a PhD in Queer Black Media Representation, as well as a performer and content creator hoping to uplift Black trans voices and challenges.

In this conversation we explore

+ How radical self-acceptance is the first step to real healing

+ Why we need to separate morality from appearances and how people look

+ How pressures to conform ultimately harm people and how courage is really about honesty

+ Why intentionally building affirming community can save us in a time of alienation

his episode is all about loss. Trigger warning we talk about death, covid, and overcoming with my guest Ada Chen, who is the founder of Chuan's Promise, a sustainable natural skincare line. Her mission is to make the world a better place through leadership, empathy, and driving cultural change. She was inspired to start Chuan's Promise by her experience of caregiving for her late dad, and is committed to changing the beauty industry from the inside out by pioneering innovative sustainability practices and donating 5% of all sales to social justice nonprofits.

In this conversation we explore:

+ navigating being your parent's caretaker

+ using values to make tough decisions during unpredictable transitions

+ how adversities and tragedy can provide unexpected inspiration for your personal mission

+ how our workplaces can play a better role to support people who are caregivers or experiencing loss

In this episode my guest Nike Anani and I speak about her journey of leaving a cushy corporate job in London to move back to Lagos, Nigeria to work in her family business. Nike is an international award-winning entrepreneur, succession specialist and a legacy planning expert for future-focused business families. She is on a mission to help businesses move from lifetime to legacy, such that they build family enterprises of the future.

With over a decade of family enterprise expertise in Nigeria, Nike helps owners lead their family organizations to long-term legacy and impact. Her inside experience as a second generation family business owner and family office pioneer birthed a passion to help other families in building enterprises that would outlive them. Nike is the Author of "Lifetime to Legacy: A New Vision for Multigenerational Family Businesses" and the host of "The Connected Generation" podcast - a top-10 Family Business podcast globally that is dedicated to NextGens that are seeking how to navigate building generational enterprises whilst leaving an impact.

In this conversation we explore:

+ bridging divides between older generations and younger generations in the workplace.

+ how to get someone to buy into a change or new idea they may be resistant to.

+ the three things every entrepreneur needs especially if they want to work with family.

In this episode my guests Misasha Suzuki Graham and Sara Blanchard are founders of an amazing podcast titled Dear White Women. Misasha is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School, a practicing litigator for over 15 years, who is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion. She is a facilitator, writer, and speaker regarding issues of racial justice, especially with regards to children, the co-author of Dear White Women: Let's Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism, and the co-host of Dear White Women, a social justice podcast.

Sara Blanchard helps build community and connection through conscious conversations, which she does as a facilitator, TEDx speaker, writer, and consultant. After graduating from Harvard and working at Goldman Sachs, Sara pursued the science and techniques of well-being and is a certified life coach, author of two books (Flex Mom and Dear White Women: Let's Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism), and co-host of Dear White Women, an award-winning weekly social justice podcast.

In this conversation we explore:

+ why so many people are resistant and uncomfortable with naming whiteness as an identity

+ why DEI work is really about power

+ why understanding history will make you a more conscious, and inclusive person

+ how social change is not about appealing to the most hateful person in the room

In this episode we explore authenticity in all its varieties and understandings. Sherri is a leader, Speaker, and Author who lives to help others see their own authentic gifts and then teach them to use it to level up their lives and their businesses. She's the CEO of Dymond Enterprise and the Business Development Director for a charity that empowers youth to see beyond their circumstances to lead authentically.

In this conversation we explore:

+ Defining what authenticity really means when we have so many vague definitions

+ why we don't need safe spaces but brave spaces to even be authentic

+ how we can reframe and overcome the fear of rejection when being our authentic selves

In this episode we explore when my guest Janet Alexandersson created 40 frameworks on topics like justice, conflict, power, which she thought would take years but was able to achieve this goal in just created in 4 months. She holds a master of laws degree and her strategy and negotiation acuity is the combined result of 15+ years of multi-faceted experiences in the legal field.

Janet has been a startup legal advisor, legal marketing strategist, human rights lawyer, civil and family law litigator, nonprofit executive, grant writer, speaker, and workshop facilitator.

In this conversation we explore

+ Why frameworks can change your life

+ How we each have different levers and layers of power we may not recognize

+ why knowing your values is key to not be driven by fear and anxiety with every decision

In this episode my guest is Umbreen Bhatti who decided to stop wearing a hijab after it was a central part of her identity for a significant portion of her life. We discuss this journey and process of reframing her commitment to faith in her personal and professional life.

Umbreen Bhatti has had a career focused on answering the question of what might our most important institutions be able to achieve when they truly reflect their constituencies and the communities they serve? She's explored that question as a lawyer, then through journalism and media, and now in higher education, with a goal of connecting people and ideas and creating generous, generative spaces and supports for great people to take great work to the next level.

She's now the Director of the Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College.

In this conversation we explore

+ how traditions around religion and community can influence our sense of self

+ how our self-expression and identity changes over the course of our lives.

+ surviving the microaggressions that can occur when expressing your authentic self outside of dominant cultural norms.

+ how we can make decisions and reshape faith from a place of abundance instead of fear.