The Delicious Truth Podcast

The word privilege has become such a negative word in today's society. However, privilege itself isn't bad, what makes privilege bad is what you decide to do with it. You can be born into having the privilege of being financially stable or wealthy, however if you use such privilege to help those around you, then you are using your privilege as a tool to better the world, you are using it to give individuals the opportunity to obtain their own privilege that they might have been denied if you hadn't help them. We can only be aware of our privileges if we analyze them and admit to ourselves that we enjoy these privileges. Only then can we use it to help others.

In this episode, we will discuss ways we can analyze our privilege and what we can do to convert them into a leveraging tool to get one step closer to equality.

"If I know who I AM, then they can't tell me who I am."

Self-acknowledgement is the biggest gift you can give yourself, it is a tool of self-empowerment that no one can take from you. We often get so consumed by the fast pace of life that we live in, that we begin to forget WHO WE ARE because we are so wrapped up in WHAT WE DO. We must take time out of our day to acknowledge ourselves, validate ourselves and most importantly love ourselves.

As children, we are conditioned to start thinking what we want to be when we grow up, a lawyer, a doctor, an astronaut. However, we are not conditioned to start thinking WHO we want to be, or start noticing who we are. An abundance of kindness, compassion, helpfulness, love, strength, and resilience are just as valuable as how much you make.

During this episode I will be sharing the importance of knowing who you are as a person, and the importance of sharing the gift of self with the world. I will also discuss why we should pay attention to the messages life gives you in your youth for telltale signs of who you are. Listen in.

The News is important. It tells us trivial things like, the prize winning hog at the state fair and things of monumental importance, like all things COVID-19. But for some of us, the news can be a trigger. The reality is that for minorities, oppressed and marginalized groups of people day-to-day life can be triggering. The news just makes us ALL aware of some of the things that are happening, whether they directly or indirectly impact us.

The reactions to community violence, murder by “bad-apple” cops, child abuse and sexual assault are as varied as the American population. The lack of compassion for those who are “different” from the dominant culture is disheartening, but it isn’t a new phenomenon. The denial of systemic oppression and racism is an important tool in sustainability of the dominant culture of white male supremacy. It’s a wonder why those of us that aren’t in, perpetuating and benefitting from that culture haven’t burned this country down.

One of the most powerful literary geniuses was Maya Angelou. So much of her work is timeless.

“You may write me down in history

During this episode I’ll be sharing the often discounted and unacknowledged strengths of all people who have been marginalized and particularly of Black people. How, despite the barriers,… We rise. We rise to the challenges, as well as the opportunities, and we still exercise joy and embrace hope . Listen in.

2020 has been a year like no other year in the history of our nation. It brought with its pandemics a huge weight upon our bodies, hearts, minds, and spirits. Is it any wonder that people are dying in their spirits even if they aren't dying in their bodies? We see this clearly in the rising evidence of mental instability in ourselves and others.

As we wrap up this season I do hope that despite how hard 2020 has been for us all, that you felt empowered by the guest featured on each and every episode of season two. My hope was that we would acknowledge the problems and pains and provide pathways to healing, and to joy.

So I thank YOU! I thank you for listening, sharing, and applying what you have learned from these last two seasons. I look forward to connecting with you again, in season three of The Delicious Truth. As always, there is a hug in your future, if you want one!

My favorite artist and poet is no other than THEE MICHAEL JACKSON. When my next guest and I planned this episode, I couldn't help but think of Michael's song Man in the Mirror.

There is a TV show called "What would you do?" When something wrong is happening, even when there are many people around, there is rarely an instance where all the onlookers get involved. This is called the Bystander effect. Everyone just assumes that someone else will do it. I'd take that and go a step further. Either we believe someone else will do it, or we are too afraid of what doing it will cost us.

No matter what side of racism we stand on, neither side can be complicit. We gotta change. But what does that mean exactly. Well, our guest on this episode of the delicious truth helps us unpack the why behind our inaction and how we can change.

André directed and produced The Prep School Negro and took it on a worldwide tour over the past 10 years. He served as producer on the documentary, I’m Not Racist…Am I?

André received a Fellowship in 2013, and was tasked with Directing and Producing the 12-month series, Life Cycles of Inequity: A Colorlines Series on Black Men. he later created The Election Effects Project for Spike TV. André’s next film project is titled, Virtually Free. He directed this story about incarcerated youth in Richmond, Virginia.

Special Guest: André Robert Lee.

Back in June, Harvard Business Review published the following fact.

A few of the most common ways we see it are in hiring, compensation, and advancement, and retention. We know these because of all of the "diversity & inclusion" programs set in place in companies across America. However, there are many silent systems that often go undetected that keep the status quo.

Not only is our guest today actively working to help organizations address these structures, he actively works to address them in his own organization. Scott Hoesman is the Founder of Inquest Consulting, a consulting organization that helps individuals, teams, and organizations think, lead, and interact inclusively. Scott has been doing this work for 23 years. Before COVID Scott dedicated 40% of his time with Global leaders helping global leaders understand how Diversity and Inclusion thinking can transform their organizations.

Go ahead and listen. It's delicious, I promise.

Special Guest: Scott Hoesman.

When the “New North America” was established, it was clear that black people were not human or equal to white people, even after the civil rights movement. Consequently the architects of society had a non-inclusive cultural standard to adhere to when developing our society.

This is where bias comes in. When power and bais marry, they produce systemic racism. All of the systems of our society were built by white men. Our criminal justice system, employment system, housing system, health care system, political system, education system, etc... Even well intentioned folks have built systems that exclude the interest of all that weren’t granted a seat at the table. The side effect being all of the infamous ISMs and phobias.

Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded as normal practice within society or an organization. It can lead to such issues as discrimination in criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power, and education, among other issues.

We are currently experiencing another moment, where the issues of race and injustices are visible enough for everyone to pay attention. The key being everyone. People of color experience it every day. While not all are a visible and clear as the murder of George Floyd, they show up in a way that steals peace and joy from not only those who experience racial acts directly but all of us.

Our guest today is a wonderful and accomplished human being and he is also a gentleman. Howard Ross, is the author of ReInventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose and Performance, (published by Rowman and Littlefield in conjunction with SHRM in 2011), and the Washington Post best seller, Everyday Bias: Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives, (published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2014). His latest book, Our Search for Belonging: How Our Need to Connect is Tearing Us Apart, was released by Berrett-Koehler in May of 2018.

On this episode of The Delicious Truth, Howard helps us understand the real danger in bias and how we can recognize it, own and manage it. You don’t want to miss this.

Special Guest: Howard Ross.

Have you ever said or thought that you could be great if only a certain part of you would let you? Maybe a phrase like, “I don’t know why I keep letting this partner back in my life? I’m never going to find love.” or “I could be healthy, but I can’t seem to stop eating the wrong things.”

Usually these thoughts are pretty normal and can begin a dialogue about restoring one's power and sense of self. But when we are addressing larger dysfunctions like eating disorders, addiction, phobias etc.. the exchange between your favored self and the part of you that you have identified as your hated self are at odds and prevents health.

That is why Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is such a powerful tool. It is a process that allows us to address every part of ourselves with respect, because we recognize that our inner parts contain valuable qualities and our “Core Self” knows how to heal, allowing us to become integrated and whole.

Listen, we can’t possibly act in love for others if we don’t know how to love and honor our full selves. Our guest today Madeleine Warren is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), specializing in the area of trauma recovery. She completed her graduate studies and counseling internship at Northwestern University's Family Institute, and worked for ten years in Community Mental Health as an outpatient therapist, while maintaining a private practice.

She will share how IFS therapy is a powerful tool that can be used to help us to heal ourselves, prevent causing long term harm to our loved ones and live a life filled with more joy. Tune in, you don’t want to miss this one.

Special Guest: Madeleine Warren, LCPC, LMFT.

Humans seem to be obsessed with labels. The idea that you look at a certain pronoun, assign it a proper label which comes with a certain definition. With these labels and definitions we expect that these pronouns would mostly adhere to their respective labels. It’s either this OR that. Rarely do we accept pronouns that are this label and AND something else.

Women are this, men are that. Cats are like this, dogs are like that. Americans are this, Africans are that. Christians are this, Atheist are that. People of color are this, white people are that. Any behavior or label in addition to the predetermined label being added is “Unnatural.” And you know how people treat things deemed unnatural.

The fascinating thing about this behavior is that humans are constantly evolving and there is so much left to be discovered in the world. What we know about any given thing today is limited to now. That is why labels are such a problem. They are severely limited to whatever was known at the time that the label and subsequent definition was assigned.

The result has led us to two kinds of people. Those of us who fight to ensure that “natural” is protected and those of us who fight to challenge what it means to be natural. I think what is better than fighting is embracing “AND,” and leaving behind “OR.”

If we only acknowledged the fact that nothing is an absolute we can embrace the limitless possibilities for any and everything. On this episode our guest knows first hand what it means to live within one's labels and to test the boundaries but not shedding them but adding to them.

David has extensive experience strategically partnering with individuals, teams, and organizations to heighten effectiveness by enhancing communication and deepening understanding of the legal, financial, cultural, and/or dynamic issues at play.

Please join us as he shares his journey in searching for AND in a World of OR.

Special Guest: David Stone.

Racism is defined as a prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.

By that definition, anyone, even those in the majority can suffer from racism. That is not the case. Racism is only effective because of its power to impact the lives of people on a systemic level. People of color aren’t upset about the aforementioned definition, it’s the real definition that keeps us fighting for equality and equity.

Racism is the marginalization and/or oppression of people of color based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges white people.

For most people of color this isn’t a definition that is hard to wrap your head around, but believe it or not, many of our white brothers and sisters find the idea that they benefit from the color of their skin and have more “privilege” in our society than people of color is offensive. The challenge here is that they think that the presence of privilege removes the struggle from their journey.

With all that has happened to people of color in America, it’s hard to believe that some people still deny the truth. On this episode, we are speaking to my friend, my sister who, in her words, is a recovering racist. Join us as she shares her journey from believing what she was raised to believe to seeing the world for exactly what it is.

Pat Lange, is a wife, mom, grandmother, volunteer, leader and budding social activist. She is the former director of Marriage Initiatives at Kensington Church. Former business trainer, program developer and consultant. She has a strong automotive background both as an employee of GM and as a trainer to the Big Three. Pat grew up in suburban Detroit and now lives and leads in Traverse City, Michigan.

Special Guest: Pat Lange.