Two words get tossed around a lot: allyship and accountability, but what happens when they’re more caption than practice? Today we unpack the gap between intention and impact in the coaching industry—and what real repair looks like.

Catryce Sutson and Breanna LaShell dig into how allyship shows up, or doesn’t, across coaching, events, and online spaces. We talk history, lived experiences, and why “I read the book” is not the finish line. This isn’t about shame. It’s about growth, nuance, and staying in the room when it’s uncomfortable.

In this episode:

• What real allyship actually looks like in the online coaching space
• What real accountability means for coaches and creators
• From performative to practiced: beyond black squares, buzzwords, and “good branding”
• Real stories of allyship in action — and moments that missed the mark
• The hidden power dynamics in marketing: who’s centered on your panels, lineups, and feeds
• Being “trauma-informed” doesn’t make you untouchable: credentials don’t replace accountability
• Shifting from reactive to proactive: turning “I’ll do better” into real change through policy, hiring, and culture

Heart Check

For Black women and women of color:

• Where are you shrinking for access? What would full-self participation look like?
• Do your current rooms feel safe enough for honest feedback? If not, what boundary or new room is needed?

For white coaches and creators:

• Where are you expecting grace without showing growth?
• If inclusion is a value, where is it visible on your team, stage, pricing, and policies?
• What will you change this month, such as one hire, one policy, one lineup, or one vendor list, to reflect your values?

Keep the Conversation Going

Share your reflections and stories with us on Instagram, we want to hear from you. https://www.instagram.com/threeblackwomenpod

If this episode resonated, leave a 5 star review so more women (and coaches) can find these conversations.

Tag a friend, a client, or a coach who needs to hear this one.

White saviorism shows up in coaching more than many realize, often with good intentions that still do harm.

In this conversation, we define the pattern, explore how it strips power from Black women and other people of color, and offer concrete shifts for coaches who want to lead with accountability, boundaries, and actual allyship.

This isn’t about shame, it’s about awareness, consent, and support that centers the client, not the coach.

In this episode: 

• What white saviorism is (and isn’t) and how it shows up in coaching spaces
• Red flags: tokenizing “diversity,” centering yourself in a client’s healing, over-explaining, assuming proximity to whiteness = success
• Boundaries vs. overreach: staying in your lane as a coach (not therapist, not founder, not fixer)
• Ethical storytelling: why using clients’ trauma for marketing is extractive—and what to do instead
• Inclusive by design: the difference between performative inclusion and intentional, accessible programs
• Real allyship: moving from “I have the answers” to “I facilitate ownership and choice”

Heart Check:

For Black women:

• Where are you centering someone else in your story?
• What boundaries would help you feel more supported, not saved?
• How can you lovingly redirect when a coach oversteps or assumes?

For white coaches:

• Where are you centering yourself in someone else’s story?
• What would it look like to support without ego, without strings attached, and without needing to be the hero?
• Are you listening more than you’re leading?

Keep the Conversation Going

Share your reflections and stories with us on Instagram, we want to hear from you. https://www.instagram.com/threeblackwomenpod

If this episode resonated, leave a 5 star review so more women (and coaches) can find these conversations.

Tag a friend, a client, or a coach who needs to hear this one.

Have you ever paid thousands of dollars for coaching… only to be met with microaggressions that leave you questioning yourself?

In this episode we are pull back the curtain on the retreat that brought us together and sparked this entire podcast. From a late-night “we’re not crazy” conversation, to a car-ride comment about “dancing like a white person,” to the painful realization that silence doesn’t mean safety, this story sets the tone for everything to come.

Microaggressions may be “micro” in delivery, but their impact isn’t. We are not here to drag, but to name what’s broken, share what healing can look like, and imagine coaching spaces where Black women don’t have to shrink to belong.

In this episode:

• What microaggressions are and how they show up in the online coaching space
• The three types you’ll hear most in coaching: microassaults, microinsults, microinvalidations, how they sound and how they feel
• Our origin story: the “celebratory” retreat, the car-ride comment, and the moment everything clicked
• Intent vs. impact: why “I didn’t mean it like that” isn’t repair—and what is
• Allyship in practice: curiosity scripts that de-escalate (“What made you say that?”) and open the door to learning
• Safer containers: community over isolation, clear policies, visible repair, and why it’s a red flag if clients are discouraged from talking
• Exiting with integrity: revoking testimonials/likeness, canceling misaligned contracts, and protecting your peace

Heart Check

For Black women:

• When’s the last time you felt dismissed in a space that called itself “safe”?
• What do you wish you’d said or done—and what’s one step you’ll take now (conversation, boundary, or exit)?

For white coaches:

• When did you last hear something “off” and choose not to lean in? Why?
• What will repair look like next time (pause, ask, apologize, adjust policy)? What can you change today to make your container safer?

Keep the Conversation Going

Share your reflections and stories with us on Instagram, we want to hear from you. https://www.instagram.com/threeblackwomenpod

If this episode resonated, leave a 5 star review so more women (and coaches) can find these conversations.

Tag a friend, a client, or a coach who needs to hear this one.

If you’re a Black woman in the coaching world, you’ve probably done i, maybe without even realizing it at first.

You changing your tone so you don’t get labeled “aggressive.”

You are choosing words that feel “more professional.”

Tucking away parts of yourself to make others comfortable.

That’s code switching... and in white-dominated coaching spaces, it often happens so automatically, it feels like survival.

In this episode of Three Black Women and Their White Coach, we are getting real about the unseen, exhausting ways Black women are asked (directly or indirectly) to adapt in order to belong.

In this episode:

• How code switching shows up without you even realizing it
• The quiet ways this stereotype shapes interactions in masterminds, group programs, and 1:1 coaching
• The unspoken “rules” baked into coaching spaces
• The toll it takes on authenticity, safety, and mental energy
• Why coaching often isn’t designed with Black women in mind
• How white coaches can create spaces where no one feels they have to edit themselves

This week's Heart Check:

For Black Women:

notice the moments you subconsciously code switch and how it feels in your body. Is it protection? Habit? Exhaustion?

For White Coaches:

Ask: Am I creating an environment where Black women feel they can show up fully, without having to adapt who they are?

Time Stamps:

01:06 What Code Switching Really Means in Coaching Spaces

02:21 The Two Main Types of Code Switching You Might Be Doing Without Realizing

03:54 Our Personal Stories of Adapting to Fit In

08:24 Navigating Identity and Belonging as Biracial Women in White-Dominated Spaces

13:10 Why Authenticity Feels Risky for Black Women in Coaching

31:50 How Your Online Presence (Especially Video) Impacts Identity

36:16 Hair, Professionalism, and the Pressure to Look “Acceptable”

39:34 The Armor We Wear: Breanna’s Pencil Skirt at 16

41:21 Unlearning Who We Were Told to Be and Rebuilding Identity

44:54 How to Spot When You’re Code Switching

48:20 The Ongoing Journey of Self-Discovery

58:51 What a Truly Safe Space for Authenticity Looks Like

1:06:48 Heart Check + Final Thoughts

Subscribe now and join us as we build spaces where Black women can show up fully, without shrinking themselves to fit in.

Connect with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threeblackwomenpod

In this premiere episode, hosts Breanna Lashell and Catryce Sutson dive headfirst into one of the most harmful and misunderstood stereotypes Black women face—the Angry Black Woman.

Where does this narrative come from? Why does it persist? And how does it show up in the online coaching industry, especially in spaces where Black women are meant to feel safe and supported?

With vulnerability, humor, and deep reflection, Breanna and Catryce unpack:

• The historical roots of the “angry Black woman” stereotype
• How this bias shows up in masterminds, coaching programs, and group dynamics
• The emotional gymnastics Black women perform to avoid being perceived as “too much”
• The difference between discomfort and danger, and how white coaches often confuse the two
• How tone policing, unexamined privilege, and assumptions create unsafe spaces

They also share personal experiences—moments of being silenced, labeled, and overlooked—and offer a heart check for both Black women and white coaches at the end of the episode.

This conversation isn’t about canceling anyone. It’s about calling in, challenging the norm, and honoring the full humanity of Black women in the coaching world.

This week's Heart Check:

For White Coaches:

When was the last time you assumed someone was angry when they were simply being direct?

How can you stretch your listening muscles this week?

For Black Women:

Where are you making yourself smaller to avoid being labeled?

What spaces need to be left behind so you can take up your full space?

Time Stamps:

0:00 Welcome to Three Black Women and Their White Coach: Meet Your Hosts, Breanna Lashell & Catryce Thompson

00:32 Why This Podcast Exists and Who It’s For

01:01 Breaking Down the “Angry Black Woman” Stereotype

02:18 Where This Stereotype Comes From and Why It Sticks

03:17 How It Shows Up in the Coaching Industry

03:38 Our Personal Stories of Being Labeled and Silenced

06:39 The Subtle Power Dynamics in Coaching Relationships

12:44 What Inclusive Coaching Really Looks Like in Practice

25:58 The Emotional Labor Black Women Carry in Coaching Spaces

28:14 Building Coaching Spaces Where Clients Feel Truly Safe

30:15 Spotting and Addressing Bias Before It Causes Harm

33:35 How Coaches Set the Tone for Inclusivity (or Exclusion)

36:07 More Personal Reflections and Lessons Learned

48:38 Heart Check: What to Take Away and Apply Right Now

Connect with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threeblackwomenpod

Welcome to Three Black Women and Their White Coach. We’re your hosts, Catryce Sutson and Breanna Lashell—and we’re so glad you’re here.Before diving into the heavy topics this season, we wanted to record this prologue episode to share our hearts, our “why,” and what you can expect from the podcast. Because contrary to what our playful branding might suggest, these conversations aren’t always easy. We’ll be unpacking race, power, and the realities of the coaching industry—topics that can feel layered, uncomfortable, and sometimes painful. So start here and come with curiosity, not defensiveness. Expect nuance, reflection, and maybe a little discomfort. That’s where growth begins. So take a breath, pull up a seat, and join us. The conversation is just getting started. 

Connect with us:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/threeblackwomenpod

Email: [email protected]

What happens when Black women speak the truth about race, power, and the online coaching world? You get this podcast.

Meet your hosts, Breanna Lashell and, a biracial nonprofit coach with over a decade of experience helping impact-driven leaders create change in their communities, and Catryce Sutson, a mixed-race serial entrepreneur who's built multiple businesses with one mission: helping women create lives and businesses they actually want to live.

Together, they’re opening the door to the kinds of conversations that usually happen behind closed doors, like about the microaggressions we paid for, awkward dynamics, racial bias, and the emotional labor Black women constantly navigate in coaching spaces.

And the third Black woman in the title? That’s you, the sis. Whether you’re here for validation, healing, or change, you belong here.

This show isn’t about canceling anyone. It’s about calling in, getting honest, and naming what needs to be named.

Whether you’re a Black woman feeling unseen or a white coach ready to do better... this podcast was made for you.

Connect with us at https://www.instagram.com/threeblackwomenpod