By Tre Borden
5
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The podcast currently has 34 episodes available.
MY MY MY!!!! This is your host Tre Borden, and I don’t know about you but after the last few days, weeks, months and years of so much upheaval and ridiculousness, culminating with last night’s nail-biter of an election, I AM TIRED. So many of us have been working tirelessly fighting against racism and inequity, and meanwhile have had to do whatever possible to provide safe environments for our families and communities during a global pandemic.
We have created an episode to give you a taste of what meditation and healing looks like alongside some instruction on how to create a practice for yourself. We are so fortunate to have two amazing women of color who are creating more visibility for Black people in the healing industry and who are promoting wellness within the BIPOC communities.
Leah Barros and Jazmin Hicks are going to take you through a healing session to relieve stress, reconnect and restore balance as we recuperate from one of the most stressful periods in modern history. They will also provide information on wellness practices and how to build capacity in your life for your own healing and emotional and spiritual vitality.
For much of this podcast we’ve been focusing on elevating the voices of BIPOC and progressive leaders who understand the daunting but worthwhile task of striving for an equitable society. Given our limited time and resources, and the near constant battle against exhaustion and dismay, it is justifiable to focus one’s energy on the people who already understand what needs to be done and leave the people on the other side or who couldn’t care less one way or another to their own devices. It is also unfair for BIPOC people, who for so long have shouldered more than their share of the burden in the fight for racial equality to have to endure convincing white people why this is a vital priority for our society.
That all being said, we just experienced an election which was a referendum on the direction our country was headed under Trump, and a bewildering 77 million+ people for four more years of his leadership despite all we’ve seen during this administration. The overwhelming majority of those people are white, and in fact the majority of white people voted for what can arguably be called an unprecedented regression into a divisive, racist and anti-equality America the likes of which we hoped not to see again.
What to do? While it is tempting to write those people off as lost causes who don’t deserve our time, it is very difficult to imagine a country or a world that has embraced the changes many of us consider essential while so many of us continue to ignore and fight against an appropriate recognition of these issues. Going further, if we want to create a world without racism it is simply impossible to do this without white people being at the center of this transformation. It is very difficult to admit, but there needs to be a significant and successful effort to bring people together, across a seemingly uncrossable chasm of mistrust and disdain, if we have any hope of seeing a better world.
To discuss this we invited Aja Davis and Molly Ola Pinney, co founders of the Facebook group White People Doing Something. The interracial couple began the group to engage white people in productive conversations around race and engagement after the George Floyd murder, and it has grown into a very robust group of 40,000 doing daily actions around engaging white people in difficult conversations and giving them the tools to create change in their communities. They discuss their philosophy with host Tre Borden in this week’s episode that gives us some food for thought about the many approaches that are necessary to create a world where racism does not exist.
Guests:
It is so important to use this platform to center voices and perspectives that don’t get nearly the focus and visibility they deserve especially those who represent communities under attack. Fewer communities are more threatened or marginalized than the Transgender community. Despite huge strides in cultural visibility via shows like POSE and prominent trans activists entertainers and even politicians in recent years, Trans people are still the most likely group to encounter violence and the least likely to receive justice. When you talk about Trans people of color at the intersection of a racist and transphobic society, it is even grimmer. Despite judicial victories at the Supreme Court and recent legislation in California, the Trump administration’s assault on Trans people and the newly minted conservative majority on the Supreme Court make clear many of these gains are fragile and in peril.
But that is not the whole story. Trans people are some of the strongest, most generous, most hilarious and aware people there are, and I think it is a fitting time to give them the floor to explain how they are interpreting the world right now. Qween Amor, Omega Chuckii, and Ebony Harper represent the best of activism, indomitability, humor and the knowledge of real shit that allows people to take care of themselves and others. This is the best episode we have produced, and I encourage you to listen to the ENTIRE EPISODE and get your life.
Featured Guests:
2020 has tested us to the breaking point. Many of us have suffered greatly as a result of the pandemic, and for people of color that suffering has compounded an already cumbersome daily reality that comes with living in a society built upon racism and exploitation. The upcoming election offers some comfort, but also comes with the knowledge that even if the election results in a new president, there is so much work to do to create a society that acknowledges and attempts to correct the moral wrongs that have led to our present calamity. It is exhausting!
It is in times like this that we need to truly summon our resilience and ask our elders how they have managed to make it this far and perhaps give us a bit of perspective and context for what’s to come. To do that we talked to two incredible people who have seen and experienced so much of the best and worst of America and lived to tell the tale. The first is Bill Borden, host Tre Borden’s father, who is a 77 year old Vietnam vet, former Air Force pilot who has a lot to say about this country, why what is happening now is necessary, and why America is still the greatest country on earth; the second is Dr. Marsha Hirano-Nakanishi, the child of Japanese parents who went through internment, who went on to go to Stanford and Harvard on her way to becoming a long-time education administrator as Vice-Chancellor of the CSU system. She is also the mother of Tommy Nakanishi, friend of the podcast and dear friend and social justice warrior based in LA. Both Bill and Marsha have gone through many cycles of progress and chaos in this country, they have both endured the death of their soulmates, and yet, they still have an indomitable and joyful spirit that carries them and offers us a lot to think about as a new generation takes the mantle of building a world that can work for everyone.
Join us and please subscribe to the podcast: http://whatwegondo.captivate.fm/
Guests:
The death of RBG is the tragic culmination of an administration that has overseen a reign of disrespect, misogyny and policies aiming to pull back many of the protections and rights guaranteeing women’s autonomy in this country. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 spurred many women (and others) to action with millions taking to the streets during the Women’s Marches and a national conversation on sexual assault and workplace harassment that propelled the Me Too movement to international prominence. This movement coupled with record numbers of women running for office created a feeling of genuine optimism for a future where women would be at the helm with abusive men running scared.
COVID-19 along with the increasingly hostile federal administration have lead to a much less hopeful reality and have exhausted activists and ordinary citizens alike. During the pandemic women have seen the balance between work and home life obliterated comprising 80% of people dropping out of the workforce. This has widened the gender wage gap, and many Mothers are having to grapple with the cost of childcare (if it is even available), working and the health of their families if they are essential workers. The Trump administration has packed the courts with young, hyper-conservative judges who aim to rollback access to reproductive healthcare, with the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett the final nail in the coffin of Roe Vs. Wade. Most dispiritingly, after the most diverse field of Presidential candidates ever in history with many qualified and popular female candidates, the field once again is narrowed to two nearly octogenarian white men. It feels very bleak!
But all is not lost, and hopefully this moment is a wake up call that the fight is very very far from over, and that there are many reasons to be hopeful about the near and long-term future of women in this country. We invited two extremely impressive and experienced women to discuss how to interpret our present and how to prepare for our future. Adama, a lobbyist and now activist, landed herself on the cover of Time Magazine’s Person of the Year cover in 2017 for her work exposing sexual assault and harassment in the California State Capitol; Jodi, also a lobbyist, has taken the helm of California’s Planned Parenthood Affiliates at one of the most pivotal and perilous times for women’s reproductive health in a generation. Together they paint a compelling picture for why the threats cannot be underestimated but also why a new era for women is within reach if we work together and encourage a new, inclusive, and fearless generation of female leaders.
This is our 30th episode! We are so excited to share this with you so please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast: https://whatwegondo.captivate.fm/listen
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If you’ve been in California in the last few months, or anywhere else in the United States really, it is becoming almost impossible to deny the impacts of climate change. For the second time in two years wildfires in the Western US have threatened millions of acres, evacuated whole regions and caused air quality so bad San Francisco could have been mistaken for Mars for almost an entire week. The World Meteorological Organization has run out of hurricane names for 2020, and it’s only September. Flooding is debilitating many parts of the southeast even some areas that aren’t designated flood plains. In September Death Valley had a recorded temperature of 130 which is possible the hottest anywhere on earth in modern times.
For many people experiencing these disasters it is no longer an isolated, once-in-a-generation event, but a frequent reality that threatens the short and long-term viability of their region as a place to live. The economic toll of these events continues to grow astronomically, not to mention the human costs of lost life and having to uproot whole communities with nowhere to go. This reality check takes place during a pandemic that has cost many people their health and livelihoods and decimated our economy with no end in sight. Not to mention a federal administration that still discredits climate change as a reality, let alone our most important global priority. Trump recently came to a still on-fire California to meet with the Governor and told gathered officials that “science doesn’t really know” what’s happening with climate change. It’s unbelievable. As usual the populations most impacted by this lack of action are the poor, communities of color and other marginalized groups who usually contribute the least to the problem.
A silver lining of this catastrophe is that what was once considered an abstract theory that only scientists understood or cared about is something is now extremely tangible, and this provides a moment for dramatic action especially when we consider the potential economic opportunities that would come with a green revolution to fight climate change. It is also a time to reexamine the systems we use to dispense relief so that communities are able to handle the immense resources necessary for fundamental change and allow for truly equitably driven solutions. To paint a picture for what this new world could look like, and how we might get there I invited two guests whose whole world is understanding the impact of climate change and how we can create resilient communities. Brandy is our first repeat guest, and this time she discusses her expertise on disaster recovery and the coordination between federal and local governments to rebuild and measure risk. Dr. Schultz brings decades of modeling experience as well as an understanding of how large a role economics and the private sector play in our ability to create an opportunity for change that can bring prosperity and sustainability to many communities.
Featured Guests:
On the heels of the disappointing (and expected) miscarriage of justice for Breonna Taylor, and our ongoing racial justice movement, calls to defund the police and acknowledge the white supremacy inherent in law enforcement are deafening and deserved. It is impossible to imagine how we can move meaningfully toward a more just and safe reality for Black people in this country without major reform and perhaps wholesale disestablishment of our criminal justice system. This should start with the police who are responsible for so much terror and death in Black and underserved communities and yet so rarely face true accountability.
One of the most unproductive parts of this conversation has been the refusal of law enforcement to take responsibility for their shortcomings, and to lead the call to hold bad police accountable. It is imperative that reform-minded police advocate for desperately needed reforms if we are to repair the relationship between communities of color and law enforcement. The distrust runs so deep that it is hard to envision a different dynamic, but we wanted to have a conversation that would point toward a hopeful future and to do that we invited three reform-minded police officers, two of them a current and retired Chief, to speak about their ideas for how law enforcement needs to change. The conversation was provocative and insightful, and conveys a least a shred of hope that there are people inside this corrupted system that are earnestly striving for change and genuinely want to serve their communities.
We spoke to the current Chief of Charlottesville, VA (a Black woman), the former chief of Burlington, VT (a white man who was also a precinct chief in the NYPD) and a police officer in Northern California (a Black man). Their perspectives and insights into the problems in law enforcement were a welcome reprieve from the hostile and delusional sentiments we are used to hearing from law enforcement representatives and the politicians who give them cover. It is so easy, and justified, to feel enraged at people who wear and stand by the badge, but it is also important to give space to those who do so while sincerely advocating for the changes we are calling for. Please take a listen and thank you to Chief Brackney, Brandon del Pozo and Julius Lewis for speaking so candidly and honestly. It is appreciated.
Guests:
During the last several months with the global pandemic and racial justice movement, not to mention the Presidential race dominating headlines, you might have lost track of the deepening horror that is our immigration system and the crisis it's been in.
This crisis did not start with our current administration, but it has taken on more sinister and cruel overtones. Recent whistleblower allegations (which include mass hysterectomies) and legal decisions (easing the deportation of formerly protected immigrants) simply underscore how imperative it is that we pay attention. As we take calls to Defund Police and ICE and reform our needlessly punitive and racist criminal justice system it is also clear how much these movements overlap with immigration and asylum reform.
To discuss how we got here, what we’re up against we invited to attorneys on the front lines of the crisis advocating for immigrants ensnared in the system as well as the policy changes and community mobilization efforts that are key to reforming this terrible and in humane system.
Please tune in and also subscribe to our podcast downloadable wherever you listen to podcasts: What We Gon Do hosted by Tre Borden.
Guests:
Taylor Brandon - Founder of No Neutral Alliance; Formerly Staff at SF MOMA
Faith Mckinnie - Community Engagement Coordinator - Crocker Art Museum/ Founder of Black Artists Fund
Jova Lynne Johnson - Former Curator at MOCAD, Founder of MOCAD Resistance.
The art world has not been immune from our country’s racial reckoning, and in fact has often been the site of some of the most glaring examples of hypocrisy, tone deafness and systems that support white supremacy. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the culture of some of our most venerated art museums. While many institutions are lately making a public show of collecting notable BIPOC artists and having a more diverse slate of exhibitions, these same institutions often struggle to attract and empower BIPOC employees, resist calls to diversify their boards or appeal to the communities they supposedly serve, which are often in communities that are substantially diverse. Even worse when taken to task for their blind spots and racist practices many of these institutions diminish their credibility further by alienating BIPOC staff and community members who demand change and bungle even the most superficial attempts to prove allyship with anti-racist movements. BIPOC employees face a difficult question of whether or not it’s even worth it to change these organizations, so many of which are rooted in white supremacy from within, or just abandon the moment altogether and begin new institutions that serve us.
Few can speak to this with sharper clarity or authenticity than our three guests this week, all Black women who have been, or remain, part of major art museums and have spearheaded movements to hold them accountable for their racist policies, actions and leadership and demanded change.
Taylor Brandon, Jova Lynne Johnson and Faith McKinnie speak to host Tre Borden about their experiences fighting intransigent museums and what it takes to build movements that can hold them to account while also providing space to empower BIPOC artists and communities.
Guests:
Poliana Geha - Beirut Based Consultant and Activist
Natalie Samarjian - Beiruti Diasporan and Human Rights Activist
On August 4, 2020 a neglected hoard of highly explosive sodium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut. In an instant over 100 people died with thousands more injured with tens of thousands of people displaced and a central city destroyed. This tragedy is all the more infuriating and devastating because it was a preventable one, and it typifies the incompetence, corruption and lack of credibility that characterizes the Lebanese state. The explosion also adds new horror to the already crippling economic crisis gripping the country and the intense public health crisis resulting from COVID-19.
As the country reels and calls for new government grow deafening, it is important to note the role Lebanon plays in the region as a key home of refugees (a third of the overall population) and a society where many different sects, religions and ethnicities exist peacefully. Rebuilding Lebanon will take many resources not least of which is the people of Lebanon themselves many of whom are asking themselves whether it makes sense to participate in the country’s reconstruction or to start anew somewhere else.
To outline the crisis and take us through some visions for the present and future we invited Beiruti resident and activist Poliana Geha as well as Los Angeles based Beiruti diasporan Natalie Samarjian. They step us through how Lebanon arrived at its present predicament before the explosion, the chaos and devastation that it wrought, and what a path forward may look like for a new Lebanon. Please listen to find out how you can be part of Lebanon’s renewal, and how the struggles facing this important nation reflect many of the battles being waged in America and elsewhere.
The podcast currently has 34 episodes available.