White People Work

Scott interviews friend and co-founder of Italian Homecoming, Chris Centracchio, discussing the story of Chris's experience of being received by his long-lost Italian relatives, and the felt need it brings to the surface for many white European Americans. Chris shares his story of growing up as an Italian American in Rhode Island, the complexities of his grandmother's relationship with her Italian heritage, and the how the longing he always had as a child was fulfilled in the Napoli region of Italy. In responding to the story, Scott and Chris process the concept of a place wound as something that describes a possible reality of white European American identity, and how it might account for the white European American track record with the land and non-white peoples.

For more information about Italian Homecoming visit: https://www.italianhomecoming.com/

And to learn more about Scott's Celtic pilgrimage, email him at: [email protected]

In this episode Scott shares his experience of diversity, equity, and inclusion, how they have never threatened him, and why the stated narratives of DEI being dismantled in favor of merit don't hold up under scrutiny. Additionally, Scott covers the opposition to critical race theory and honest about US history, and offers tools for naming, dissecting, and evaluating narratives about reality that we carry in order to help us who are white see what is shaping us and step into agency in becoming the kinds of people we want to be.

Scott interviews Dr. Corey Clay, a PhD in industrial/organizational psychology, and recent director of diversity and inclusion for the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Clay shares his unique life journey--from Texas to the military to corrections to academia--and how it has led him to be passionate about advocating for the rights of African Americans and marginalized communities. Scott and Dr. Clay talk about today's political climate through the lens of race, and land at the reasons that Dr. Clay and his wife have decided to leave the United States.

Dr. Clay's recent Huff Post piece can be read here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/black-leaving-america-election_n_6776dfdfe4b0b748756170c7

This episode kicks off the start of season four with Scott sharing about the interesting relationship between words and actions as a set up for the season. He introduces the theme of the season, which will observe current political rhetoric, values, and decision-making through the lens of whiteness. Scott starts the observation by discussing the inauguration day declaration that Denali and the Gulf of Mexico will be renamed.

In this final episode of season three, Scott invites a guest speaker to share her experiences of growing up in an under-resourced community as a white person. Scott and the guest journey into some of the complexities of how race and class combine to chart different paths of understanding what it means to be a white European American. This episode is, in many ways, a composite of many of the themes of the white people work podcast, played out in real life with nuance, challenge, and compassion. Join us for this wrap-up episode of addressing highly conceptual ideas in a practical, relationship-oriented way.

In this episode Scott shares a recent insight from his friend about the ways white folks tend to seek more information about racial injustice, when they're not putting into practice the information they've already learned. Beyond that, Scott explores some of the insights from James Baldwin about the unconscious awareness that all white folks carry, and the importance of white folks moving the impetus for personal growth from the suffering of folks of color to their own appropriate sense of responsibility for stepping into what is right.

In this episode Scott live-processes his experiences in Ireland, and the way that he got the pilgrimage he needed, not the one he wanted. Scott brings a present-tense level of processing the humiliating nature of learning the same lessons over again with higher stakes, and how that is part and parcel toward the ongoing journey of getting out from underneath whiteness as while people. Scott shares about the ancient Celtic wisdom of the spiral and how it can help inform our own personal character growth journeys.

Scott goes back to the "stick" in this episode, breaking down his take on how the ideology of whiteness leads people to a violent way of being in the world. He takes the tenants of whiteness--the god-complex that centers itself, controls others, and seeks to transcend humanity--and breaks down how these lead those under the influence of whiteness toward a violent way of relating to the earth, to others, to ourselves...and even gets at some of the roots of our tendency to characterize the universe as a fundamentally violent place. Scott's been stewing on the ideas of this episode for almost a year, and is finally ready to put some shape to them.

In this episode, Scott takes a more personal turn to share his experiences from his own family of origin, and how he and his wife have discovered and stumbled into ways to live differently in their home now, as they host friends and neighbors, and as they raise their family. While some of the engagement with whiteness in previous episodes can be at a historical and abstract level, this episode gets very practical with ways to approach time, the use of space, and the culture of a living space in order to nurture a retreat from the harmful harshness of whiteness in the United States. Additionally, don't miss Scott's invitation to consider the online cohort Scott is leading with Erna Hackett, which you can learn more about at www.whitepeoplework.org.

TRIGGER WARNING: this episode contains direct quotes of historical anti-Jewish literature and ideas that are disturbing. In this episode Scott seeks to shed a little bit more light on the historic connection between whiteness and anti-semitism, and in doing so clarify the confusing double-standard by which the United States can be consciously or unconsciously anti-Jewish while being so deeply aligned with the state of Israel, politically, particularly in the midst of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Scott goes deep into the history of the Christian church--back to 54 AD--and the seed that was planted that gave rise not just to ongoing anti-semitism, but to the the justification of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the commodification of African people. Join Scott on this tour of European and Church history to gain more clarity on a complex issue that needs attention.