Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 14: White Supremacy and the Power of Culture

April and Tracie take the time to unpack a phrase that often comes up when Jews Talk Racial Justice: "white supremacy." The phrase has entered the lexicon of individual antiracists and movements alike, but what exactly does it mean? April and Tracie define the term, investigate the discomfort it can generate, and riff on the ways in which discussing "white supremacy culture" may be a way to reclaim agency and power.

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Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 13: Jews Talk Thanksgiving Part 2

“I think it's really important to contradict the notion that Native Americans are no more. Their numbers are much smaller, but Native Americans are still very much here and live in US society and are leading powerfully in all types of spaces.” - April N. Baskin

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Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 11: Intentionally Infusing Joy into Justice Work

QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW

April and Tracie continue their conversation about bringing more joy into everyday life and into the work for justice. From dance and music (and a little bit of singing!) to relationship to celebration, the two friends share strategies and examples of intentional, mindful, joyful practices.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

All of our episodes have closed captioning.
Click here to access the audio version and transcript on Buzzsprout.

  1. April and Tracie introduce the idea of “cultivating joy”. What does this phase mean to you? 

  2. The first tip is to incorporate more movement and dance. What are your favorite songs to dance and move to? 

  3. Tracie and April look to examples of how dance and movement have shown up in social justice movement spaces and recall recent “Protect the Vote” rallies in Philly that included dance. If you can, find those videos and watch. What did you observe in this meeting of dance and justice? 

  4. The next tip is to sing! What are your favorite songs to sing? What are song you may have created in your childhood that you can recall?

  5. April and Tracie find joy in displays of solidarity. When have you as well? Why do you think we can find joy in these moments? 

  6. April wants us to celebrate the progress we make to achieve our goals and not delay that celebration moment. What is a goal you have currently and what has been some progress you have made, no matter how incremental, that you can celebrate? How do you want to celebrate these small and important victories? 

  7. Both Tracie and April talk about being mindful to the present moment and finding joy in these shehecheyanu moments, such as Tracie’s LA raised friend seeing snow for the first time. What are the new moments every day that invite you to pause and find joy in their newness?

  8. Tracie and April close out the episode with a final tip: instead of focusing on critique, celebrate what went well and how it can be improved upon. Can you think of a recent time you were critical of a situation and instead think about what went well and how it can be improved upon (but doing so in a way that feels nourishing)? 

INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE

It is decidedly Jewish to dance, right?
— Tracie Guy-Decker
In our society and in common (oppressive) culture, celebration is commonly accepted around key lifecycle moments and rites of passage, around graduations. But there can be so much more celebration around progress around hitting key milestones. There can be celebration - even just the shehecheyanu - of blessing a new moment or reaching a certain point, like any time we do something for the first time, or even make a courageous choice.
— April N. Baskin
Huge, exponential progress and growth comes from consistent micro implementation, and the more we can honor each of those bricks we’re laying to form this big structure, how much more love and intentionality and appreciation can go into something that’s worth celebrating?
— April N. Baskin

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?

Post in the comments below!

Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 10: Feeling Rage, Finding Joy: Managing Emotions in Justice Work

“Anger is a messenger. My emotions are guideposts for me that give me a sense of things that my brain can't comprehend or comprehends too quickly for me to be able to process it. But when an emotion is lingering, that is helpful for me - and I leverage that.” - April N. Baskin

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Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep. 9: Digital Skin Color, Either/Or Thinking, and Pizza in Dakar

QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW

April and Tracie riff on a seemingly small manifestation of white dominance in our everyday lives: the skin color of emojis. The discussion of digital skin tone leads into a conversation about racial implications of the Simpsons' yellow hue, and on to a focused training about the ways that seemingly benign binaries turn up in malignant ways.

All of our episodes have closed captioning.
Click here to access the audio version and transcript on Buzzsprout.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Tracie opens the episode by referring to an article in the Atlantic that detailed a study done by Andrew McGill on the skin color most used for Twitter emojis when different skin tones are given. What skin color do you use for your emojis? Do you use the “simpson’s yellow” or one that matches your own. Why? Have you thought about it before? 

  2. April discusses the notion within the United States’ collective unconscious that white is the “default”. Is this something that you were taught and have internalized? How do you push against this messaging? 

  3. Tracie points out that this conversation they are having is about the small ways in which white supremacy shows up in our lives. She links it to a similar conversation she had with colleagues within a training about white supremacy and its requirement of either/or thinking. Tracie explains how this either/or thinking creates false and harmful binaries. Like the homework she gave her colleagues, what are the ways in which either/or thinking have shown up in your week? 

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Post in the comments below!

Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 8: Oppression Olympics, Intergenerational Trauma, and Shared Liberation

Even more than other episodes, you'll find yourself eavesdropping on this conversation. April and Tracie unpack the deep and intergenerational effects of shared trauma and oppression, and the ways either/or and hierarchical thinking can get in the way of healing.

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Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 6: White Fragility, DARVO, and Accepting Feedback

“What would the world look like if white people were just able to hear feedback and say, ‘thank you and I'll work on that’? That would be revolutionary.” - Tracie Guy-Decker

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Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 5: Tracie and April Live: Intergroup Collaboration in Savannah and Beyond

“I have some things to contribute and I am still learning. Holding that both/and is going to be key, because there is a long history of white-skinned Jews in America doing things that look like integration but, in fact, might be forcing folks to align to the way we want things to be.” - Tracie Guy-Decker

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