Kay:
So, you heard that in 2020, our journey really began in getting us to study and dive into advocating around the topic of racism.
Shi:
And it’s been important to us, which is why we started a series called Bold Conversations, Bridging the Racial Divide and this was a series that ran from the end of March 2020 through August of 2020, I think there’s a little over 20 episodes. We did a weekly interview with a black community leader or influencer and what we learned was helpful, shocking, sad, enlightening, and entertaining.
Kay:
Now we quested forth to have these conversations with full transparency, with love, and openness and to hopefully seek some education on behalf of white folks who might feel a little bit uncomfortable seeking education on this topic. Again, we wanted to serve as a bridge for our whole family, our human family, in where we could. So, we started our conversation with Nathan Dupree. He is a local pastor here in Reno and a dear friend of our,s and we asked Nathan some pretty white girl questions.
Shi:
Like, can we say black?
Kay:
Is it okay to say the word black?
Shi:
And what he shared with us is that first of all that no singular black person can speak on behalf of all black people and that in and of itself making that kind of assumption is just ignorant and one-dimensional. So, asking from his experience, he said from most of the people he knows from his family, the truth is they’ve never been to Africa. Being African Americans tries to tie them to a continent they have no cultural ties to at this point and so it’s more comfortable for them to be addressed as black Americans.
Kay:
So, that was the first naive question that we asked.
Shi:
We also asked, can we keep our music loud at a stoplight?
Kay:
Because we like listening to rap music.
Shi:
Black artists.
Kay:
Black artists and yeah. So, do we have to turn it down if we see a black person, because is it okay for us to engage in black culture? And what Nathan shared with us is that when other people outside of people of color engage with black culture in the way of celebration and not appropriation, that it actually draws us all closer together.
Shi:
Another bold conversation that really touched our hearts was when we got to speak with a police Lieutenant from Oakland who is a black American, and who obviously is also a police officer and asked him what his experience was like, and it was really interesting to hear his perspective. That interview actually aired two days after George Floyd’s death, so it was a very hot topic for the time, and we were glad to be able to be part of the national narrative while this was happening. But he shared that he faced racism through his police academy, that he faces it on the force, that he has to be this active ambassador and that carrying that burden sometimes can be heavier than a lot of folks realize.
Kay:
We also got to look into the activities that police forces who work in places with a higher proportion of people of color that they use in order to try and bridge the gap between the police officers and the community, and thought that was really incredible to hear about the innovative tactics that were coming out of the Oakland Police Department that they were using to help bridge that gap.
Shi:
Well, another one of our favorite bold conversations was with a fellow John Maxwell member Denise, who shared her experiences when she was alive and in New York during the time that Dr. King was alive and active. And she remembered tearfully the day that he died and the day that he was assassinated and the feeling and the energy and the real significant moment that, that was for so many. When the Civil Rights Movement came along and his leadership came along, the hope was so real and so fresh that the devastation at that event was visceral.
Kay:
Another incredible black woman that we got the honor of interviewing was Melinda Emerson and in that she shared with us that her name is Melinda because her parents did not want her to face racial discrimination on paper and we’ve learned since that this is the case for a lot of black people out there who have what might be traditionally considered white names that their parents wanted to give them a leg up in order to not have them look “black” on paper. That’s how deep the racism runs in our system. So, look, we’re proud to be Americans. We really are, and we strive to teach our kids and those around us the ideals and values of the United States, and not just to pledge allegiance, but to act in allegiance. But to us, that means “liberty and justice for all” is something that all of us should receive, and right now that is not the case for a lot of minorities and people of color in our country.
Shi:
Particularly our black brothers and sisters. And so, addressing this and being able to face it and understand that when we say racism got solved, or maybe we’re not saying that, but we believe that, and we are inactive in our quest to make systemic racism better. This is detrimental to advancing the self-evident truths that all of us espoused to hold dear in this country. To quote the declaration of independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Now, one word really jumps out. I mean, a lot of words jump out, but the one word that really jumps out here is unalienable, which means cannot be alienated from, and yet we alienate minorities from these rights through our institutions and our inherited ways of behaving every single day.
Kay:
I do think that it is important to note that the Declaration of Independence was created in a time when slavery was accepted in our country and so even these words that our country is founded on at one point only applied to half of the population and only since the Jim Crow era has it been illegal to have those unalienable rights be really for everyone. So, this is what systemic racism looks like. It’s so much more subtle than people yelling the N-word or violently lynching others in mobs. But it is perhaps more dangerous and can be far more detrimental in the long run, especially if we don’t make direct contact with it, if we don’t talk about it, if we allow for the cycle of oppression to continue through the generations by turning a blind eye to the fact that this exists.
Shi:
So, we hope that this compilation of just teachings and facts about systemic racism and about our quest to address racial inequality has been educational for you. And if you’re asking, what can we do? What can we do to make it better? Exactly what we’re doing right now is a good first step and it’s not the only step, and it’s not the most important step, but it’s a good first step. Talking about it, acknowledging it, getting uncomfortable about it, critically examining what it is, and taking action to support the America that really does stand for liberty and justice for all.
Kay:
We hope you enjoyed this week’s installment where we tackled social inequality and racial inequality here in the US. But next week, we’re asking the question what’s the business.
Shi:
And we’re going to share all about our myriad of businesses, some of the lessons we’ve learned from each, and if we could do it all over again, some of the mistakes we would avoid.
Kay:
Tune in, we can’t wait to have you there, family.
