When it comes to privilege- knowing the difference between righteous and self-righteous speech can make all the difference when you’re communicating what's in your heart.
Today, I’m joined by Parker Palmer— nationally recognized educator, author and social change activist. He shares his thoughts on white privilege and how it can inhibit our connections when left unconfessed. We discuss the work of Ibram Kendi and explore what it means to be an anti-racist.
Episode Timeline:
- [00:09] Intro
- [00:58] Meet Parker Palmer
- [02:18] His passion for connection
- [03:31] Parker’s recent projects and new book
- [06:22] Being selective about his time and energy
- [07:50] Connecting across racial lines
- [11:54] Post 2016 elections- have things gotten worse?
- [14:15] White privilege and how we indict ourselves
- [21:03] Ibram Kendi’s thoughts on racism
- [22:14] White supremacy comes in many forms
- [27:25] Inevitable mistakes in our efforts to be anti-racist
- [30:31] Collaboration and power
- [36:39] Parker Palmer's advice for you
- [39:43] Outro
Resources Mentioned:
Standout Quotes:
- “We must take this impulse to be connected and use it to connect across those lines because that's where the learning is. That's where the juice is.” - Parker Palmer [11:36]
- “We have to have not only conversation, and which includes listening and speaking across racial lines or other lines of divide. We need to have conversations within our own tribe.” - Parker Palmer [19:40]
- “My work, our work the Center for Courage and Renewal's work is, is the kind of conversation where people can listen at a level of depth where they suddenly find themselves saying, whoa, I, this other person is talking about themselves, but I just learned something about myself. And that those are precious, precious conversations.” - Parker Palmer [27:00]
- “We miscalculate how we come into power... Power is not something that we hold as individuals. Power is something that we generate collectively as all of the great social movements have proven.“ - Parker Palmer [32:26]
- “I think one of the greatest wounds that we find around the Earth is people who feel unseen, unheard and unappreciated. That's a very painful life to live. You know, ‘here I am. Nobody sees me, nobody hears me, nobody appreciates what I do,’ and there are millions, millions and millions of people who show up every day and to all kinds of settings who have that. - Parker Palmer [34:22]
Connect:
Find | Sidewalk Talk Podcast
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Parker Palmer
At Couragerenewal.org
On Twitter: @parkerjpalmer
On Facebook: @parkerjpalmer
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