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"We want to see if we can verify or justify some of those racist concepts." What would happen if America flipped it's racists and systemic policies around and it was white people who were affected? Michael Harriot takes a look at what that might look like.

"It's not just about fairness, it's about making your product as good as it can be." Michael Harriot debunks the myth that any attempt at equity is an attempt to achieve equality of outcome. This concept simply isn't possible because minorities are subject to economic, social, political and educational deficits that white people do not experience.

"Every institution in this country that matters is controlled by white people." White people disproportionately make up the federal government, hold positions of power in the judicial system and run the country's most influential companies, yet there's a feeling at the moment they're being pushed out of power. Michael Harriot is here to calm their fears, they're still in charge. 

"Seeing the other side makes everyone's argument stronger but you can't present a straw man argument just to sound smart." Let's talk about contrarians. Michael Harriot dives into the straw man arguments that are often used against Black and brown people and why they are problematic. 

"A lot of the things we think of as conservative aren't really conservative; they're just white." The term conservative has come to mean certain things yet the policies they support don't often back their ideologies. For instance, it makes no sense to say you support small government but then back pro-life policies that are ultimately the federal government telling a woman what to do. Michael Harriot shares several other examples of the hypocritical thinking and explains that conservative really just means "pro-white."

"The history of racism is what they don't want you to know." The push to keep accurate Black history from being taught is nothing new and Michael Harriot highlights several times throughout history that anti-CRT has been the norm. 

Dr. Joel A. Davis Brown is an author, educator, and LGBTQ activist. He is the author of the book The Souls of Queer Folk, which explores the power of queer wisdom and its potential to transform leadership practices.
 
Dr. Joel A Davis Brown set out to explore what it meant to be queer, but found that his research didn't satisfy him. With encouragement from friends, he wrote a book to explore the answer to this question. In  The Souls of Queer Folk, he shares the wisdom of the queer community that has enabled queer people to survive and thrive in a hostile world. He argues that this wisdom can help us all to navigate our increasingly volatile society and elevate our leadership practice. He reminds us that queer people are strong and have been fighting for their rights for centuries, and that it is important to stay focused on those who need the most attention.

In this episode, you will learn the following:
 
1. What is queer wisdom and why is it important?
2. What are LGBTQ leadership lessons and how can they elevate and transform leadership practice?
3. What is the inclusion paradox and how does it illustrate the current situation for marginalized communities?
 
Chapter Summaries:
 

[00:02:39]
Joel Brown introduces his book called The Souls of Queer Folk. 
Joel talks about Queer Wisdom and its importance.

 
[00:08:03]
Inclusion paradox: The idea that seemingly, if you just look at television and pop culture and media, it could feel like we have a lot more rights than we do. That in and of itself, makes it hard for people to understand that we are actually dealing with very unprecedented, dangerous times.
 
 
[00:17:59]
The wisdom that our community has provided has helped people to avoid discrimination, recrimination and death. And the queer wisdom is informed by a number of different communities. What leadership comes down to is giving yourself permission to be yourself.
 
 
[00:21:40]
Simma asks: 

So what made you, Joel Brown, Black gay man who was successful, very successful, made you decide to write this book?

 Joe says, "If I may say so myself. I didn't seek to write a book. I think, you know me. I'm doing my thing."

[00:25:49]
When we think about culture, we have to recognize that there are three different layers of culture. There are common things and themes that separate the LGBTQ community or distinguish us from others. Are there differences based on the subgroups? 

I'm not trying to say that everybody's the same, but there are values, and the values would tie us together, and that's what helps us to build community. There's a qualitative difference in terms of how people socialize. The work, of course, there's more work to be done
 
[00:33:32]
In every culture, every group that's been oppressed, there's some parts of culture that are as a result of the oppression. But there's also some parts that are just like part of the culture. It's hard to separate a culture from a system because this is the system as we know it.
 
 [00:43:41]
Leadership is not just about leading the organization, leading the workforce or leading the team. It's about leading yourself. The queer community has insight and wisdom that can help people to figure out how to reclaim their voice, to be resilient and to be adaptive.

[00:49:03]

Joel's playlist: "I'm listening to a lot of Afrobeats. Also listening to music from Belgium, particularly Brussels. A lot of the hot Hip Hop and R&B in Europe are coming from there."

 
[00:56:17]
Joel Anthony Davis Brown talks about his new book, "The Souls of Queer folk" How understanding LGBTQ culture can transform your leadership practice. 

Guest Bio
Dr. Joel A. Davis Brown is the Chief Visionary Officer of Pneumos LLC, a management consulting company based in San Francisco, California, and Nairobi, Kenya, specializing in cultural intelligence, leadership development, organizational strategy and change management, and strategic storytelling. Joel is also the co-owner of the Global Inclusion Certification Program, a training and certification company that trains practitioners to support equity work and systems change on a global scale. for As a change agent, Joel works strategically with organizational leaders and professionals to cultivate innovative, creative, and adaptive environments where the cultural genius of everyone can be harnessed and leveraged successfully.  In particular, Joel works with organizational clients to foster psychological safety, healing, belonging, and transformation. His work spans 5 continents.  His mission is to facilitate liberation for every global citizen.
 

Connect with me:
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
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LinkedIn
Website

Previous Episodes:
From Harlem to Harvard: How Dorien Nuñez Tackled the Racial Wealth Disparity
Unraveling Racial History: Benjamin Jealous’s Quest for Freedom
Navigating Racism and Inclusion with Greg Jenkins, Nirupa Netram, and Elinor Stutz
 

Related Episodes:
Living While Black
What is behind the cancel-culture movement?
Race, Racism and Hope in 2021

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"White ain't a culture, it's just the leftovers from everybody else." When identifying your race, ethnicity and nationality, things can get confusing. Michael Harriot admits even he has questions. As he answers a viewer who asked "what race are you?" he dives into the fact that all these categories are really just made up by white people.

"We know that nothing applies to all people." When society refers to a neighborhood that houses predominantly white residents, it's referred to as "the middle class" or a "rich neighborhood" but when an area that houses mostly Black families is described, it's called "a Black neighborhood." Why is that? Michael Harriot is here to explain and introduce you to default socialization.

"The next time you ask me why Black people or me in particular are so obsessed with race, the answer is, I'll stop when y'all stop." theGrio Daily continues a series of episodes that answer listener's frequently asked questions. Michael Harriot starts with addressing the amount of attention and focus that's put on racial labels in American society.

"We ain't gonna give this country away after we built it." As Michael Harriot answers one of the questions he's asked most often, he explains that America would be unrecognizable if Black people returned to Africa. Insisting, if Black people leave, they should take with them all the knowledge they've been forced to give America for free. 

"If white people cared they'd figure it out but white people don't care, they feel bad." Michael Harriot breaks down key issues like police brutality, school shootings and reparations to show that while some white people say they support change they don't take the necessary steps to actually make it happen. Supporting his opinion that white people may feel bad but they don't really care. 

"I done told you 100 times!" It's a celebration as theGrio Daily reaches 100 episodes! Michael Harriot gives some insight into what it takes to sustain a successful podcast and shares advice for those who are looking to start their own.