InflexionPoint Podcast: Cultivating Change from the Inside Out

Conversation: How does the Ghanian principle of Sankofa empower generational leadership? In this new series on generational leadership we introduce the Sankofa Leadership Continuum, defined as a through-line running from historical leaders of the past to contemporary leaders of the present to emergent leaders of the future. Melding together historical and contemporary reality, this throughline inspires activism, art, literature, ethnography, and research that fuels transformation. "Come in peace, and let s see what we can do together." Queen Diambi Kabatusuila

America's Triple Threat: Fear. Racism. Guns. "Firearm-related violence is a significant threat to public health and safety in America. However, research highlights a critical disparity in firearm-related deaths by race...Taken as a whole, findings suggest that gun owners are more likely to be more vigilant toward people of color because of stereotypical assumptions that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be involved with crime." Health and Social Work https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31665433 Join the conversation with the Anita, Mavis, and Gail as they dig deep into America's triple threat of fear, racism, and guns based on recent articles in the news. Why are Americans shooting strangers and neighbors? It all goes back to fear.' - https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/30/americans-gun-violence-strangers-crime/'Dying of whiteness': why racism is at the heart of America's gun inaction - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/08/racism-gun-control-dying-of-whitenessGuns Are a Threat to the Body Politic - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/03/guns-are-threat-body-politic/618158/

I'm Tired of Racism: True Stories of Existing While Black by Sharon Hurley Hall, antiracism activist, writer, and educator. Some days the anti-racism drum beats loudly in my head. That s when I write pieces like the next few, articles that show the awfulness of racism, driving the point home repeatedly. An Exciting Conversation Awaits with Our Esteemed Guest Sharon Hurley Hall! Sharon Hurley Hall is an anti-racism activist, educator, and in-demand speaker. Firmly committed to doing her part to eliminate racism, she is the Founder and Curator-in-Chief of Sharon s Anti-Racism Newsletter. Sharon is also a Co-Founder of Mission Equality and the author of I'm Tired of Racism and Exploring Shadeism. As Curator-in-Chief of Sharon s Anti-Racism Newsletter, a twice-weekly online publication, she writes about existing while Black in majority-white spaces, and amplifies the voices of other anti-racism activists. Join the discussion with the author as we dig deeper into her lived experiences and the narrative around the theme of Being Black Globally.

Embracing equity isn't just about what we say or write about. International Women's Day (IWD) is the "celebration of social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women" and has been observed since the early 1900s. It s a collective movement felt and activated around the world. The theme for International Women's Day 2023 is Embrace Equity. Equity is not something that should be up for debate. It is something we all need to think about, to learn about, to value, and to embrace. Equity should be a part of our individual and collective belief systems, conversations, and actions. It means creating a truly inclusive world. So, the question is what are you doing to embrace equity and contribute to (re)imagining a different future and a different world? Equity vs Equality: What's the Difference? International Women's Day organization drives home 3 points: Equity isn't just a nice-to-have, it's a need-to-have as we push towards global transformation. A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society's DNA. And it's critical to understand the difference between equity and equality. That last point is particularly relevant because the terms are often used interchangeably or synonymously, In its essence equality is about sameness, where everyone gets the same of something, regardless of needs, circumstances, or lived experiences. Equity is acknowledging where people are in their unique needs and leveling the playing field accordingly. People start from different places and different life experiences, so true diversity and inclusion requires equity as a catalyst. The truth is, we can all embrace equity. We can actively support and embrace equity within our own unique spheres of influence, our homes, our workplace, and our community. In our everyday lives we can avoid stereotypes, call out discrimination and bias, and actively seek diversity and inclusion in whatever spaces we find ourselves. And each of us can heed the call for individual change that fuels grassroots action to usher in global momentum. So, what you are doing or plan to do to #EmbraceEquity everyday?

Join the conversation as Anita, Mavis, and Gail discuss The Sting of Adultification Bias Felt By Black Girls. New York Times Article April 17, 2020 Why Won t Society Let Black Girls Be Children? Adultification means teachers, parents and law enforcement are less protective and more punitive with certain kids. They never saw a child : Ruby Bridges and the Adultification of Black Girls, February 11, 2021 This article appeared on PositiveExperiences.org blog of HOPE: Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences. The author, Loren McCullough, wrote the article from the perspective of how antisegregationsist perceived Ruby Bridges, a child, six years of age, caught up in the harmful effects of racism against Black girls in education. As Ruby approached her new school on November 14th, 1960 she heard the angry sea of White faces screaming. 2, 4, 6, 8! We don t want to INTEGRATE! CNN Article November 23, 2022 A neighbor s call to police on a little Black girl while she sprayed lanternflies exposes a deeper problem, mom says. She hopes the incident can spark a deeper dialogue around discrimination and the biases Black and brown children face. The neighbor in calling the police on a nine year old child decribed her as a "little black woman" who scared him. Why are Black girls treated more harshly by schools and the juvenile justice system than White girls who behave the same way? A study from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality suggests a contributing cause: the adultification of black girls. The report, Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls Childhood, found that adults viewed black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than white girls of the same age, especially between 5 14 years old.

Theme of the Conversation: Racial Literacy This definition of racial literacy is from National Council of Teachers of English (NCTA). Racial literacy is a skill and practice by which individuals can probe the existence of racism and examine the effects of race and institutionalized systems on their experiences and representation in US society.https://ncte.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SquireOfficePolicyBrief_RacialLiteracy_April2021.pdf Message to White Women in America The Patriarchy: A Structure of White SupremacyBeing Nice: Why It's Never EnoughWeaponizing White Womanhood: Playing the Victim

TRIBUTE TO PHANGISILE MTSHALI On December 21, 2022 InflexionPoint Podcast featured a powerful guest and dear friend, Phangisile Mtshali from South Africa. We had an in-depth conversation about the historical plight of Black South African farmers, which in many ways is similar to the historical plight of Black farmers in the United States. This is evident when you think of land as power and the role of the government in both nations. Mourning a Global Citizen On January 4, 2023 Phangisile Mtshali was killed in Estcourt, South Africa. We dedicate this episode to her as a deeply rooted humanitarian, a family and community icon, bold leader, and a dear friend, sister, and colleague to many throughout the world. Phangisile embodied the true spirit of a Global Citizen.

Anita, Mavis, and Gail discuss the the first year of InflexionPoint Podcast in terms of the most personally impactful and transformational episodes. They describe the show as influential in terms of historical and racial literacy. Racial Literacy: (1) a concept developed by sociologist France Winddance Twine, UC Santa Barbara Dept of Sociology. She describes it as "a form of racial socialization and antiracist training that ... parents of African-descent children practiced in their efforts to defend their children against racism" in her research done in the United Kingdom with mixed-race families. (2) a skill and practice by which individuals can probe the existence of racism and examine the effects of race and institutionalized systems on their experiences and representation in US society. Becoming racially literate requires that, as educators (and humans), we can: Engage with the emotional content of any conversation that has a focus on race Welcome personal narratives and the lived experiences of all who are involved in the race conversation Talk confidently about our own racial identities Feel confident in creating and engaging in healthy and reciprocal cross-racial relationships Challenge racism at the individual, group and systemic level Historical Literacy: The past informs the present to empower the future. The past and present, in many ways, influence our future. Paulo Freire, in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, says: Looking at the past must only be a means of understanding more clearly what and who you are. So, you can build the future more wisely." What Good is History? History matters because history is the fragile tether that not only connects us to what and who came before us, it is by way of history that then has become now. Asking questions of history brings perspective, knowledge, maybe even lessons.

Being Black Globally - The Plight of Black Farmers in South Africa This is the fourth and final episode in a series on The Plight of Black Farmers. This final eposide on The Plight of Black Farmers features Phangisile Mtshali, a farmer in South Africa. In this conversation she shares her personal experience with farming and the vision she has for the future of her farm. She was born into a family of farmers. Her paternal grandparents were landlord and active crop farmers at the foot of the Drakensberg mountain range. She set her mind to own a working farm when she was 7 years old and living on a commercial farm. Recently she started a pecan nut orchard and has planted 450 trees with a target of 1000 trees by 2025. She is the founder of the Kwahlangabeza Cultural Hub and Heritage Inspired Hospitality-Farm to Table Restaurant in Estcourt South Africa. Phangisile is also the Director of Corporate Philanthropy with the Bristol Myers-Squibb Foundation.

Discussion: Laws of the Land in South Africa Dating Back to the 1913 Land Act and Group Areas Act of 1950, Cornerstones of Apartheid Policy and Segregation

The Plight of Black Farmers in South Africa: Land stolen under apartheid still hasn t been given back.
Broken land promises reveal how South Africa s Black farmers were set up to fail. Agricultural Apartheid is alive and well in South Africa as millions go hungry. The white minority generally accepts majority rule; it has lost its political dominance but is still privileged in terms of wealth and opportunities, including farming (commercial farming in particular).

Black Famers Association of South Africa formed in 2015. The goal of the Black Farmers Association of South: "We strive to provide and integrated an inclusive approach that recognises human dignity through skills traning and job placement and to unleash the potential of Black farmers to be commercially viable."