Ep 38 (14 Reprise): White Supremacy and the Power of Culture

Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEWApril 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.Find April and Tracie's full bios and submit topic suggestions for the show at www.JewsTalkRacialJustice.comLearn more about Joyous Justice where April is the founding and fabulous (!) director, and Tracie is a senior partner.: https://joyousjustice.com/Read more of Tracie's thoughts at her blog, bmoreincremental.comResources:Baratunde Thurston's TED TalkTracie's 18 Days Exploring Racial JusticeMore about Critical Race TheoryRead more about bell hooks from the bell hooks instituteExplore the life and impact of Audre LordeRacial Equity ToolsJane Elliot's famous question to white folksCharacteristics of white supremacy culture as defined by Jewish scholar Tema Okun and Kenneth Jones (again, in a more visual presentation).Another clear explanation of white supremacy and its history of violence, by Betita Martinez.Robin DiAngelo unpacks the good/bad binary in this articleAmadou Diallo was an unarmed 23-year-old Black man who was shot over 40 times (19 bullets struck him) by New York City police officers in February 1999.Learn more about Leonard Peltier, the Native American activist who has spent 40 years in jail after a trial that supporters claim was shoddy at best and unconstitutional at worst.DISCUSSION QUESTIONSApril notes that different folks have different relationships to the term “white supremacy.” What’s your relationship to it? When did you first hear or learn about this term? Tracie notes that for many white folks in particular, the use of the phrase seems fairly recent when referring to anything other than the KKK. Why do you think that is? Has this been your experience? As April says when referencing broader scholarship and critical race theory, naming white supremacy is “scary because it's naming the elephant in the room, it's naming the wallpaper, it's naming the infrastructure of the building that you're in.” But doing so is also a “powerful contradiction” to racism. How does naming it make a difference and advance racial justice? Why is it, in general, important to name larger patterns, and where else might you have noticed this in your experiences?April explains the relationship between white supremacy and patriarchy, saying that “white supremacy is a corollary to patriarchy.”&Support the showDiscussion and reflection questions:What in this episode is new for you? What have you learned and how does it land?What is resonating? What is sticking with you and why?What, if anything feels hard? What is challenging or on the edge for you?If relevant. what feelings and sensations are arising as you reflect on themes from this episode, and where in your body do you feel them?What key insights or strategies are you carrying forward and how do you want to weave them into your living and/or leadership?