Ep 85: Cultural appropriation & should we let go of “Let My People Go”?

Send us a message via text message! Link accessible at joyousjustice.buzzsprout.com. ✅This Passover, there was an ongoing–sometimes heated–conversation on social media about singing the Negro spiritual “Let My People Go” during the Passover seder. In our conversation this week, April explains why she will continue to sing this song at her Seder table and we get into the nuance and the nitty-gritty of the debate around appropriation vs. appreciation (and we add in a few more steps that folks often miss). When we become aware something we’re doing is appropriative, how can we navigate acknowledging the impact of appropriation when we feel deeply invested in the practice in question? How can we open ourselves to the opportunity to invite in greater complexity, nuance, and compassion and avoid either shutting down or defensively protecting the way things have always been? Apply to our Grounded & Growing intensive here (We have a few spots left! Applications accepted until April 29 or until all spots are filled): https://joyous-justice.mykajabi.com/grounded-and-growingFind 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/Support the work our Jewish Black & Native woman-led vision for collective liberation here: https://joyousjustice.com/support-our-workRead Shekhiynah Larks’ op-ed, “Rethinking ‘Go Down Moses’ at the Passover Seder”: https://globaljews.org/jewishand/its-time-to-retire-go-down-moses-at-passover-seder/?fbclid=IwAR1y2Wc-NX4nwcG6enaFn5ctTzoZ3Yy7SgBKBQb9rPRkQwurL79y8AiBh3UWatch Titus’s Geisha song from The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=238Lcjbecb4Read more about cultural appropriation in yoga: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/how-we-can-work-together-to-avoid-cultural-appropriation-in-yogaRead more about the Passover Song Acknowledgement Project (PDF): https://templeisraelgreenfield.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Song-Acknowledgement-Handout_Temple-Israel.pdfFollow Rabbi Becky Silverstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rabbibeckyListen to our episode about intellectual intimacy: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1146023/9993052-ep-74-intellectual-intimacy-and-interdependent-intellectual-independenceDiscussion 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 feels hard? What is challenging or on the edge for you?What feelings and sensations are arising and where in your body do you feel them?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?