Ep. 33: 5 Lessons from Black History To Take Action Against Political Oppression
What I want to do with today's episode is combine a message for Black History Month with practical, digestible steps that you can take right now if you are feeling overwhelmed in the face of all of the political oppression. ~ Michele Walter
If you live in the United States–or even other parts of the world–and you’ve been looking at America the last few weeks and saying, “What the fuck?”–then you are not alone.
In the face of overwhelm, upheaval, and massive change, a couple of things can happen. We can sometimes feel paralyzed and unsure of what we can do. Or maybe sometimes we want to leap into action and rage against the machine. And maybe more often than not, we just want to bury our heads in the sand and wait until it’s all over.
I’ve experienced all of that the last few weeks. And I imagine that many of you have too.
In the face of this current overwhelm and upheaval, I wanted to look back in history to find lessons on which we can draw. And, because it’s Black History Month, I wanted to look specifically at Black leaders and activists who have valuable lessons to teach us about how to engage in political activism.
Like Audre Lorde, for example, whose vision of self-care as a radical act of political warfare for marginalized communities can make us rethink our commercialized notions of “self-care” today that focus on things like spa treatments and mani-pedis. Lorde’s vision of self-care envisioned liberating ourselves through reconnecting to ourselves, to nature, and to our joy so that we can more fully support the liberation of the collective.
Or Septima Poinsette Clark, who showed us the critical importance of education and literacy in exercising our citizenship and voting rights.
During times like this, it’s vital that we take our cues from Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, and Latino/Latina/LatinX people who have been leading these fights for centuries.
And it’s equally important to remember that our actions–or lack thereof–matter. They have ripple effects . . . whether we’re working behind the scenes like Bynard Ruskin (the gay civil rights activist who was the right hand man of Martin Luther King, Jr.), or refusing to bow down to oppressive forces (like 15-year-old Claudette Colvin who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus 9 months before Rosa Parks did).
This episode invites you to expand your knowledge and education beyond what you’ve been taught. To look to those with different backgrounds and experiences than you. And to have faith that you and your actions will have an impact.
🗝️ Key Takeaways:
[08:26] Audre Lorde: True Self Care as an Act of Political Warfare
[21:23] Ella Baker: Seeking Community and Acting from Non-Violence
[27:13] Bayard Rustin: Work Behind the Scenes and Create a Ripple Effect
[29:22] Claudette Colvin: Faith in Action for Big Impact
[34:41] Septima Poinsette Clarke: Education and Literacy as Activism
[39:43] Wrap-Up and Outro
🎧 WATCH/LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
⭐️ REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW
→ The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
→ Learn more about Bayard Rustin
→ Learn more about Septima Poinsette Clark
→ When We All Vote (volunteer for voter registration)
→ League of Women Voters (volunteer for voter registration)
→ English as a Second Language and Immigrant Ministries volunteer opportunities:
→ Heal Your Way Forward Community (formerly the Co-Conspirators’ Lounge) with myisha t. Hill (Please note that this is an affiliate link through which I will earn a small commission for people who sign up through my link)
→ Episode 20 of The Gen X Shift with Jen Gergen: Just Calm Your Shit Down: The Power of Non-Violent Communication
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