S2. Ep.25 - Behind The Black Experience

Devon Herrera here - I usually write up the show notes for our podcasts - I kind of pride myself on the ability to summarize our conversations in a nice little blurb, but this one is very different.

For me, growing up in a small town (Prescott, Arizona) meant I didn't experience a lot of diversity when it came to skin color. According to my memory, in high school we had a mere two black boys, and thus, I was ignorant about what has been coined 'the black struggle.'

Introducing George Floyd. I'll tell you one thing the news is good for - polarization... also passion... and rage - which was exactly what a 20-something white girl trying to avoid her own problems (me) binge-watched for days. I consumed it with disdain. How could our President have let this... I can't finish that question with sincerity - of course this happened. Of course the riots ensued, and our nation's divide strengthened, over hateful debates, about which BLM group mattered more.

"Inclusivity does not come from sending a mass email acknowledging Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Black History Month. It comes from doing the hard work and reflecting on your own biases, and why you might innately view certain forms of personal expression as lesser than." - Cheyenne Tyler Jacobs

My co-host and life-partner, Ian Taylor Segears leads the podcast on an exploration of The Black Experience and I really am honored to be by his side in this small office. #whyareweinasquarerightnow

Please visit the extremely sparse YouTube page for links to support black artists - and if you have kids or work with kids, go buy the 'Our Skin' book stat!