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Being Black in America

In this insightful conversation with our guest who remained anonymous, we discuss again some of the challenges he’s had while growing up black, and what that has ultimately shaped him 

Main Ideas

How do we leave better systems for the next generation?

• What does it mean to leave better systems?
• We are not accurate to think that the next generations will not be swayed even after knowing the facts
• Next generations tend to fall back on whatever systems we’ve left them.

What happens when we have to always look over our shoulder

• Idea behind microaggressions
• While living black can often mean carrying the burden of other people's fears

How we can be a part of the solution 

• Look at yourself first
• The trusted 10 exercise
• Let this exercise of examining your closest 10 friends show you how you are living in your day to day interactions

Who can you have awkward conversations with

• Are they your Gender Y/N
• Could they live in your neighborhood, could they afford it
• Using this exercise to really assess if you are outside your comfort zone and if you aren’t is it ok for you to be leading, if you have not. 

KEY Thoughts

10’ 57”I think there's absolute hope in the next generation. Students, I think COVID COVID, has shed light on how resilient our kids really are. You know, when I read the paper, when I watched the news, as an adult, when I'm having conversations about what's best for them, I think one of the voices we often leave out are the kids, right? We always listen, what was the parents saying? What did they need? What's childcare gonna look like for them?

12’23 “Here's my fear, my fear is that, you know, we always think the next generation, if this generation just goes away, the next one's going to do better. That's always the thought. That's always been how it's been. But then some of the same things still end up repeating themselves”

12’48” I was reading about how, after President Obama was elected decades ago, the day after he was elected, white supremacists, site website memberships, doubled in membership. And when they did a study of how it doubled and what the demographics look like, the demographics were about 80% of 20 something-year-olds that joined those sites.

20'07 "I think whenever we are seeking to fight for social change, fight for social justice, I think it's important that we look at ourselves first. So I think that's the first thing we always seek to do. And that's a journey, right? You always work on yourself, but you should always be working on becoming a better person, a better father, a better mother a better just human being."

23'54 "And so I asked, how Who do you trust? And I define trust as now in the diversity space as who we who can you have an awkward conversation with? So is and now look at that list of you want to ask a personal question or something like that, where you can have an awkward conversation"

 Links

Hamilton Think Tank: https://www.hamiltonthinktank.com