Being Black Globally Featuring Rebecca Stevens Alder

Published: June 15, 2022, 10 p.m.

Meet Rebecca Stevens Alder
Hailing from Switzerland by way of Sierra Leone, West Africa, Rebecca Stevens Alder is an Antiracism Activist and Writer on Medium.com. Rebecca writes about racism through her personal perspective yet acknowledges there are so many other things she'd rather write about. Her call to action: "Help me dismantle racism so that I can get on with that."
The Power of Perspective Taking
How leaning in can expand our worldview and deepen our relationships
"Thank you for reading my perspective." is the mantra at the end of each of Rebecca's articles. Antiracism Activation requires the lens of historical truth and personal narratives as key components of deep conversations about race, racism and antiracism. An article in Psychology Today discussing the power of personal narratives and perspetive-taking, says:

"Respecting the perspective or habits of others by offering them empathy is crucial for our development on both a personal and professional level. This occurs through perspective-taking, or 'he act of perceiving a situation or understanding a concept from an alternative point of view, such as that of another individual.'Perspective taking is a multidimensional ability that includes understanding not only someone s visual assessment of reality (their viewpoint), but also their perceptual assessment (their understanding). The process is one of leaning in to see the world through someone s lens, rather than fully stepping into their shoes."

The 3 benefits of perspective-taking are reported as:

Added dimension
Building empathy
Learning and growing

You must be willing to make 3 choices to deepend your worldview and relationships using perspective-taking:

Appreciate your own perspective
Allow the other person to lead (this is crucial!)
Be 100 percent present.