Nurturing the Diverse Soul

Nurturing the Diverse Soul is out on the 30minutes podcast.

This is the second half hour of the Tucson Festival of Books panel, moderated by Dominique Calza, where Dr. Michelle Téllez and I discuss self-care for diverse communities, writing, and motherhood in the academy.

From the episode, my response to a young woman of color who asked how to keep showing up in activist communities where you want to be, but don’t feel safe.

“It never gets easier. They never actually want you there or expect you to be there might be more accurate…it matters in the sense of how we take it in, and our choices to take it in. I think for myself, one of the things that has been really helpful has been finding individual practices I can do, sort of like expecting things to be tough. Which I know sounds a little bit pessimistic, but it actually is really empowering. And so oftentimes going into community groups I know are going to be pretty uncomfortable that I’m there, I’ll do a ritual with myself before I go. I will consciously think about how I am creating boundaries in that space, I will consciously think about how to call in my ancestors and support systems that aren’t human to support me in that space. I’ve kinda taken the individual approach because I don’t always have relationships to rely on in those situations. I’m so glad you’re out there and doing you.”

Check out the full episode at: Nurturing The Diverse Soul Part 2

(Access note: there is no transcript of the episode)