Dive-In-Justice

As we finally close the season, Shadiin both apologizes AND blames Delma for being at fault for this episode taking soooo long to record/post...Delma checks in about Christmas covid, working in a predominantly white institution (PWIs) and what it's like to navigate these spaces. He gives a shout to Corporate Erin and #NonProfitBoss for giving voice to the strangeness of the culture. Shadiin and Delma reflect on how we choose to engage with the heaviness of the conflict in Gaza and how we decide when to do so v not. We leverage that conversation to look at what it means to have the privilege to "look away." Shadiin discusses reuniting with family for land rematriation and all the beauty the process brought up even as they collectively mourned the passing of an uncle. The duo then reflect on season 3's themes around the tension between our values and our money and the various lessons learned by our powerful and committed guests. Thanks SO MUCH for taking this journey with us. Look for us to return with SEASON 4: LOVE, in late April!

We have something special to share with you this week. This is the audio version of an essay, written by one of our collective members at the Center for Whole Communities, Samara Gaev. We simply invite you to close your eyes and take this in when you have the time, and listen as Samara gives voice to the tender reality of what it’s like to bring young ones into this world in a time of conflict, trauma, and chaos. You can also find the written version here. And if you would like to contribute to CWC's winter fundraising campaign, and support our collective transition, you can donate here.The accompanying music for this piece is Compassion, by Cellomano.

Thank you for your patience faithful listener! This week, Shadiin opens up by saying the quiet part out loud and admits she loves to hear Delma stumble over pronunciations. Delma checks in about what it means to respond to the world around us based on perceived racial identity and gender and how we potentially replicate the very systems we seek to change. Shadiin reflects on the pride she feels in watching her children become "good humans" in this world. She also discusses the way recent events and triggered her anger and how she's managing (or not) to move with it. After the break, our fearless hosts welcome back poet, activist, educator, and facilitator Kellie Richardson who's work center's Black humanity as sacred, divine, and worthy. Kellie joins us to talk about surviving cancer, making a living, living life, and what it means to tell her story in predominantly white institutions and spaces in everything from health care, to art.

Our hosts open up how much Shadiin REALLY appreciates Delma's presence in her life. From there, they discuss the nature of contemporary politics and the role of Trump in changing the political landscape so much that you start to miss Reagan and Bush. Shadiin talks about the way our various "hats" we wear impact how we choose to show up in various places. Are we being our authentic selves? CAN we be our authentic selves and still hold down a job? DIJ then welcomes our guest, Ginny McGinn, the long-time director of Center for Whole Communities. Ginny discusses what it means to lead an agency through justice work while holding her own integrity while navigating sexism and white identity. She discuss the role of allyship in the face of these intersectional realities. She discusses the risks inherent in justice work and how she determines when to push while trying to meet people where they are.

With the encouragement of both Shadiin and Dr. Finney, Delma briefly considers taking up late night DJ-ing. Shadiin and Delma check in about the passing of Delma's colleague and classmate, Dr. Charles Banks and the disproportionate health outcomes of BIPOC populations. Shadiin discusses her son's and their future plans. She also raises what it means to receive feedback from listeners about her "single" status and what it means practice relationships beyond monogamy and her recent dating fun in her dating life. After the break our hosts welcome the "notorious" Dr. Carolyn Finney who discusses her journey through higher education and what it means to navigate the struggle of meeting her own expectations around social justice work and "the invisible list of rules" that come with being on "the left." She discusses how making money can conflict with her desire to be true to herself when "the rules" don't serve her. She powerfully discusses the task of knowing and meeting her own expectations in the face of people and institutions who expect something less than authenticity.

Shadiin sets up Delma once again to mispronounce Indigenous nations. They check in on the Trump's team showing up in Fulton County and the idea that Fani Willis deserves her flowers sooner than later. Shadiin discusses the crazy-making that is holding people in loving accountability and the toll it takes on BIPOC. After the break, our fearless hosts welcome Taj James: Founder and former Director of the Movement Strategy Center, Curator at Full Spectrum Labs and Principal at Full Spectrum Capital Partners. Taj invites us to consider a different form of capitalism wherein people are creating markets that more aligned with the earth, our values, and the future we want to see for our beloveds.

Our Apologies...we had some tech difficulties with this ep. Here's to never giving up...Our hosts check in about the start of the school year so Delma can complain about having to start getting up earlier and getting organized again. They take a moment to reminisce about his Aunt Emma as she transitions into "the pantheon of ancestors." Shadiin reflects on what it means to be tough, the trauma we navigate to get there, and what our kids gain and lose in the process of protecting them from it. Our fearless hosts then welcome our first guest of the season: Jonah Canner! A long time friend, colleague, teacher, and practitioner, Jonah joins us to discuss what it means to do this work while loving ourselves, the work, and each other. He discusses how he makes decisions about when to hold his position and when to fold and walk away (if not be escorted out).

Our hosts check in about the start of the school year so Delma can complain about having to start getting up earlier and getting organized again. They take a moment to reminisce about his Aunt Emma as she transitions into "the pantheon of ancestors." Shadiin reflects on what it means to be tough, the trauma we navigate to get there, and what our kids gain and lose in the process of protecting them from it. Our fearless hosts then welcome our first guest of the season: Jonah Canner! A long time friend, colleague, teacher, and practitioner, Jonah joins us to discuss what it means to do this work while loving ourselves, the work, and each other. He discusses how he makes decisions about when to hold his position and when to fold and walk away (if not be escorted out).

Shadiin and Delma open up discussing the cultural relevance of the "Rock at the Dock," The "Fadesgivin' Festivities, " otherwise known as the August 5th "Montgomery Mollywhop," wherein a group of white Alabamans fucked around and found out. They discuss how the role of blood quantum and other western notions of belonging continue to haunt the Pueblo nation Shadiin belongs to and what it means to dive into the work of calling in folks who look just like you but hold VERY different politics.Finally, as our hosts hit the halfway point of the season, they pause to take note of what the season has been and what we hope it'll be moving forward.

This week, we join our fearless/fearful hosts as Shadiin tells salacious lies regarding the origin of Delma's humor. They check in about the intersection of anger, mourning, and disproportionate health outcomes as Delma continues to mourn the loss of his father. Shadiin processes recovering from covid in the midst of a retreat she was central in putting together after 2 years of continuous work. After checking in, our hosts look at the ways we embody white supremacy culture in our hyper-focus on tending to "our own" issues and ignoring the plight/struggles of others. What does it mean to move in an intersectional way? How do we acknowledge that we'll never know everything about everyone and yet continue to learn and grown as we navigate one another in the midst of the overwhelming forces of white supremacist patriarchy? We don't know, either...

This week, we discover why Delma never became a serious runner and why Shadiin is cowboy adjacent and an enemy of our bovine brothers and sisters. Meanwhile, your hosts try to figure out why it feels like white people are often more emotive regarding tragedies befalling our four-legged family than they are when it happens to their fellow BIPOC siblings. After Delma's blood pressure comes back down, our hosts discuss the ways we choose to compromise ourselves even as we're trying to change the world for the better. How does our desire for comfort and security impact our willingness to speak truth to power? How do we decide when to risk our finances to fight the good fight?

Shadiin encourages Delma to BRING IT with the introduction. Our hosts discuss a lived experience of a micro-aggression and all the ways the mind and body responded in the moment...striving hard to say the quiet parts out loud. After the break, our hosts discuss the journey from our younger, more rigid, newly-informed "woke" selves to our more comfortable, older, more flexible selves of today. Did we sell out? Did we get too comfortable? Were we TOO woke for our own good when we were younger? We don't know, but we're gonna talk about it. Come join us!

Shadiin and Delma briefly consider renaming the podcast. Our hosts take time to check in with one another on the nuances and difficulties of getting facilitating groups while trying to make it look easy and what it means to "teach" facilitation to a new generation of people while being feeling exhausted. After the break, our hosts discuss the existence, proliferation, external appearance, and internal voice of the Contemporary Tom: those of us who put the comfort of people in power over the needs of those most vulnerable. Modern day uncle toms within and without are making justice difficult to embody for us all. What is a sellout? WHO is a sellout? Who should get to decide? What does it even mean...? We don't know either, but we're gonna discuss just the same.

After a lengthy hiatus, Shadiin and Delma are back with another season of DIJ and the mutual respect is as present as ever...Once Shadiin learns to loosen up a bit...we discuss the theme of justice and money that will inform the rest of season 3. We talk about what it means to care about both justice AND paying our bills; our need for love and our need for liquidity. We talk about how often we feel called to move the world in the right direction, while shrinking our voice in order to remain "digestable" and employed. Sometimes we're silent when we should be loud. Sometimes people are counting on us while we're counting our money. Why? Because we're human, fallible, greedy, and we want to be comfortable. We live in a broader context that says, be a capitalist, or live off the grid. Your hosts have chosen. So the question remains: how do we live with ourselves?

Dive-In-Justice is launching season 3 on May 19th! Join Shandiin and Delma's bi-weekly pod as they examine the role of money, resources, and access in relationship to Justice. How do we seek one without forsaking the other? We don't know either, but we're gonna spend season 3 talking thru it together. Come join for the conversation. It'll be interesting, honest, funny, and heartbreaking all at once and we are HERE for it!

Season 2 is in the books! Thanks SO much for being a listener! Our hosts open up with a whole season's worth of bitter love and warm hostility. They discuss balancing workloads, family, and what it means to live in head vs the heart. Shadiin discusses comfort zones and how we might benefit from finding the right balance between feeling stretched, growing, and over-extending. Shadiin and Delma zoom out and discuss some of the biggest themes running throughout season 2 and the show in general with a special focus on land acknowledgements and how we might keep them relevant, and focused on raising awareness as opposed to another vehicle for performance. Our hosts also discuss how we hold the passion, anger, promise, and tension that comes from trying to have nuanced conversations on justice in a binary world. Finally, our hosts discuss their vision for season 3 and take a moment to recognize all those who've supported us to this point.

This week on DIJ, Shadiin laughs at Delma's natural-born face. They discuss how meaningful it is to have close connections with their respective children. Our hosts discuss the promises and pitfalls of American life and how it impacts their views on patriotism vs packing it up, while in Black and Brown bodies-as well as what we saw in our fathers and grandfathers who served. DIJ then welcomes, Aayaan. Aayaan, is a transformational coach and founder of Unearth Freedom, LLC and a consultant at Metropolitan Group. As a healing justice facilitator and cultural change guide, Aayaan helps systematically disadvantaged and purpose driven leaders experience freedom, feel powerful, and act with purpose. They discuss how often we show up with an overwhelming need to "prove" ourselves, and how we can begin to "remove all the layers" that prevent us from healing. They discuss how Aayaan awakened to their work and how their work with Unearth Freedom seeks to help others recover from feelings of shame and loss that prevent us from engaging in the type of emotional consciousness that our world needs so desperately today.

Shadiin and Delma discuss the horrors of Ukraine, what it brings up for them-including how this moment mirrors so many others. From the systemic assault of women to the systemic racial bias in it's coverage, our hosts grapple with what it means to be a human consuming information that deeply impacts our sense of safety, well-being, and our sense of responsibility to this global community we call home. Our hosts then welcome Chief Curator of The Emergence Network, Dr. Bayo Akomolafe. A speaker, author, fugitive neo-materialist, com-post-activist, public intellectual and Yoruba poet-Dr. Akomolafe offers a series of fundamental questions about the nature of justice, race, privilege, failure, and experimentation--For instance: Do we strengthen the role of oppression by seeking recognition from the very systems we seek to create? Is justice enough? What do we lose when we live in our privilege?

Shadiin and Delma open this week's episode with warmth, love, and light. Or...not. They move into a conversation about the ways their own inside jokes have potentially caused harm to some of our listeners-which leads to a broader analysis of how we might come to conclusions about what's acceptable and what's not-and to what extent we're even equipped to have those conversations with one another. We discuss the isolation and shaming that can come from our triggers running encountering our inability to skillfully hold these conversations. DIJ welcomes Scott Nine-Assistant Superintendent for the Oregon Department of Education’s Office of Education Innovation and Improvement. Scott discusses his journey through his childhood in a faith community, grappling with the politics of whiteness within his own family, and wrestling with working to constantly expand his world view. Scott draws on these narratives as he moves into his current role and his vulnerability when working on justice issues as a white, cisgender male, and how his commitment to equity rests in a willingness to keep doing "the work" even as you know you're going to get things wrong along the way. After confessing profound pettiness, Scott joins Shadiin and Delma in analyzing the role of ism's articulated by celebrities and how our feelings about their words inform us.

Delma & Shadiin open the episode reflecting on Delma's obvious high quality as reflected by the quality of his guests. Shadiin complains about having to confess her pettiness first as they dive into notions of retribution and rest. Delma confesses to being often on a high moral horse when working with white people and they discuss the benefits and setbacks of leveraging white guilt. DIJ welcomes Lt. Col. Adrian Massey to the show. Adrian is a lifelong friend of Delma's and has spent almost two decades serving in the US Army. Adrian takes us on a journey through his challenges and triumphs. He reflects on freedom, friendship, and faith and the power of poetry to "break up" otherwise barren soil.