This morning on “A Public Affair” – our monthly radio show on KGNU Radio – the Community Foundation Boulder County further explored the impact of the current socio-political climate on our own community. In case you missed it, you can still listen to it here.
This morning on “A Public Affair” – our monthly radio show on KGNU Radio – the Community Foundation Boulder County further explored the impact of the current socio-political climate on our own community. In case you missed it, you can still listen to it here.
Moderated by Elvira Ramos, Vice President of Programs and Inclusive Leadership, today’s show was Part 2 in a series, focusing on how to be an ally to those in our community who are most vulnerable, and who may be experiencing increased aggressions.
Guests included Dr. Glenda Russell, psychotherapist, researcher, teacher, and activist; Mardi Moore, Executive Director of OUT Boulder County; and Carmen Ramirez, Community and Neighborhood Resources Manager for the City of Longmont. In their broad-ranging perspectives, all three guests emphasized the importance of empathy and self-reflection, and the significance of considering other peoples’ experiences as a means to taking action and building a compassionate community.
“At every level, if we treat people well, we reap incredible benefits,” said Glenda. “We have to empower victims, we have to empower witnesses – that means the whole community comes together. We know the opportunity for mobilizing in really productive ways is incredibly high right now, but we have to keep talking.
“What makes people take a stand? For some, it’s a personal relationship. For other people, it’s about deeper principles, about a sense of justice, about human dignity … the value of freedom, and the value of every person.
“We really need to reduce and limit the … attention we give to people who are dividing us.”
“I think empathy is really important,” added Carmen. “Being able to check our feelings, and assessing that, and then understanding other folks to help empower other individuals.”
Carmen further underscored what it means to be an ally. “It’s about figuring out ‘where is my place in supporting others,’” she said. “Folks need to continue the conversation. If we converse, we create consciousness that translates into action.”
Agreed Mardi: “The need for resiliency has never been greater. We’ve got to step up as leaders…to give folks skills for resiliency. It’s daily, hour-by-hour work.” She went on to say, “If I have not done the work to figure out what it’s like to be a transgender person in this community, I cannot be an ally, nor am I going to have what it takes to stand up in a situation that could escalate to violence.
“How do you get back to [empathy]? How do you step away from negative messages? What is the truth? What is our own truth? It’s a lifetime’s work.”
Glenda then evoked Martin Luther King, Jr.’s call to “the beloved community”: The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation. The aftermath of violence is emptiness and bitterness.
In closing, Glenda paraphrased the following insight credited to Lilla Watson, an Indigenous Australian or Murri visual artist, activist and academic working in the field of women’s issues: If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.
Listen to the full conversation here.
