Episode 19: Dr A Breeze Harper on Working With White Fragility

Dr. A. Breeze Harper earned her PhD in the social sciences, and consults and lectures widely on the topics of race and diversity. She also founded the Sistah Vegan Project, and is working on an upcoming book titled Black, Mama, Scholar: On Black Feminism, Food Ethics, and Toddler Tantrums in a ‘Post-Racial’ Era.

Episode Outline

  • Origins and definition of the term ‘white fragility’
  • Becoming aware of our privilege and talking about it within the context of personal stories
  • Cruelty and racism in chocolate and tomato supply chains
  • Understanding the meaning of cruelty-free food labels
  • The privilege associated with the idea of voting with your dollar
  • Being cognizant of cultural differences in activism
  • Finding ways to bring unconscious bias into conscious view without shaming
  • Unconscious bias is a product of our larger social system rather than just a product of individual thinking
  • Creating the proper space to do anti-racism work
  • The importance of self-care while doing activist work

Links & Resources

2 Comments

  1. Kelda October 8, 2020 at 16:10

    Good podcast! Eric, I really appreciated your comment about how it’s oft-times hardest to talk to white people who are closest to economic decline about racism and white fragility issues. I live in rural Oklahoma and that’s a great insight that I see around me here. It’s very much like they’re in a spot of “choosing to be white” for the few extra crumbs they get. White people choosing to join a class isn’t just a historic thing, but still going on today.

    Reply
    1. Eric Garza October 8, 2020 at 18:50

      Definitely! Thanks for the kind words too. Did you listen to episode 20 by chance? If you do, I’d love to hear what you thought about it.

      Reply

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