- Optimistic Anthropology
- Posts
- The Optimistic Anthropologist Volume 36
The Optimistic Anthropologist Volume 36
Systems are Made of People Like You and Me
JUNE 2021 | VOLUME 36
Dear ,
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been learning and thinking a lot about grief, anger, (dis)connection, and white supremacy. This topic first came up in the
practice space I’m part of where for four weeks, 60 individuals who were raised/socialized to be white women have been coming together to explore how we have “perpetuated dominant systems of oppression and cause[d] harm even when that is not our intention.”
The theme of the third week of this program was “grief and anger” and as part of it, I was introduced to
(see below). I honestly had never thought about the different sources of grief before. And while I know that “hurt people hurt people,” I had never made the explicit connection between how the lack of space and models to process all these different forms of grief – individually and collectively - can and does manifest itself as anger - individually and collectively. I’ve been thinking about this a lot since that session, and how dominant U.S. culture holds so little space for grief, how we have so much of it, and how now, more than any other time in my life, it is so filled with anger.
This summary slide of
comes from
Then, earlier this week, I had the opportunity to participate in a webinar hosted by CoCreative called
featuring – among others – Tema Okun who stated that
is about fostering division and disconnection - between individuals and themselves, between groups of people (eg white and BIPOC, white and white), between individuals and the natural and spiritual worlds. And yet, these are the very same connections that we need for processing grief and releasing anger. What transforms the system of white supremacy is relationships.
This message resonates with me very deeply. As I have changed my own thinking and relationship with work and friendship, romantic partnership and community, so much love and connection and creativity and meaningful work has been possible in my life. Over the last few years,
has enabled me to consult and be a strategic advisor and teach lots of individuals and teams working to make positive and equitable social change. In these spaces, I find that the message I now emphasize the most is that success is not just about the ends, it is about the balance between results, process, and relationships (hat tip
.
If you share my goal of shaping just and equitable institutions and systems, at root, our work is about changing our relationships - with ourselves, with one another, and with
; with time and process and (un)certainty; and with growth and progress and what constitutes success. When we change our relationships, we change ourselves. And while white supremacy culture wants to divide and disconnect us from this truth - institutions and systems are just groups of people like you and me.
Be well, do good, and keep eachother safe,
P.S.
I always welcome your feedback, a
,
or chance to catch up about work you have brewing. Feel free to
!
P.P.S. I invite you to connect with me on
,
, and/or
.
LATEST
This fall, our founder Alison Gold will continue to evolve and teach her course on
at the
. In an effort to improve her course and support her students' interest in environmental issues (an area she's less knowledgeable about) she'd love your suggestions:
who are the multi-sector partnerships working to address environmental issues
in the U.S.?
Know of an MSP working to transform a different social or economic system in the U.S.? Alison would still be interested in hearing about it!
THE RIGHT PEOPLE ON THE BUS: JOBS, RFPS, AND FELLOWSHIPS FROM APRIL/MAY 2021
Folks we know are recruiting for a lot of cool things! Each month, we share
, a monthly-ish round-up of job, consulting, and fully- funded fellowship and accelerator opportunities that people and organizations connected to Optimistic Anthropology are recruiting for.
(our list reaches ~1300 great people!)
GOOD LISTENS & WATCHES FROM APRIL/MAY 2021
We love music, podcasts, movies, tv, and documentaries! And we see connections between all kinds of culture and the work we do. Here's what we have been listening to and watching during the last couple of months!
The Allusionist: Lacuna (April 10, 2021) A story of cake recipes, newspaper censorship, and the Brazilian military dictatorship.
Criminal Episode 164: Sanctuary (May 7, 2021) A look at the U.S.'s deportation policy through the story of José Chicas, who after 32 years in the country was told he had to leave and took refuge in a church.
Ear Hustle: Lifer Bakery (April 14, 2021) A small Israeli bakery in downtown San Francisco has offered jobs to dozens of lifers just out of prison. A few of them tell their stories.
It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders: Is Biden the Next FDR? or LBJ? (May 11, 2021) An insightful discussion with presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin about how FDR and LBJ influenced President Biden's first 100 days.
The Memory Palace: Crossfade (April 2, 2021) Maybe you've heard about the White Sox's infamous Disco Demolition Night in 1979. But, the interwoven stories of musician and producer Van McCoy and radio DJ Steve Dahl brings new layers to the story.
Pop Culture Happy Hour: BTS and Beyond: A Guide to K-Pop (May 27, 2021) An interesting discussion about the rise of KPop, why PSY being a global phenomenon was surprising, and the genre's complicated relationship with Black culture.
Collective - this documentary focuses on the journalists who uncovered corruption in the Romanian health care system and the young reformer appointed health minister in the aftermath of the Collectiv Rock Club fire. It was nominated for two Oscars this year (International Feature and Doc) and deservedly so. A must watch for anyone interested in systems transformation.
Quo Vadis, Aida? - a fictionalized account of a local school teacher turned UN interpreter trying to protect her family and community during the events leading up to the genocide at Srebrenica is another powerful and necessary watch. The film -- which was written, directed, and produced by Bosnia-Herzegovina's Jasmila Žbanić and features actors from both Serbia and Bosnia -- was nominated for best International Feature at this year's Oscars.
ABOUT OPTIMISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
helps organizations and cross-sector collaborations trying to solve some of the world's toughest problems build their cultures and processes to "learn into" the answers to two critical questions:
1) How did our current reality come to be? and
2) What will it take to shape a positive, just, and equitable future?
Cooking up something and could use our help?
.
Connect with Optimistic Anthropology
Reply