Racial Justice and Creating Inclusive Communities EP 197

Patty has a special guest today to discuss racial justice and inclusivity, and what it means to live in the United States today.   Iyabo shares a bit about her life. She’s bi-racial and grew up in Nigeria until age 16 when she came to the US. She explains that she didn’t know she was black, until she moved to America.   She considers herself a recovering attorney. Hear why she changed careers and the motivation to make a big change. She went to Seminary and realized that her theological background (she explains she’s not a preacher) and legal experience gave her a foundation for the work she does now.   Patty asked Iyabo to explain how she came to understand God and spirituality. She found Christianity from television evangelists when she lived in Nigeria. It’s a fascinating story of personal faith.   Iyabo explains why she doesn’t agree with what is often taken for Christianity in the US. She is a “radical inclusionist”. Each person was created in the image of the Divine and therefore she says that each of us has intrinsic value deserving of love and inclusion.   Ownership is an illusion. This discussion helps to understand why concepts like freedom and citizenry can’t be “owned” but must be embodied. Ownership is often used to attempt to control or dictate to others. Iyabo explains how to recognize how to move from owning to empowerment.   She explains that we need to embrace shared power. We care about those in our community to have less and we understand that we are not in competition with one another.   How can we see others as human if we are so tied up in our identity that we can’t admit when we are wrong, or when we don’t know something?   Patty shares that large social issues like homelessness are sometimes misattributed by the law of attraction. Example: if you are homeless, it’s because you “attracted” it into your life. She and Iyabo talk about how that’s not the case and the shift around what it means to “attract” things in your life.   Understanding your identity will lead you to understand your pri