Road to Repair Andrew X, Nikishka Iyengar, Jessica Norwood

This final episode on Season 2 of the Road to Repair picks up where the previous episode left off by summarizing the discussion around Jessica's upcoming book called "Believe-in-You Money: What Would It Look Like If the Economy Loved Black People?" which focuses on the racial wealth divide, systemic racism in finance, the concept of an economy that loves black people and how it benefits everyone. Jessica then turns the focus back to her cohosts Nikishka and Andrew to share their personal stories about receiving and giving "Believe In You Money" and the impact it had on them and the stories and emotions come pouring forth. Finally, this episode closes out with a classic Black folk song that's guided many seekers in their quest for liberation and repair.

Highlights:

• Andrew gets choked up recalling an instance where he received "Believe In You Money" from a friend during challenging times and how it made a profound difference in his life. In giving "Believe In You Money" he discusses his participation in an innovative fund that invested in women and people of color-owned enterprises alongside his personal "Believe In You Money" investments.

• Nikishka discusses her work at The Guild, an organization focused on community-owned models of land, housing, and real estate. She relates a traumatic experience with a CDFI and shares how working with the Kataly Foundation – which provides integrated capital, including grants and loans, to support projects like theirs – has allowed them to reject harmful practices enforced by other financial institutions and she shares the transformative impact it has had on their organization and team.

• An interesting nuance comes up around the pressure and expectations that come with receiving this type of funding and the challenge of receiving love after navigating a loveless space but all express gratitude for the opportunity and repair that it provides.

• The cohosts celebrate the completion of this 2nd season of the Road to Repair and invite you to stay tuned for Season 3!

You can check out the Show Notes for this episode (eg: Guest Bio, Links to Relevant Resources, and Transcript) at www.theroadtorepair.com/s2-ep9

This is a special bonus episode featuring host Jessica Norwood's forthcoming book, "Believe-in-You Money: What Would It Look Like If the Economy Loved Black People?", which focuses on creating an economy that supports Black people and challenges systemic racial wealth disparity that is the product of the ugly roots of our country. Jessica shares her personal experience and discusses the systemic racism and biases in finance that hinder black entrepreneurs. She explains the mission of Runway, the company she founded to address racialized wealth disparity for black entrepreneurs. Runway advocates for aligning financial systems with racial equity. The conversation emphasizes the need for alternative financial institutions, like Runway, to create meaningful change and build a more just financial system and gives the first public sneak peek into Jessica's transformational book.

Highlights:

• Jessica shares a personal story about her mother's entrepreneurial journey and how she was unable to access the capital she needed.

• A critique of the term "racial wealth gap" and the need for new language to describe it

• Discussion of the racial biases and systemic racism present in finance and emphasize the importance of rethinking concepts like risk and return of capital.

• Jessica shares an example of a challenge they faced with a banking partner during the pandemic, where they had to advocate for deferment options that better suited the needs of black entrepreneurs that came down to changing a button in the computer's user interface.

You can check out the Show Notes for this episode (eg: Guest Bio, Links to Relevant Resources, and Transcript) at www.theroadtorepair.com/s2-ep8

Join host Andrew X along with Jess Rimington and Joanna Levitt Cea, two powerful women who've joined forces to create the incredible book "Beloved Economies." Rooted in historical analysis, accessible truth-telling, and present-day experimentation, their work aims to transform our current extractive systems into more resilient paradigms. Head over to the interwebs right now and order your copy because it's packed with accessible stories and examples of how we can change the rules and create a truly different economic landscape. Whether you're an economics newbie or a hardcore next economy enthusiast, this book will challenge your perception of the working world for the better. If you're tired of the same old economic systems and yearn for a future where power is shared, resilience reigns, and communities thrive, keep listening. Jess and Joanna are about to drop some serious gems that will leave you feeling inspired and empowered with practical guidance. Join us on this journey to demystify love in action and unleash its transformative power in our lives and organizations.

Highlights:

• Jess & Joanna's Respective Journey: Jess and Joanna share personal anecdotes that influenced their professional journeys. Jess bears witness to small town Palo Alto transforming into Silicon Valley and shares her involvement in promoting Star Trek conventions and exposure to diverse communities that sparked her imagination and curiosity about different economic structures. Joanna discusses her involvement with the Buen Vivir Fund, an international investment fund that stands apart from the norm. The fund's decision-making structure is based on grassroots practices for lending, emphasizing power sharing and instead of financial investors reaping all the rewards, the fund's growth goes back into supporting future projects.

• The Love that Catalyzed the Book: The magic truly began when these two phenomenal women met at a women's leadership retreat. Jess wowed Joanna with her spoken word piece, igniting a connection fueled by radical imagination and a shared desire to challenge the structural issues of the economy. They became fast friends, crashing on each other's couches and deepening their exploration of power sharing and alternative ways of working. Little did they know that this friendship would evolve into the Beloved Economies research project, which exceeded all expectations and blossomed into the enlightening book we all need in our lives.

• The Seven Transformational Practices: Jess & Joanna unpack the seven practices that emerged from their longitudinal research study, including 1) shared decision-making power, 2) prioritizing relationships, 3) reckoning with history, 4) seeking difference, 5) sourcing from multiple ways of knowing, 6) prototyping early and often, and 7) trusting there's time. Further, Jess & Joanna discuss how these practices interact and reinforce one another.

You can check out the Show Notes for this episode (eg: Guest Bio, Links to Relevant Resources, and Transcript) at www.theroadtorepair.com/s2-ep7

Get ready to dive into this juicy conversation, with host Nikishka Iyengar and Leslie Lindo, whom has dedicated over a decade of her career working to change the systems that have been most extractive on social and natural ecosystems. In this episode, Leslie drops some serious knowledge about community wealth building through the Olamina Fund – a model of non-extractive finance created by Candide Group to address gaps in access to capital to support community wealth building through more flexible and community-engaged investments, particularly for communities historically excluded from the economy. Leslie also offers a glimpse into her broader work engaging with the solidarity economy through her work serving on the board of the New Economy Coalition.

Highlights:

•.Entrepreneurial Mindset and Work: Leslie initiated a program called Project Rising in Phoenix to activate vacant lots and abandoned buildings by involving the community and developing investment-worthy projects. Realizing that traditional financing approaches didn't adequately support innovative and community-centered projects, Leslie got involved in changing the structure of project financing.

• Olamina Fund's Community Engagement and Partnership: Leslie describes the value of designing and working with a community advisory board and other community partners, emphasizing the importance of gathering feedback and learning from the community's experiences to improve future iterations. The focus is on collaboration and identifying investment opportunities that align with community needs, such as supporting emerging funds and transferring land and real estate to community control.

• Creative Financial Support: Nikishka and Leslie discuss the need to think creatively about financial models with the goal to tailor the funding approach to meet the specific needs of the organizations being supported. For example, methods of supporting organizations that may not be able to make payments in the early stages of development, such as exploring longer timeframes for investments and seeking the right investor partners who are willing to structure their investments accordingly.

• Personal and Organizational Growth: Leslie reflects on her personal and organizational growth, highlighting the journey of working with the New Economy Coalition (NEC) and other organizations. She describes the evolution of NEC's structure and decision-making models, emphasizing the importance of listening, leaning into values, and finding ways to redistribute wealth. Leslie also acknowledges the emotional labor involved in this work and expresses a need for grace, patience, and ongoing learning.

You can check out the Show Notes for this episode (eg: Guest Bio, Links to Relevant Resources, and Transcript) at www.theroadtorepair.com/s2-ep6

Join host Jessica Norwood in this special episode as she gives you a sneak peek into her new book, "Believe in You Money: What Would It Look Like if the Economy Loved Black People?" Rather than relying solely on benevolence or philanthropy, the conversation delves into a concept of reparations that challenges the notion of one-time payments.  Instead it emphasizes business ownership and productive capital that underscores the need for economic independence alongside systemic change. This thought-provoking conversation challenges the status quo by inviting listeners to reimagine risk, reshape power structures, and invest in black joy as a means to create an economy that actually supports historically marginalized communities for the long term. Discover how cooperative economics and the Seed Commons network are reshaping the way we think about communities, ownership, and investment. This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs, wealth movers, and anyone ready to challenge our unjust status quo and embrace systems change. Don't forget to grab a copy of Jessica's new book for yourself and a friend. It's time to rewrite the rules and create an economy that truly loves black people. Join the conversation and be part of building a more inclusive future.

Highlights:

• Believe In You Money: Jessica introduces her new book, "Believe In You Money: What Would It Look Like If the Economy Loved Black People?" She discusses her desire to see a new type of capital being given and invested in black entrepreneurs and innovators. The book explores the concept of "believe in you money" as a form of capital that recognizes the value, success, and ideas of black individuals in the economy. It aims to be long-term, patient, and anti-racist, acknowledging the historical challenges faced by black people and advocating for reparative actions.

• Seed Commons and Cooperative Economics: Jessica and Brendan discuss the role of cooperative economics in reimagining risk and capitalization. Seed Commons is a national network of non-extractive loan funds that bring big finance under community control. The network focuses on supporting local cooperative businesses, particularly in marginalized communities that have faced systemic discrimination and economic challenges. They aim to distribute power, build wealth, and challenge inequality through solidarity economics.

• Racial Bias in Risk Assessment: Jessica and Brendan describe the inherent racial bias present in risk assessment, particularly in financial systems. They highlight how factors like credit scores, which are based on historical financial information, can perpetuate discriminatory practices. The discussion challenges the assumptions that black entrepreneurs are riskier to work with and emphasizes the need for empowering black communities to experiment, grow, and pivot without the fear of failure or shame. They argue that risk assessment should be reevaluated to align with a more inclusive and equitable understanding of what is sacred, considering the people, land, culture, and spirituality of Afro-indigenous communities.

• Investing in Black Joy: The conversation highlights the experiences of workers who became owners in a cooperative factory. It captures their sense of liberation and the realization of their own capabilities. By becoming owners, they overcame the psychological barriers that society had imposed on them, realizing their own power and potential. 

You can check out the Show Notes for this episode (eg: Guest Bio, Links to Relevant Resources, and Transcript) at www.theroadtorepair.com/s2-ep5

*Special dedication episode to Nikishka’s grandfather, or her “Tha-Tha”*

This episode – dedicated to host Nikishka's newest ancestor (her grandfather who helped raise her) – offers glimpses into personal transformation, the power of intentional choices, and alternative approaches to accountability. Akaya Windwood shares her experience as a seasoned hospice worker, death doula, and the transformative power of bearing witness to the dying process. She recounts a story of compassion and transformation about a racist woman she took care of who gradually transformed her views over time, highlighting that it is not always the burden of marginalized individuals to be the bigger person, but it can be a conscious choice that can be empowering. The conversation also touches on the need for new methods of accountability and the invitation for others to join the journey on the road to repair without coercion or leaving anyone behind.

Highlights:

• A powerful story of transformation: a moving story of a hospice worker’s/death doula’s journey with a dying woman who initially held racist views, but then undergoes a transformation, challenging deeply ingrained beliefs and prejudices.

• The importance of choosing grace and compassion: Akaya discusses her experience of consciously choosing to respond with compassion instead of reacting from a place of anger or resentment

• Rethinking accountability and transformative justice: Akaya emphasizes the need to hold individuals accountable while still recognizing their humanity and invites listeners to question and reimagine existing systems of accountability.

You can check out the Show Notes for this episode (eg: Guest Bio, Links to Relevant Resources, and Transcript) at www.theroadtorepair.com/s2-ep4