Smartest Person in the Room

Thank you so much for using your platform to have these conversations. As a white woman in the current climate of America today I am examining my experience now more than ever. I appreciate your openness to ask the “stupid questions”. For the first time I have learned that not being actively racist is not enough and I am genuinely trying to educate myself on the black experience and my unconscious biases (I am embarrassed myself to say I am 22 years old and just now participating in active anti-racism, advocacy and more in depth self-reflection). Know that your openness and vulnerability to embrace ignorance and do the work to improve has helped me continue to do the same.

Keeping in mind the views are personal and not necessarily based on studies, I found the conversations enlightening. The one male guest on one of the episodes who recounted a brief conversation with Common, who is from the city of Chicago, ended abruptly when the guest said he’s from Hinsdale (a suburb of Illinois). There are communities within the city of Chicago (Pilsen, Englewood, Roseland, Cal Heights...)and Hinsdale is just not in the city of Chicago. There’s no reason to read anymore into Common’s polite reaction.

Thanks, Laura!

Laura is a fantastic interviewer precisely because she is unafraid to ask the questions many of us are thinking but we might be embarrassed to ask because we think we should already know the answer or we are afraid of offending someone. She asks insightful, compassionate, vulnerable questions and because of this the conversations on this podcast are rich, honest, and educational.