A More Beautiful Way with Bethaney Wilkinson

Learning how to tell the truth about who we are is among the bravest and most challenging work we do. It is also essential for our growth and flourishing. In today’s podcast, you get to hear Danielle’s story of shedding old identities and stepping more fully into her sacred work and identity. 

Danielle and I discuss:

shedding layers of conditioning and expectations 

choosing to not become a biological mother

the liberating power of Black storytelling

making space for our healing and evolution

listening to and learning from our inner children

heartache’s ability to water the seeds of our growth

the nuances of intergenerational healing 

Episode Notes:

What does it look like to be connected to our minds and our bodies in today’s society? 

This A More Beautiful Way Conversation with Dr. Cherini Ghobrial is a thought provoking reflection on what it looks like to feel your feelings, come home to your body and live embodied. 

Cherini and I discuss:

being conditioned to be a high achiever 

chronic pain and fatigue 

living in the present, moment by moment 

coming home to yourself and somatic therapy 

feeling your feelings and coming back into your body

countercultural living focused on healing and liberation 

the rapture of being alive and aliveness as a human right 

What does it look like to hold the nuances of resistance, decolonization, storytelling, and everyday flourishing in today’s world? 

This A More Beautiful Way Conversation with Kaitlin Curtice is a thoughtful, shared reflection on what it looks like to slow down, to tend to our wounds, to build connection through storytelling and to continue on the journey of healing and decolonization. 

Kaitlin and I discuss:

• the daily habits that ground the morning and orient our days
  
• the need for grief and ritual as we move through life’s endings
  
• how the wisdom of children is vital in our creation of a more beautiful future and world
  
• the meaning of decolonization, both personally and collectively
  
• the complexity of indigeneity and the importance of learning from indigenous peoples around the world 
  
• rooting in gratitude as a spiritual practice 
  
• writing and creativity as a pathway home 
  

This conversation is delightful and my hope is that you find nourishment for your inner and outer journey through listening. 

About Kaitlin

Kaitlin Curtice is an award-winning author, poet-storyteller, and public speaker. As an enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation, Kaitlin writes on the intersections of spirituality and identity and how that shifts throughout our lives. She also speaks on these topics to diverse audiences who are interested in truth-telling and healing. 

As an inter-spiritual advocate, Kaitlin participates in conversations on topics such as colonialism in faith communities, and she has spoken at many conferences on the importance of inter-faith relationships. 

Her new book, Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day, examines the journey of resisting the status quo of hate by caring for ourselves, one another, and Mother Earth. 

Besides her books, Kaitlin has written online for Sojourners, Religion News Service, Apartment Therapy, On Being, SELF Magazine, Oprah Daily, and more. Her work has been featured on CBS and in USA Today. She also writes at The Liminality Journal. Kaitlin lives in Philadelphia with her family.

In this A More Beautiful Way Conversation, Hillarie Maddox and I have a warm, inviting dialogue on what it looks like to rewild our lives and create slower, more connected lives. 

Hillarie and I discuss:

identity and self discovery 

landscape, culture and sustainability in South Dakota 

homesteading 

land and healing for black women 

race, land ownership, and connection to the land 

rewilding and slowing down our lives

Connect with Hillarie: 

If you're hoping to linger with the bigger questions of personal and collective healing, this conversation is for you.

Host, Bethaney Wilkinson, interviews Nina Simons about the role self-cultivation and personal healing plays in the work of addressing the many crises we're facing as a species.

Nina Simons is co-founder of Bioneers and serves as its Chief Relationship Strategist. She is a social entrepreneur who is passionate about the power of women to transform the world, reaching racial and gender justice, indigeneity and rekindling a sacred relationship to nature, while co-creating a just transition that’s regenerative, loving and peaceful.

She speaks internationally and co-facilitates transformative leadership offerings that integrate Relational Mindfulness, Restoring the Deep Feminine and The Work That Reconnects.

What might it look like to find a more beautiful way to navigate the racial harm and disconnection of our time? What might it look like to find the healing pathways within our own family lineages and in the places we come from? What roles do repair and forgiveness play in cultivating a new world?

In today's conversation, we are joined by author, activist and storyteller Lisa Sharon Harper. Through the lens of her most recent book, "Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All," Lisa walks through how learning our family histories, and setting those histories within the context of the broader history of one's nation, opens up healing pathways to repair the harms of racial hierarchy in our world.

ABOUT LISA

Lisa Sharon Harper (LSMA, Columbia University; MFA, University of Southern California) is the founder of Freedom Road, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap. A sought-after speaker, trainer, and consultant with more than 100,000 social media followers, Harper has written several books, including the critically acclaimed The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right.

Her work has been featured in the New Yorker, Relevant, Essence, HuffPost, The National Civic Review, and CNN, and she has appeared on PBS's Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, TV One, Fox News, NPR, and Al Jazeera America. Harper previously served as chief church engagement officer at Sojourners, where she mobilized the church to engage campaigns on immigration reform and racial justice.

She has researched her family origins for three decades and presented on her ancestors achievements at the African American Civil War Museum. Harper lives in the same Philadelphia neighborhood where three generations of her ancestors lived.

LINKS:

In today’s episode of A More Beautiful Way, you get to hear from an AMBW Community Voice: Jordyn Robinson. Jordyn takes us on a journey into three powerful questions, giving voice to what it’s looking like for her to embody ~a more beautiful way~ in this season of her life.

In this soul-filling conversation, Leah and I discuss the importance of learning to be one another’s story-keepers. We talk about working with art and floral design to help a community remember and heal from the tragic Greenwood Massacre (also known as the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.) We reflect on how working with plants and created-things sustains us. And Leah shares a gracious invitation for us to partner with her and The Wild Mother to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women. 

Leah Palmer (she/her) is an 8th generation Afro-Indigenous artist and anti-racism educator located in Oklahoma City. With her two sisters, she is a founder of The Wild Mother, a floral design studio based in the Arts District of Oklahoma city, on Kickapoo, Osage, Wichita and Comanche lands, which should be returned back to these sovereign nations.  In her work as Storyteller at The Wild Mother, Leah spearheads projects that marry art and activism, while engaging with fellow artists to help them discover a unique position in a world that requires art as medicine to educate, reflect truth, and issue healing for broken communities. 

She draws inspiration from Black and Brown women and femme voices, such as bell hooks, Toni Morrison, Zora Neal Hurston, Phillis Wheatley, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Louise Erdrich, Leslie Marmon Silko, and others whose wisdom and life experiences act both as guidance and a mirror.   She is grateful to stand on and continue the work of her ancestors, E.W. Perry, Peter and Martha Holloway, Gladys Perry, Flordia Palmer, C.L. Stove, Sonny Hawkeye, Marthann, James and Elnora Boykin, and so many others whose lives taught her the ways of healing forwards and backwards through storytelling, truth telling, singing, advocacy, home cooking, and communal love. 

Leah’s recent work includes a floral installation called SendFlowersToGreenwood, which paid homage to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre; she is the production manager of Juneteenth on the East (2021-present); she is a founder and educator of Lay of the Land, an antiracism workshop for creative small businesses; she is a founder and facilitator of The Conversation Workshops, an antiracism workshop that teaches how to navigate interpersonal racism; she created the main logo for the Justice for Julius campaign and remains an advocate for abolition movements.   Leah received a Bachelors of Arts in English from Oklahoma Baptist University (2013) and a Master of Arts in English from Oklahoma State University (2015).

About the Wild Mother Creative Studio:

The Wild Mother Creative Studio is a studio florist owned by Afro-Indigenous sisters, Lauren Palmer and Leah Palmer, in the heart of Arts district, Downtown, OKC. Their love and honor of culture, storytelling, and their affinity for natural elements and color theory lend themselves to “Floral Stories” produced by the sisters. It’s an added bonus that they get to work alongside their younger sister, Callie, around the studio. TWM offerings include full service wedding and event floral, curbside carryout floral for large-scale events, and holiday floral offering.

Enroll in Lay of the Land, a DEI Course for Creative Entrepreneurs

In today’s episode, Bethaney Wilkinson continues her interview with Margaret Reynolds as they discuss Bethaney’s transitions within her work including how The Diversity Gap has moved into A More Beautiful Way. 

Time Stamps:

0:00 Introduction 

10:09 The Diversity Gap is Born

19:52 Summer 2020 and The Diversity Gap Transitions 

43:06 What is A More Beautiful Way?

59:44 How to Get Involved with A More Beautiful Way 

Episode Notes:

In today’s episode, Bethaney Wilkinson is interviewed by her dear friend, Margaret Reynolds. They discuss Bethaney’s story from childhood through college years and how these seasons impact her work.

Time stamps:

0:00 Welcome and Introduction 

13:05 Family of Origin 

28:04: Faith Origin

39:45 Bethaney’s College Journey and First Flight 

55:35 Episode Summary 

Episode Notes:

In this episode, Host Bethaney Wilkinson chats with her friend, Kayla Stagnaro, who appeared on the very first episode of the show. They discuss their favorite episodes, learnings from the time spent podcasting, and plans for the continued work of The Diversity Gap. 

About The Diversity Gap:

In this episode of The Diversity Gap Podcast, Bethaney sits down with Faitth Brooks, author of her newly released book, “The Anti-Racism Journal: Questions and Practices to Move Beyond Performative Allyship.”

Highlights:

• Grappling with activism being “trendy”
• Mindfulness and slowing down enough to know what’s really going on when racial triggers arise
• Mindfulness for Black folks who are navigating a racialized society
• Creating peaceful places for Black women to rest and thrive
• The need for DEI leaders to revamp how we talk about our work and checking-in to make sure our policies are creating the changes we want to see

About Faitth Brooks:

Faitth Brooks is a writer, speaker, activist, and podcaster. She earned her Master’s degree in social work and a certificate in women’s entrepreneurship from Cornell University. Faitth is a social worker and advocate for those in need. She lives in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Buy The Anti-Racism Journal

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1645675742/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_CTRA73R92D6PVCVCX8WR_0

The Diversity Gap is for everyday people who want to pair their good intentions for diversity with true cultural change.

In this episode, Host Bethaney Wilkinson interviews Sean Watkins, the Director of Training and Strategy at Be The Bridge, a faith-based nonprofit that exists to empower people and culture toward racial healing, equity, and reconciliation. In this conversation, they process the tragic anti-black, racist incident in Buffalo, NY. They also discuss the rich and emergent diversity present in Black identity, the importance of history, and of the ongoing tensions between progress and hopeless peace.

About Sean:

In this episode, Bethaney sits downs with the Cohosts of the Pantsuit Politics Show, Beth Silvers and Sarah Stewart Holland. In this conversation, they talk about racial identity, the treatment of race in mainstream news and media, leading others from a place of courage and care, as well as the collective work it takes to sustain nuance in today’s social climate.

Sarah and Beth are the hosts of Pantsuit Politics Show where they bring a different approach to the news. They are also authors of the newly released book, “Now What: How to move forward when we’re divided (about basically everything.”

In this conversation, Bethaney Wilkinson talks to attorney, author, and guide, Katharine Manning about what it takes to create a trauma informed workspace. Katharine shares a 5-point method to equip leaders with the skills they need to listen well when their employees and team members express difficult experiences and circumstances at work. In this winding and thoughtful conversation, Bethaney and Katharine get to the heart of creating a workplace culture where all people feel valued in their humanity. 

As a Senior Attorney Advisor with the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, for fifteen years Katharine guided the Justice Department through its response to victims in cases ranging from terrorism to large-scale financial fraud to child exploitation. She now uses her expertise to help organizations prepare for and respond to the challenges they face involving employees and clients who may be in trauma.

Insight: Trauma is showing up in your workplace regardless of your readiness to receive it. 

Action: Begin taking steps to become a trauma informed organization by providing culturally specific resources.  

For today’s conversation, Bethaney has a conversation with thought leader, artist, public theologian, and cultural anthropologist David Bailey. He is the founder and CEO of Arrabon, an organization that equips communities to pursue healing and reconciliation in a racially divided world. For the past 5 years, Arrabon has successfully partnered with organizations across the country, providing guidance, education and the tools to build more empathetic, reconciled communities.

Insight: Everyone interprets life through their cultural location.  

Action: Increase your cultural intelligence by engaging in healthy cross cultural collaboration. 

For today’s conversation, Bethaney kicks off season four with a conversation on race-conscious leadership. Afterwards, you get to learn from Noemí Jimenez. Noemí has corporate communications, strategy, branding, and market research experience across the non-profit, corporate and social impact sectors. She manages ESG issues across equity, inclusion and diversity in the workplace and representative communications across sectors. Based in Austin, Texas, Noemí works with executive teams to understand the strategic implications of inclusion and sustainability and develop approaches to drive business value.

Insight: Your lived experience is invaluable.

Action: Learn to articulate your lived experience through story.

About the Diversity Gap:

The Diversity Gap is for everyday people who want to pair their good intentions for diversity with true cultural change.

You can order the book, The Diversity Gap, at www.thediversitygap.com.

Bethaney Wilkinson is the Host and Executive Producer.

Thank you to our guests and patrons who make this podcast possible!

Instagram - @bethaneybree @thediversitygap

Chapter 9: Bonus Episode: A Conversation w/ Aiko Bethea

For today’s conversation, you get to learn from Aiko Bethea. Aiko is a leader, builder, and the founder of RARE Coaching & Consulting. RARE Coaching & Consulting works with leaders and organizations to remove internal and external barriers to inclusion, and allowing them to understand each other as people, colleagues, and teams in more collective ways.  In addition to her work at RARE Coaching & Consulting, Aiko is Sr. Director of the Daring Way™ and the Dare to Lead™ global facilitator communities of Brené Brown Education and Research Group. She is also a Senior Director at Frontline Solutions, a black-owned consulting firm. 

Insight: Assess your values, and discover how you will implement them in your life. 

Action: Set and live into your value-based boundaries.  

Chapter 8: New Leaders, New Futures - Embodied and Authentic Leadership w/ Tracey Gee

Insight: No one is asking you to be perfect. We are asking you to get uncomfortable, be creative, take some risks, and show up with consistency.
Action: You have to do your work.

My conversation partner for this episode is Tracey Gee, who is a certified coach and facilitator. She is trained in the Gallup StrengthsFinder, Cultural Intelligence, and the Enneagram. She is also a member of the International Coaching Federation, so she knows her stuff and is committed to helping people amplify their authentic leadership genius. She has over 20 years of non-profit leadership experience and brings such relevant and incisive leadership acumen to the table. I hope you enjoy learning from Tracey as much as I did.

Chapter 7: Lead with Courage - w/ Sandra Maria Van Opstal

Insight: People don’t just want a job; people want to belong.
Action: Your intentionality and vulnerability as the leader set the tone for how much belonging is possible. Your willingness to own your journey of growth and change paves the way for others working in your organization.

Now for today’s conversation, you get to learn from the brilliant Sandra Maria Van Opstal. I have known Sandra for many years and am always inspired by how her activism and leadership are firmly rooted in the context of her neighborhood and the relationships she’s cultivating there. Sandra is an author, pastor, speaker, and social entrepreneur who leads an organization called Chasing Justice. The mission of Chasing Justice to rebuild a just world. It is a faith-inspired movement led by a diverse array of people of color. And the organization works to elevate stories and pathways for justice practitioners and advocates. So after you hear from Sandra in this conversation, definitely check out the show notes to tap into all that this team is doing to inspire folks to get involved in addressing the most pressing issues we’re facing as a global community.

Chapter 6: Diversify Your Life - The Heartwork and Homework of Justice w/ Dani Coke

Insight: Your ability to cultivate a diverse personal life is directly tied to your ability to lead a diverse team
Action: Resist racism and pursue diversity in every area of your life.

For today’s conversation I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with the one and the only Danielle Coke. You may know her as Oh Happy Dani on Instagram. Dani is an illustrator and advocate whose artwork  and words are all about helping good people become better neighbors. She has been featured on the Today Show, in Forbes, on NBC, BuzzFeed, Alive News, and on USA Today.

What I love so much about Dani is that she is able to take complex ideas and even painful experiences and translate them into meaningful creations that as she says, “Speak to the heart of the matter.” She is just so down-to-earth, full of wisdom and joy. And in this conversation, she shares generously about what it looks like to do the heartwork and homework of antiracism in our everyday lives.

Chapter 5: Embrace Cultural Change - Psychological Safety and Belonging w/ Liz Fosslien

Insight: You have to adopt new and more liberating values, and behaviors, if you want diverse groups of people to flourish as they follow you.
Action: You have to practice liberation and you must embody a new way of thinking and leading.

Chapter 4: Choose Your Framework - The Equity Imperative w/ Ale Trevino and Deshawn Adams

Insight: There are many frameworks for pursuing organizational culture and diversity, and each has different objectives.

Action: Choose your framework and know why.

The conversation I’m sharing with you today is with my friends Deshawn Adams and Ale Trevino. Deshawn is a human capital consultant for Deloitte and he and I connected many years ago through a racial justice education program we were co-leading at our church. And Ale is an MBA Candidate at Kellogg School of Management, but prior to being a grad student was also at Deloitte working as a consultant and strategist. I got to know Ale through an organization we both love called Plywood People. I had Deshawn and Ale on the podcast because last year, they were on the team at Deloitte that created a report called The Equity Imperative. This report, which is linked in the show notes, is full of world-class research and business insights for leaders who want to do more than talk a good game about DEI. I was so grateful to be able to talk Ale and Deshawn about the equity imperative and about what racial equity requires of us in this day and age.

Quick note, while Deshawn and Ale created this report at Deloitte, the opinions they express in our conversation belong to Deshawn and Ale alone, and do not reflect an official perspective of Deloitte as a company.

Chapter 3: Motivation Matters - Interrogating White Racial Identity and Practicing Antiracism w/ Jenny Potter

Insight: Your motivation for diversifying your team matters.
Action: If your motivation is to honor people's dignity, keep going. If your motivation is to appear relevant, stop now. 

Jenny Booth Potter is a woman who has dedicated her life to practicing antiracism and to supporting the work of Black women activists. Jenny is thoughtful and brings so much clarity and conviction to her antiracism work. In this conversation, we dive into what it’s been like for her as a white woman to go on a journey of show up to the work of racial justice with consistency and authenticity.

Chapter Two: Impact Over Intentions

Insight: The impact of your organizational culture on people of color is more important than your good intentions for diversity.
Action: Prioritize hearing, believing, and following the leadership of people of color. Follow the lead of those most impacted by the problem.

Terence is a speaker, an activist, an author and thought leader on systemic poverty. He’s known for nationwide campaigns that bring awareness to issues surrounding homelessness and economic inequality. His awareness campaigns have been featured on MLK50, CNN, Good Morning America, TVONE, Creative Mornings, USA Today, NBC, AJC, Black Enterprise, Rolling Out, Upworthy, and have been viewed by millions of people worldwide.

In 2013, Terence founded the non-profit “Love Beyond Walls” and has helped hundreds of individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty to rebuild their lives. In 2019, Terence launched the Dignity Museum, the first shipping container museum in the U.S. specifically dedicated telling the stories of people who’ve experienced homelessness.

Terence has written six books, and his new book, “When We Stand: The Power Of Seeking Justice Together,” released in May. He also holds four degrees and is working towards his Ph.D. at Union Institute & University in Public Policy & Social Change.

So clearly, Terence is someone who has so much to teach us. But what I loved most about this conversation was how Terence pulled from his personal story and lived experiences to illuminate the nuances of living in a racialized society. This is a stellar conversation. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Racism is the Problem - What Equity and Justice Require of Us w/ Tamice Spencer

Insight: Your team’s lack of “racial diversity” is not the root of the problem. Racism and white supremacy are the root problems.

Action: Adjust your perspectives and strategies accordingly.

My conversation partner for this episode is Tamice Spencer. Tamice graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a double major Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and Advertising. At age 20 she felt the call to vocational ministry quite strongly and hasn’t looked back. She has worked with hundreds of young adults and has a passion for learning, speaking, songwriting, and teaching.

Tamice is the Founder of Sub:Culture Incorporated a non profit that seeks to eradicate barriers for black college students. Sub: Culture Incorporated was created with students on the margins in mind and a longing to see them centered, and holistically cared for while on campus. Tamice  is also co-founder of the Kingdom Collaborative, an Atlanta based collective of HBCU ministry practitioners. For six years she served on full-time staff with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the last two years on staff as the Associate Area Director of HBCU Planting & Strategy for the Southeast Region.