With decisions pending in the two Supreme Court cases discussing the future of affirmative action, today we talk about all things affirmative action, including: where it came from, who the biggest beneficiaries of it have been (and if you know a White woman in this country, you’ll want to listen) if we still need it (yes), and what you’ll really need to know about where our society may be headed – because this not only impacts education but our companies and communities, too.

Bottom line: affirmative action actually affects all of us.  Listen in to hear why.

What to listen for:

• How the term “affirmative action” came to be - originally about race

• When sex/gender was included in the plans, leading to White women being the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action 

• How affirmative action turned into a zero-sum game by twisting it to position White people (women) as victims

• Reminders of the affirmative action program that supported White people first - the GI Bill

• The SCOTUS case coming up that might undermine the benefits - given the composition of the court - of keeping policies in place that enforce diversity

Other episodes to listen to: 

Why White People Should Care: The Women's Movement and Societal Systems

Why White Women Should Care: History, Science + Current Events

John Tateishi’s Conversation About Living in an Internment Camp

This week marks the FOUR YEAR anniversary of the Dear White Women podcast!

From those first few episodes released altogether on April 15, 2019, to now… it’s been quite the ride.  This year, in order to kick off year five (!!!) of the podcast, we thought we’d devote an entire shorter episode to talking about not only the past four years but what we have in store for the future (you didn’t think we’d end with four, did ya?).  

What to listen for: 

• How the podcast has evolved since its start in April 2019

• The stand-out episode from this past year – hint, both of us chose Overground Railroad with Candacy Taylor

• Our personal whys behind doing this for the past four years

• Where we think the Dear White Women platform goes from here

About Sara & Misasha:

A graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School, Misasha Suzuki Graham has

been a practicing litigator for over 15 years and is passionate about diversity, equity, and

inclusion in the legal profession as well as in her communities. She is a facilitator, writer,

and speaker regarding issues of racial justice, especially with regard to children, the

co-author of Dear White Women: Let’s Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism, and

the co-host of Dear White Women, a social justice podcast. Misasha, who is biracial

(Japanese and White), is married to a Black man, and is the proud mom of two very

active multiracial young boys. They live in the Bay Area of California with their largely

indifferent cat.

Sara Blanchard helps build community and connection through conscious

conversations, which she does as a facilitator, TEDx speaker, writer, and consultant.

After graduating from Harvard and working at Goldman Sachs, Sara pursued the

science and techniques of well-being and is a certified life coach, author of two books

(Flex Mom and Dear White Women: Let’s Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism), and

co-host of Dear White Women, an award-winning weekly social justice podcast. Sara is

biracial (Japanese and White), married to a White Canadian man, and is raising their two

White-presenting girls to be compassionate, thoughtful advocates. They live in Denver,

Colorado with their incredibly lovable dog.

Most people that we know didn’t grow up thinking about or knowing people who were involved in unions.  Us too – until Sara married a union man.  And it got us thinking… how have unions impacted all of our lives?  Turns out, quite a lot.  

Here’s one way: the length of the typical workday.  Thank unions for 8 hours – because that didn’t just magically happen out of the goodwill of employers.  Unions campaigned for over 70 years to move the average workweek from 100 hours per week (!!) down to 40.  At one stage, back in the 1950s, nearly one in three workers were in unions, and they played a HUGE role in reducing income inequality and boosting wages.  Done right, unions are a public good – they provide benefits for all of society, so basically are the underpinning of a democracy and economy that works for most people. 

But here we are today in 2023.  You have probably heard about the Fight for 15, to get $15/hour to be the minimum wage for folks in the fast food industry.  You may be seeing headlines of workers starting unions at Starbucks, Amazon, Apple, and maybe you even know some folks who are involved.  Support for labor unions in the U.S. is currently at a 57-year high, where 71% of Americans approve, but participation is at a record LOW, where only just over 10% (about 14 million American workers) are actually part of a union.  Join us as we dive into understanding this critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to shaping not just corporate but our country’s policies and the perpetuation of this growing inequality - and yep, it’s not surprising, but there’s a racial component to this too.

What to listen for:

• What a labor union is

• The example of the average hours in a workweek, and how unions worked to pressure both governments and companies to lower the number of hours expected

• Details on the Pullman Porters, and the first-ever agreement between an all-Black union (the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) and a major US company

• How companies drove a wedge between workers based on race, which has corresponded with a decrease in union participation by workers in this country 

• Why we think unions play an integral role in lessening inequality and supporting ALL of us.

Resources: 

justice.aflcio.org/blog/est-aliquid-se-ipsum-flagitiosum-etiamsi-nulla"> https://racial-justice.aflcio.org/blog/est-aliquid-se-ipsum-flagitiosum-etiamsi-nulla

https://www.dol.gov/general/workcenter/unions-101

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/pullman-porters

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf

https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/40-hour-work-week

https://www.americanprogress.org/events/labor-unions-future/

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2023/02/28/1159663461/you-may-have-heard-of-the-union-boom-the-numbers-tell-a-different-story

I hear the word lobbying and used to envision some sort of dark mysterious magic taking place.  But it turns out there are some very forthright, thoughtful individuals who play the role of lobbyist - being hired because they know something about how the legislative process works, willing to give advice and defend positions about what they think is right when it comes to regulating companies and advocating for or against policies that will impact the folks living in our country.  

Today, we speak with one of those fantastic individuals, David Louie.  David is a former Attorney General of Hawaii and lobbyist for firms including Meta and Airbnb.  So grateful that he was willing to share this time with us on the podcast so we can learn first-hand about what lobbying means for individuals, and for the future of our democracy!   And a note to all you lawyers out there: add “lobbyist” as a potential career path if you want to use your advocacy skills in a different, yet similar, way…

What to listen for:

• The actual definition of a lobbyist, and what skill sets and experience are useful in the field

• What sources of information and pressure a lobbyist has to consider

• Ways interactions with legislators can go – whether it’s easy to get meetings, and more

• How the system of lobbying affects our ability to make sound decisions in this country – and whether it’s helping or hurting us as a democracy 

About David Louie: 

David M. Louie is a civil trial lawyer at Kobayashi Sugita & Goda, LLP in Honolulu, Hawai‘i—handling complex commercial litigation, construction defect claims, catastrophic personal injury defense, constitutional issues for the State of Hawai‘i, government affairs, and lobbying—and also serves as a mediator and arbitrator. He was Hawai‘i’s attorney general from 2011 to 2014, providing advice, counsel, and representation to the governor, cabinet, legislature, State agencies, and employees. He has served as president, vice president, and director of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association, as Lawyer Representative for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and as Northwest Regional Governor for the National Asian-Pacific American Bar Association. He graduated from Occidental College and Berkeley Law School and currently lives in Honolulu.

If you’ve ever watched an episode of Law and Order, you’ll know Jack McCoy, who was the District Attorney (with a capital D and A) in that show. Together with his team, Jack McCoy made decisions about a lot of people’s guilt or innocence and argued that in court. Typically, when we think about a criminal trial, there are two phases: culpability, and sentencing. So in the first phase, either the judge or jury decides if the defendant is guilty or not, and then, if the defendant is found guilty, in that second phase, the judge or jury decides what that sentence should be. 

But aside from that, it’s true that a lot of us don’t know what DAs do, or what their role is with regard to mass incarceration. Let’s get a little more analytical than Law and Order, and by the end of this episode, we hope you not only know more about what your DAs do, but have some ideas of how to hold them accountable, just like they hold us accountable. 

What to listen for:

• What the office of the DA actually does

• The role of the DA in criminal prosecutions, from the crime being committed all the way to sentencing

• Some typical situations that DAs might face and why some opt for incarceration

• How we can hold our DAs accountable when it comes to mass incarceration vs. restorative justice, especially in non-election years

As this is an episode that’s a little bit different from our other episodes (I don’t think to date we’ve interviewed a person who’s currently running for office), we’d like to make sure we are very clear about the following:  We are NOT endorsing any candidates in this episode.  We are grateful that Trinidad Rodriguez, who is running for Mayor of Denver, was willing to connect with us to give us an inside look at what it’s like running for office, to expand on our civics engagement series.  Again, we are NOT endorsing any candidates in this episode.

This episode was also unique in that we got an inside look into what a political campaign looks like, marrying the personal “why” (why we care about certain issues, for example, due to lived experience) with our own individual and collective abilities to make change in the world.

It was also very humanizing about a process that we previously thought was elevated above us, inaccessibly locked away in a black box.  That’s not true.  Any one of us, with enough experience, support, drive, internal strength, and vision, can run for office.  And as you listen, we hope you find your own takeaway - not only about running for civic office but about the power you DO have to make change and shape your own communities on a daily basis.

What to listen for: 

• Trini’s thoughts on what it takes to actually run for office, and what / who you need to surround yourself with

• The importance of breaking out of our silos, and asking those affected what they think will be most helpful to them

• Advice on what we can all do to be more engaged – that is, follow up on our votes.  Know the outcomes of what you voted on, and hold leaders and politicians accountable to implement the policies that were decided upon by the citizens, with integrity.

About Trini:

Trinidad Rodriguez is bringing a new approach to moving Denver forward. Growing up with a single mom in West Denver, his family had to overcome some challenges like housing insecurity, mental health and addiction issues, and violent crime. The city and its services supported them through the hard times, and that inspired Trinidad to pay it forward and continue to fight for Denver.

Trinidad has spent the last 23 years working in finance and volunteering with various local civic

and nonprofit organizations like the Downtown Denver Partnership, Denver Housing Authority,

Blueprint Denver, Rose Community Foundation, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Foundation, and Urban Peak. He is a public finance expert who knows how to leverage and build public and private networks to create public-serving infrastructure. He has financed schools, affordable housing communities, and health clinics that have served tens of thousands of Denverites. This sets him apart from the other candidates.

Now he’s running for mayor to make sure that Denver is a city where every Denverite can achieve their version of success, regardless of the neighborhood they’re in. He is a proven leader with bold plans to address Denver’s biggest issues. Trini understands that we can’t expect different results if we continue to try the same approaches.

More details about his background and experience can be found here.

When we first released this episode, it was roughly two months after George Floyd had been murdered by the police and it was perhaps the first time that non-Black Americans, and in particular, White Americans, realized that this police violence wasn’t isolated to a few communities, but indeed was a national problem.

And now we’re sitting here, a month after Tyre Nichols was murdered by the police, and thought it was important to revisit this topic based on the discussions that we’ve been hearing, and reading, on the topic of police.  We’re now 2.5 years away from this original recording - how have your own thoughts on the police changed since that point?

In the end: the history of policing in our country is America’s history. If we don’t understand this history, we won’t be able to keep ALL of our communities safe in the future.

What to listen for:

• The colonial form of policing, and how informal it was at the very beginning.

• Who funded the police force in 19th century America - and what they wanted the police to focus on protecting? Hint: motivations split between Northern and Southern lines.

• How the structure and funding of the police had to change as cities, and the country, grew, and yet how they served to reinforce hierarchies in society.

• Given this, what do YOU think? Can an organization with roots like this be race-blind in its policies and actions? If not, what would it take to change?

• We offer some personal histories as we reflect on policing, and how ordinary people can make a difference.

Relevant episodes:

• If you want more, we mention this episode of NPR’s THROUGHLINE a lot here.

If you’re listening to this episode around the time when it’s being released, then you’ll be listening to this right on the last day of Black History Month here in the United States. It should go without saying that Black History is American History, but we’re going to say it anyway, and that it shouldn’t be confined just to the shortest month of the year but instead should be taught to our kids every day of the year, and should be talked about by us as grownups by an equal amount. That said, it’s important also to not just be teaching our kids about the parts of Black history that are full of struggle, and in particular we’re referring to the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, which is even being called into question in states like Florida currently.

That’s exactly why we’re bringing you this episode today - where we talk about the the Negro Leagues and the history behind America’s favorite pastime - baseball - that you might not know, and probably weren’t taught in schools - in a way that Misasha’s been talking about this in schools. That’s all to say: you can talk about this with kindergarteners. You can use the materials with older kids as well. But the important takeaway here? Black history is more than just slavery and the struggle to be free. It’s about the everyday moments, the history that encompasses all of us.  If we’re not teaching our kids to see Black people in these moments, then we’re really not teaching them to see Black people at all. So - let’s get into the Negro Leagues, as pitchers and catchers are reporting right now for spring training in Major League Baseball.

What to listen for:

• The separate (and decidedly not equal) conditions under which Black and White ballplayers had to play

• Names of some Black superstar baseball players who – if/when integrated into the Hall of Fame – would be as good or better than some of the MLB athletes we celebrate today

• How to talk with your kids, from kindergarten through high school, about this specific period of baseball in American history

Resources: 

Episode 50, Why Aren’t Black Kids Playing Baseball?  

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Society for AMerican Baseball Research – statistics

We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

A Negro League Scrapbook

Mamie On The Mound

Who Were The Negro Leagues?

Undeniable: Negro League Women

Undeniable: International Impact

Undeniable: Jackie and Monte

If you’ve been following us on our journey through (third grade) civics, you’ll know that we’ve covered the federal government/civics on a national level in our Civics 101 episode, which was Episode 203, and then focused on state government in Civics 102, which was Episode 205. We’re now here to round out our basic civics knowledge with Civics 103 - everything - and more, if we’re being honest - that you wanted to know about your local city/county/municipal governments. Let’s jump right into this.

What to listen for:

• Different structures of local government - like city managers vs strong mayors (which one are you living in!?) - that you can vote for or see appointed

• All the other roles that make our daily lives happen - from sheriffs and police and fire to coroners, parks and rec, economic development, public works, planning, and more

• Ways that we discovered we can get more involved in our local governments - and what YOU can do too!

When people think of the government or they think about elections, they often think about presidential elections, and big federal government. But more often than not, our daily lives are hugely impacted by the decisions made by our state and local governments - and this impacts one very high-profile area in particular. Our children, in our schools.

In the news recently was the headline that Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida was banning the Advanced Placement high school course on African American studies - which, incidentally, is the same curriculum that is taught in ALL 50 STATES, because it violated state law and “lacks educational value.”  They were worried about sections on “Intersectionality and Activism,” “Black Feminist Literary Theory” “Black Queer Studies” and Critical Race Theory (which, incidentally, was in the accusations but the theory itself was not going to be taught in the class b/c it’s a college graduate level course that would be too difficult for high school students even in a college-level course - we did a whole episode on this, in case you’re wondering what is the DEAL with CRT?).  

What laws are we talking about?  A new one that requires lessons on race be taught in “an objective manner” and “not used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view” - and ones that have been banning books and discussions about gender and sexuality in the classroom in Florida in the name of “parents rights”.  All of this has been having a chilling effect on the 2.8 million students in the classrooms who are no longer really learning about the full scope of American history, nor are they able to discuss their own gender or sexuality, that of their family, their friends, nor the history of queer folks in America.   Keep in mind, though, AP courses on European history have not been scrutinized by the DeSantis administration. Wonder why….  

So yeah.  We’re on our civics kick, and we are bringing you back to the discussion we had in April 2022 on banned books, the role that school boards and states have in banned books, curriculum, and so much more. This is the year of doing - so get out there, and make your voice heard. 

What to listen for: 

• What IS critical race theory, actually?  
• How CRT been misused to discuss culturally relevant teaching
• We think anti-CRT should just be called anti-history 
• The (frightening) increase in book bans recently - even when polls are showing the majority of American voters and parents are opposed to book bans
• What you can do right now to get loud

The petition we mentioned: 

https://naacp.org/actions/demand-educational-freedom-florida