WHAT WE GON DO?

MY MY MY!!!! This is your host Tre Borden, and I don’t know about you but after the last few days, weeks, months and years of so much upheaval and ridiculousness, culminating with last night’s nail-biter of an election, I AM TIRED. So many of us have been working tirelessly fighting against racism and inequity, and meanwhile have had to do whatever possible to provide safe environments for our families and communities during a global pandemic. We have created an episode to give you a taste of what meditation and healing looks like alongside some instruction on how to create a practice for yourself. We are so fortunate to have two amazing women of color who are creating more visibility for Black people in the healing industry and who are promoting wellness within the BIPOC communities. Leah Barros and Jazmin Hicks are going to take you through a healing session to relieve stress, reconnect and restore balance as we recuperate from one of the most stressful periods in modern history. They will also provide information on wellness practices and how to build capacity in your life for your own healing and emotional and spiritual vitality.

For much of this podcast we’ve been focusing on elevating the voices of BIPOC and progressive leaders who understand the daunting but worthwhile task of striving for an equitable society. Given our limited time and resources, and the near constant battle against exhaustion and dismay, it is justifiable to focus one’s energy on the people who already understand what needs to be done and leave the people on the other side or who couldn’t care less one way or another to their own devices. It is also unfair for BIPOC people, who for so long have shouldered more than their share of the burden in the fight for racial equality to have to endure convincing white people why this is a vital priority for our society. That all being said, we just experienced an election which was a referendum on the direction our country was headed under Trump, and a bewildering 77 million+ people for four more years of his leadership despite all we’ve seen during this administration. The overwhelming majority of those people are white, and in fact the majority of white people voted for what can arguably be called an unprecedented regression into a divisive, racist and anti-equality America the likes of which we hoped not to see again. What to do? While it is tempting to write those people off as lost causes who don’t deserve our time, it is very difficult to imagine a country or a world that has embraced the changes many of us consider essential while so many of us continue to ignore and fight against an appropriate recognition of these issues. Going further, if we want to create a world without racism it is simply impossible to do this without white people being at the center of this transformation. It is very difficult to admit, but there needs to be a significant and successful effort to bring people together, across a seemingly uncrossable chasm of mistrust and disdain, if we have any hope of seeing a better world. To discuss this we invited Aja Davis and Molly Ola Pinney, co founders of the Facebook group White People Doing Something. The interracial couple began the group to engage white people in productive conversations around race and engagement after the George Floyd murder, and it has grown into a very robust group of 40,000 doing daily actions around engaging white people in difficult conversations and giving them the tools to create change in their communities. They discuss their philosophy with host Tre Borden in this week’s episode that gives us some food for thought about the many approaches that are necessary to create a world where racism does not exist.

Guests: * Qween Amor - Activist, Performance Artist, Nurse * Omega Chuckii - Training and Outreach Manager, Oakland LGBT Center * Ebony Harper - Advocate, Philanthropy Consultant, Activist It is so important to use this platform to center voices and perspectives that don’t get nearly the focus and visibility they deserve especially those who represent communities under attack. Fewer communities are more threatened or marginalized than the Transgender community. Despite huge strides in cultural visibility via shows like POSE and prominent trans activists entertainers and even politicians in recent years, Trans people are still the most likely group to encounter violence and the least likely to receive justice. When you talk about Trans people of color at the intersection of a racist and transphobic society, it is even grimmer. Despite judicial victories at the Supreme Court and recent legislation in California, the Trump administration’s assault on Trans people and the newly minted conservative majority on the Supreme Court make clear many of these gains are fragile and in peril. But that is not the whole story. Trans people are some of the strongest, most generous, most hilarious and aware people there are, and I think it is a fitting time to give them the floor to explain how they are interpreting the world right now. Qween Amor, Omega Chuckii, and Ebony Harper represent the best of activism, indomitability, humor and the knowledge of real shit that allows people to take care of themselves and others. This is the best episode we have produced, and I encourage you to listen to the ENTIRE EPISODE and get your life.

Featured Guests: * Bill Borden - US Air Force Pilot and Vietnam Veteran, Tre’s Dad * Dr. Marsha Hirano - Nakanishi - Retired Vice Chancellor for CSU System, Second generation Japanese-American. 2020 has tested us to the breaking point. Many of us have suffered greatly as a result of the pandemic, and for people of color that suffering has compounded an already cumbersome daily reality that comes with living in a society built upon racism and exploitation. The upcoming election offers some comfort, but also comes with the knowledge that even if the election results in a new president, there is so much work to do to create a society that acknowledges and attempts to correct the moral wrongs that have led to our present calamity. It is exhausting! It is in times like this that we need to truly summon our resilience and ask our elders how they have managed to make it this far and perhaps give us a bit of perspective and context for what’s to come. To do that we talked to two incredible people who have seen and experienced so much of the best and worst of America and lived to tell the tale. The first is Bill Borden, host Tre Borden’s father, who is a 77 year old Vietnam vet, former Air Force pilot who has a lot to say about this country, why what is happening now is necessary, and why America is still the greatest country on earth; the second is Dr. Marsha Hirano-Nakanishi, the child of Japanese parents who went through internment, who went on to go to Stanford and Harvard on her way to becoming a long-time education administrator as Vice-Chancellor of the CSU system. She is also the mother of Tommy Nakanishi, friend of the podcast and dear friend and social justice warrior based in LA. Both Bill and Marsha have gone through many cycles of progress and chaos in this country, they have both endured the death of their soulmates, and yet, they still have an indomitable and joyful spirit that carries them and offers us a lot to think about as a new generation takes the mantle of building a world that can work for everyone. Join us and please subscribe to the podcast: http://whatwegondo.captivate.fm/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&v=cEkEjZXoY7o&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwhatwegondo.captivate.fm%2F&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbE1QSE1kWnB2UV9Bc1ZWTktwT1EtYkdSbWs5d3xBQ3Jtc0tsMUJ0NFQ3QlBnZExPYjNvX1Q5OTFNRHZWNzh0cFBadFd5NGw2MUJnRFRvUUxRTTFjdTlTOTZNdS1HRGNXTWtobWxRRFdDc1VnVVM5Vi1SVjIyWUJGc2ZlNVU5YWUwbm15WnNPM0ZxcUpRV1czRGNtSQ%3D%3D]

Guests: * Jodi Hicks - CEO and President, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California * Adama Iwu - Activist and Co-Founder of We Said Enough; VP of State and Local Government, VISA Inc. The death of RBG is the tragic culmination of an administration that has overseen a reign of disrespect, misogyny and policies aiming to pull back many of the protections and rights guaranteeing women’s autonomy in this country. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 spurred many women (and others) to action with millions taking to the streets during the Women’s Marches and a national conversation on sexual assault and workplace harassment that propelled the Me Too movement to international prominence. This movement coupled with record numbers of women running for office created a feeling of genuine optimism for a future where women would be at the helm with abusive men running scared. COVID-19 along with the increasingly hostile federal administration have lead to a much less hopeful reality and have exhausted activists and ordinary citizens alike. During the pandemic women have seen the balance between work and home life obliterated comprising 80% of people dropping out of the workforce. This has widened the gender wage gap, and many Mothers are having to grapple with the cost of childcare (if it is even available), working and the health of their families if they are essential workers. The Trump administration has packed the courts with young, hyper-conservative judges who aim to rollback access to reproductive healthcare, with the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett the final nail in the coffin of Roe Vs. Wade. Most dispiritingly, after the most diverse field of Presidential candidates ever in history with many qualified and popular female candidates, the field once again is narrowed to two nearly octogenarian white men. It feels very bleak! But all is not lost, and hopefully this moment is a wake up call that the fight is very very far from over, and that there are many reasons to be hopeful about the near and long-term future of women in this country. We invited two extremely impressive and experienced women to discuss how to interpret our present and how to prepare for our future. Adama, a lobbyist and now activist, landed herself on the cover of Time Magazine’s Person of the Year cover in 2017 for her work exposing sexual assault and harassment in the California State Capitol; Jodi, also a lobbyist, has taken the helm of California’s Planned Parenthood Affiliates at one of the most pivotal and perilous times for women’s reproductive health in a generation. Together they paint a compelling picture for why the threats cannot be underestimated but also why a new era for women is within reach if we work together and encourage a new, inclusive, and fearless generation of female leaders. This is our 30th episode! We are so excited to share this with you so please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast: https://whatwegondo.captivate.fm/listen [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=QUFFLUhqbllsOVNZaF9TSHljS1FtVDJqZ2NjdVpnamtvQXxBQ3Jtc0tsRDRiZ3ZCc0Z4eDBzUWYyNUpkX2kxUW1jRllRajFxMG9BMzUtSnJ4c2ZYWFhDQUJQWG43SUdISG1kN0MzUzA2LWVVSWFDNjhYa2x6S2ZnOTVOMXhLeXk0b1p5dmFFdGp4SnZ1RVBadDhGU3BQYlZhUQ%3D%3D&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwhatwegondo.captivate.fm%2Flisten&event=video_description&v=nHmI_DR_fqc]