Today’s episode is all about championing marginalized people, in whatever way you can. Here to inspire and enlighten us is the incredible Ericka Hart, self-described black queer femme, Sagittarius, popcorn connoisseur, breast cancer survivor, and sexuality educator.
After a double mastectomy, Ericka went viral a few years ago when she decided to go topless at Afropunk. The decision was rooted in a desire to show her scars, and to give a voice to the black, brown, queer, and trans people who are all too often left out of entire conversations — including breast cancer.
It was also an opportunity for Ericka to reclaim her body, both as a cancer survivor and black femme. She believes that anyone who exists in a black body is inherently an activist, and has dedicated herself to educating people about how to survive American white supremacy.
From beauty and sexuality to identity and racism; from social justice and healing to marginalization and discomfort; Ericka weaves the pieces of her own story together to share with us how she came to stand up for people who can’t always stand up for themselves.
More Radical Lessons in this episode:
— There’s so much evidence in the world to tell you why you can’t or shouldn’t do a thing; don’t let it force you to take yourself out of the game before you’ve even tried.
— America loves beauty, and beauty is privilege. If you have it, use your privilege to fight for the people who don’t.
— It doesn’t matter what you do. What does matter is if you’re fulfilled, how you identify, and how you navigate your identity.
— There’s a lot of learning that has to be done on a regular basis. How we think about ourselves is institutional, ideological, and exists around a set of principles that are in place for no other reason than to keep some people comfortable — usually white cis men.
— If you’re white, don’t just acknowledge your privilege: use it. Talk to your landlord about gentrification, put your housing on the line, fight for equal pay at work, and give black and brown people whatever resources you can.
— Healing isn’t always the goal; sometimes it’s important just to disrupt things.
— The life expectancy for a black trans woman is 35. Black mothers are dying at higher rates in this country than any other mothers, because of the physical and emotional stress of racism on their bodies. This is an epidemic, and we all need to uplift and liberate black femmes.
— All beings, if they want it, are desiring or deserving of pleasure in whatever way that looks for them.
Links!
Website: http://www.ihartericka.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ihartericka/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ihartericka
Share Ericka’s Wisdom on Social Media!
Post these Quotes:
“I’m always asserting who I am because people come to me with all these assumptions about who I am as a black person.”
“In every way that I can, and in every space, I’m trying to dismantle white supremacy.”
“Don’t resist what’s uncomfortable. If you’re noticing what’s uncomfortable, that’s a symptom of privilege.”
“If you focus on the most marginalized, you will reach everybody. The problem is we usually start with ‘everybody’ — which means white.”