A Conversation About Race with Rachel Zellars artwork
The Soul Booth

A Conversation About Race with Rachel Zellars

  • 1:15:32
  • July 24th 2020

The past few months have brought into focus the lived experience of Black people in North America, and the protests that were triggered by George Floyd's murder have awakened a lot of us to the despicable lack of value attached to black lives by TOO many. 

My poem, in the thumbnail of this episode, sums up for me how I have been feeling about it all…and I was supremely grateful for the conversation you’re about to hear. 

I found out about the African Nova Scotian Freedom School recently in conversation with a friend, and when I reached out to the woman who came up with the idea, it became clear immediately that I wanted to help amplify her voice, and her message! Rachel Zellars is a lawyer and an Assistant Professor in the department of Social Justice & Community Studies at St. Mary’s University, and although she grew up in Baltimore, she was drawn to Nova Scotia because of our dynamic Black community and the history at its foundation. Now she’s contributing in a meaningful new way to forging a bright and powerful future, by helping to create a new month long online program for teenagers across the province. It’s aimed at teaching leadership skills that will “create ripples that will be wide and deep for many generations to come.”

This conversation goes deep and wide as well. Rachel and I talk about the program and its goals, but we also get into her fascinating life experience, and the activism that has provided roots for the current BLM movement. Oh, and it gets emotional - ‘cause let’s be honest; you can’t have an authentic exchange on this subject without emotion! 

I hope you enjoy this episode, and find it as meaningful as I do.

And in the spirit of being part of the solution, I invite you to listen with an ear to how you might be able to help…

In appreciation & love,

Nancy

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