223: Rachel Siegel | DEI Under Attack: The Fight for Equity, Science, and Liberation

President Trump has just started his second term, and a lot of things have been changing – but sadly, not for the better. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is one of the most adversely impacted subjects, making discrimination, stereotyping, and inequality much more rampant. In this episode, Corinna Bellizzi is joined by DEI coach and consultant Rachel Siegel to discuss how to overcome the United States’ current crisis with systemic racism, classicism, and authoritarianism. They explain why DEI should never lead to social division but bring people together in peace and harmony. Rachel also explains how to be more critical when consuming different kinds of media and how to cultivate the right mindset to stop yourself from following leaders blindly.

About Guest:

Rachel Siegel is a white, queer, Jewish mother, artist, organizer, and educator on Abenaki land in Vermont. She was ED of Peace & Justice Center and a City Councilor before founding Toward Liberation. She cofounded Vermont Access to Reproductive Freedom and ONE Mutual Aid, serves on the grant committee for Haymarket People’s Fund, and volunteers for Center City Little League. Rachel is an intersectional feminist. She recognizes her eating disorder healing as part of resisting patriarchy, racism and capitalism. She is committed to body liberation. Hiking, dancing, and being with friends give Rachel joy. She is a recovering alcoholic and practices spirituality through many modalities. Rachel’s political education includes Catalyst Collective, White Awake, self-study, and People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond.

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-siegel-829b38a0/ 

Guest Website: https://www.towardliberation.net/ 

Guest Social: 

https://www.facebook.com/rachel.f.siegel/ 

https://www.instagram.com/rachel.f.siegel/ 

Anti-Racist / DEI Reading List

• On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
• How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
• Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
• Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by Adrienne Maree Brown
• How to be an Anti-racist by Ibram X Kendi
• How to be a (Young) Anti-racist by Ibram X Kendi 
• Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
• White Supremacy Culture by Tema Okun and Kenneth Jones
• The Anthropology of White Supremacy: A Reader Edited by Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús, Jemima Pierre, Junaid Rana 
• The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

Anti-Racist / DEI Podcasts to Listen To:

• Code Switch 
• 1619 
• Octavia’s Parables 
• Seeing White 
• Mother Country Radicals 

Show Notes: Final audio

• Introducing Intersectional Feminist Rachel Siegel - 03:27
• How Did We Get To Dehumanizing People - 12:59
• The Caste System Of The United States - 16:54
• Not Obeying In Advance And Improving Media Consumption - 23:08
• Black Feminism, Emergent Strategy, And Pleasure Activism - 27:35
• Lessons From A Starling’s Murmuration - 33:53
• How To Be An Antiracist - 36:36
• White Supremacy Culture And The Body is Not an Apology - 39:35
• Solving Current Issues Through Multigenerational Alliances - 44:41
• All About Think Again And Toward Liberation - 48:02
• Episode Wrap-up And Closing Words - 54:57

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