FARSIGHT FRIDAY started in response to the multiple pandemics that have fueled racism and division in the United States and around the world in 2020. This video podcast attempts to dissect topics, new and old, that are current to our times.
We hope these episodes give you an opportunity to check in, reflect, and process how you are experiencing these times. We learn a lot by being in conversation, and by listening to diverse perspectives. Please continue these conversations with your communities, your families, your teams, your organizations. The more we speak of these topics, the more we normalize their existence and complexity; providing the crucial antidote to erasure and division.
REGISTER FOR THE NEXT FARSIGHT FRIDAY:
EP 15: WORDS MATTER. LANGUAGE MATTERS.
Guest Speakers:
Liza Ann Acosta | University Dean, Teatro Luna Ensemble Member
Fiona Kanagasingam | Co-founder, The BIPOC Project
Merle McGee | Co-founder, The BIPOC Project
Lucienne Nicholson | Founder, Inclusive Woods and Us
Colored people. People of Color, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), People of the Global Majority. Language has erased history, culture and communities, AND played a pivotal role in making historically marginalized individuals and groups feel acknowledged, valued, respected. The evolution of language has had critical impact on our collective journey towards fostering equity, inclusion, belonging, for and across all identities. How does language create even more nuance and understanding of our history, behavior, identity in today's cultural (r)evolution? What does it take to course-correct the language of the past?
WATCH PREVIOUS FARSIGHT FRIDAY EPISODES:
EP 15: WORDS MATTER. LANGUAGE MATTERS.
Guest Speakers:
Liza Ann Acosta | University Dean, Teatro Luna Ensemble Member
Fiona Kanagasingam | Co-founder, The BIPOC Project
Merle McGee | Co-founder, The BIPOC Project
Lucienne Nicholson | Founder, Inclusive Woods and Us
Colored people. People of Color, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), People of the Global Majority. Language has erased history, culture and communities, AND played a pivotal role in making historically marginalized individuals and groups feel acknowledged, valued, respected. The evolution of language has had critical impact on our collective journey towards fostering equity, inclusion, belonging, for and across all identities. How does language create even more nuance and understanding of our history, behavior, identity in today's cultural (r)evolution? What does it take to course-correct the language of the past?
EP 14: INTERSECTIONAL BRG/ERG SOLIDARITY
Guest Speakers:
Stephanie Galera | Global D&I Leader - Workplace Programs & Community Engagement | IBM
Simone Harvey | Black@ Global Co-Lead | Airbnb
Eshani Parikh | Co-Lead LGBTQ+ Affinity Group | HUGE
Tammy Tran | Govt. Relations Sr. Manager | Southern California Edison
In the current climate of escalating Anti-Black, Anti-Asian, Anti-LGBTQ+ hate, crimes and racism, the role of Business Resource Groups (BRG), Employee Resource Groups (ERG), Employee Networks within organizations is even more crucial. Through an intersectional lens we look at BRG/ERG Solidarity and what it takes to be an upstander for each other within an organization. What possibilities open up when BRG/ERGs work together with each other and for each other?
March 26, 2021 ASL Interpreters and Closed Captioning is available
Guest Speakers:
Elizabeth "Liz" Campos | Orientation and Mobility Instructor NOMC, Society For The Blind
Kenna Chic | Disability Rights Advocate
Dr. Gabrielle Ficchi | Therapist and Disability Advocate
with guest host Eric Harris | Director of Public Policy, Disability Rights California
The Disability community is the largest minority community in the world. And yet, this community is often overlooked or forgotten. This conversation will center on self-advocacy and Disability advocacy with an intersectional lens. We will delve into what the non-disabled community can do to ensure a more inclusive space for the disability community. We will explore parity, rights and justice, along with dispelling historically held biases and myths. How do we collectively create an accessible and inclusive world for everyone?
Guest Speakers:
Bennish Brown | President/CEO, Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau
Timothy Bush | Chief Tourism Development Officer, One Spartanburg, Inc
Natalie Ringsmuth | Executive Director, UniteCloud
Roni Weiss | Executive Director, Travel Unity
After a tragic collapse in 2020, travel, tourism and hospitality industries have an opportunity to rebuild more mindfully, more inclusively. How we welcome visitors and current and future residents could not be more crucial to consider post-pandemic. What does it mean to open, to share our spaces and communities in a time of misinformation, racial unrest, and vastly different mask protocols and political affiliations? What does a safe, inclusive and inviting welcome look like?
EP 11: FAITH, GENDER, RACE IN SOUTH ASIAN IDENTITY
Guest Speakers:
Sadiya Abjani | Director of Learning & Equity, SAGE USA
Ambarien Alqadar | Filmmaker, Writer, Educator
The South Asian diaspora refers to the people from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, who, following the pre-colonized era, have migrated globally for centuries. While colonialism and caste systems have historically played a role in dividing South Asian communities, hierarchy in faith, gender and race have continued the thread of division in modern day. These same elements of faith, gender and race infuse a complexity and richness in South Asian identity today when we choose to see them through the lens of intersectionality. What does it take to uphold the rich diasporic history while not erasing the evolving intersectional South Asian identity our communities have been forming along the way?
Ep 10: WHITE IDENTITY IN 2020
September 11, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Jane Rosenzweig | Diversity / Equity / Inclusion Practitioner
Krissy Shields | Wellness expert, Founder, Maha Mama
Michael Robertson | Deputy Director, artEquity
2020 and the onset of two pandemics has enabled a sharp shirt in consciousness when it comes to equity, inclusion and leading with an antiracist lens. Our White community is at various stages of learning and activation. It ranges from feeling overwhelmed, paralyzed and staying silent, to self organizing and relearning history, using one's voice and privilege to challenge systemic racism within organizations, communities, and on the streets. What does it mean to be a White ally/advocate/antiracist practitioner in 2020? Where does one start? What does the journey involve? Learn more.
Ep 9: YOUNG LEADERS ROUNDTABLE: Part 2
July 31, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Arianna Adeseye | student, Psychology major, podcast 'Damn, That's Crazy'
Jannie Kamara | student, Black World Studies, Diversity in Leadership, Student Body President Miami Univ.
Gentle Ramirez | student, Africana Studies major, Creative Writing, Comp. Sc. minor, youth organizer, poet
Tatyana Tandanpolie | student, Journalism & Africana Studies major, aspiring journalist & writer
At our second Young Leaders Roundtable, we hear from college students who are already entrepreneurs in their own right. They are focused and clear on the history of this country, and actively fighting to create a world where their dreams and visions for themselves are realized. Learn more.
EP 8: YOUNG LEADERS ROUNDTABLE: Part 1
July 24, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Ama Russell - Youth activist & co-founder BLACK LIVES MATTER IN ALL CAPACITIES
Evamelo Oleita - Youth activist & co-founder BLACK LIVES MATTER IN ALL CAPACITIES
Jayden Hasberry - Youth activist & co-founder WE ARE AMERICA
Taylor Martin - Youth activist & co-founder JUSTICE IN THE MITTEN
Forced to fight for their existence, living in a world of school shootings, a global pandemic, and systemic oppression and the violent killing of Black lives, today's youth have established nuanced vocabulary around gender identity and expression. They are fierce, fearless and ready to reclaim their place in the world. From community organizing to leading. Learn more.
Ep 7: SELF-CARE: A REVOLUTIONARY PRACTICE
July 17, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Dr. Gulrukh Bala | Healer, Author, Founder - Heartlight Ascension
Joan Henry (Tsalagi / Nde’ / Arawaka) | Traditional Song-Carrier & Elisi (Grandmother)
Dr. Melba Nicholson Sullivan | People, Culture & Systems Consultant
Mindfulness has been made a prominent and palatable concept through recent years, Its origin, however, lies in rich global histories of spirituality and culture.
Mother Earth is currently healing itself from trauma we have inflicted on her through generations, while our humanity attempts to dismantle the historic trauma of oppression.
There is no better time to remind ourselves of the roots of self care and nourishment towards healing and balance of ourselves and our communities. Learn more.
EP 6: BELONGING IN THE WORKPLACE: An Antiracist Reimagining
July 10, 2020
Guest Speakers:
MJ Jacques - HR Translator, Founder - Advisory Avenue
Hyma Menath - Equity & Inclusion Advisor - City of San Jose
Susan Seah - Founding Partner - CounselGS LLC
Over the decades, The D in Diversity morphed to D&I (Inclusion), to DEI (Equity) and as of the last few years DEIB (Belonging). The acronym gets longer, the definitions shift and change, and work culture belonging still has a ways to go. What will it take to create this shift? Learn more.
Ep 5: ALLYSHIP SERIES: Creative Allyship
June 26, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Elz Cuya Jones | Deputy Director, North Star Fund
Rachel Berger | Founder & Executive Director, The Artist Co-op
Uncertainty. Unknown. Unprecedented. These words have encompassed all aspects of our lives for over two months. Individuals, organizations and businesses are at different levels of processing this. Some have tragically had to shut their doors, some have pivoted overnight to stay relevant, while others are intentionally using the 'pause' to reflect, process and create new possibilities and creative allyship. As we dust ourselves off, we will be met with the opportunity to intentionally reinvent - our lives, our businesses, our systems. Learn more.
Ep 4: ALLYSHIP SERIES: Displaced Populations in a Global Pandemic
June 19, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Catharina Kahane | Art Historian and founder of ECHO100PLUS
Niurka Melendez & Hector Arguinzones | Founders, Venezuelans & Immigrants Aid (VIA)
When the pandemic hit around the world we were told to stay home. From migrant populations trying to get back to their towns and villages in India, refugees waiting for asylum across Europe, to displaced migrants stuck at our southern border in America, there are displaced populations around the world who have no place or shelter to call home. How has the pandemic disrupted the lives of the displaced? Learn more.
EP 3: ALLYSHIP SERIES: Our children. The future.
June 12, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Farzana Nayani - Author | DEI practioner
Clare Donavan Scane, PhD - Founder - CDS Literacies, LLC
How we interact with our children, the conversations we choose to have with them, the history we share with them will determine their continued development and how they shape their generation. This enlightening discussion explores effective ways to talk to our children and students about race in this age of increased divisiveness. Learn more.
EP 2: ALLYSHIP SERIES: Intersectional Solidarity - Part 2
May 29, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Linda Akutagawa - President & CEO - Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics - LEAP
Russell G. Jones - Founder & Chief of Pedagogy - Blind Spot Experience
Our historically marginalized Black, Latinx, and Native-American communities have been hit the hardest since March, the global pandemic has given new fuel for Asian American hate to escalate. This moment is an opportunity for us - as leaders, citizens, humans to reflect on and conceive what systemic dismantling and intersectional restructuring looks like during this disruption. What myths holding us back need to be dispelled, and what might it look like to truly work together as we rebuild? Our allyship series first explores how we choose - with intention - to rebuild a more socially interconnected and equitable society. Learn more.
EP 1: ALLYSHIP SERIES: Intersectional Solidarity - Part 1
May 29, 2020
Guest Speakers:
Linda Akutagawa - President & CEO - Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics - LEAP
Russell G. Jones - Founder & Chief of Pedagogy - Blind Spot Experience
In a year of social and economic upheaval, how do we choose - with intention - to rebuild a more socially interconnected and equitable society? In this session, we dispell the myths holding us back and explore what systemic dismantling and intersectional restructuring looks like as we work together to rebuild a more just society. Learn more.