Why White Supremacy Always Begets White Insurrection w/ Ebele Okobi & Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey

From Woke to Work: The Anti-Racist Journey

Welcome to a special edition of From Woke to Work: The Anti-Racist Journey. On this episode, host Kamala Avila-Salmon, interrupts the journey through the funnel to RAGE on what happened at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 or as it felt, December 37th in the unending trash year known as 2020. What the HELL happened at the Capitol on Wednesday if not a flagrant representation and affirmation of the potency of White supremacy in our country. And as a Black person in this country, who has been consistently critical of our country for good reason, Kamala was forced into the awkward position of having to appear extra patriotic in her outrage against the Trumpsters who tried, pretty embarrassingly it must be said, to overthrow our democracy.

As the insurrection was taking place, Kamala describes the phases of what she was feeling: shock, anger, disgust. With those feelings boiling, it was important to get her on the mic, because anyone aspiring to be an ally or anti-racist, needs to REALLY understand the levels of White privilege on display at the Capitol and how it’s connected to Black Lives Matter.

Joining her on this week's episode are two powerful and inspiring voices, Ebele Okobi and Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey.

Ebele is the Public Policy Director for Africa, the Middle East and Turkey at a major tech company and prior to that she has been the global head of human rights at Yahoo, the head of marketing for Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a senior director of advisory services at Catalyst in Silicon Valley and Amsterdam.

Dr. Quartey started creating change as a 13-year-old student organizer for Oprah’s Angel Network and has been sought out ever since for his skills in organizing social change and influencing organizational leadership on strategic initiatives with a consciousness around racial equity and LGBTQ inclusion. During the 2020 election cycle, Dr. Quartey served as Senior Policy Advisor for the OUT for Biden Initiative of the Biden-Harris Presidential Campaign. He also lives and works in DC so what unfolded last week took place in his backyard.

Jump straight into:

(00:44) - The foundations and undeniable potency of white supremacy in the US - “Had these men and women, these insurrectionists, these domestic terrorists been black, we all know what would have happened next: we would have been watching a massacre on the steps of the Capitol.”

(16:00) - How anger and rage are privileges granted to white people only - “The level of force that they bring to meet us unarmed is just nowhere near the level of force that we saw with people actively trying to overthrow the government.”

(25:09) - This is America: On the normalized subjugation of black people - “If it is your natural state to be in a state of subjugation, then you should feel joy that even a couple of you have escaped, because this is the place where you're meant to be.”

(28:57) - Enough is enough: The hypocrisy and cynicism of “concerned” politics for their own convenience - “They were in positions of power, in positions of authority and they use their power and authority to uphold white supremacy. You don't get to run away from that. That's who you are. You are a white supremacist.”

(36:20) - The magic of Black Twitter, moving forward, and the lessons learned from the white insurrection at the Capitol - “In the same way that white people have educated themselves about so many other things, they can do this as well. Educate yourself about this. “

Resources

Connect with Ebele

Justice for Chinedu

Follow Dr. Nii-Quarterlai on Twitter and Instagram

Reach out to Paul Henderson

Enjoy #BlackTwitter

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza

The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison

The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge

Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to follow Kamala on Instagram to learn more. Subscribe, rate and share this podcast so more people can find it, let’s spread the word!

From Woke to Work is a show produced and hosted by Kamala Avila-Salmon in partnership with Julian Lewis and TJ Bonaventura at StudioPod. Edited at Nodalab, art by Tommy Gomez, and music produced by davecantrap.