I was thrilled to interview my colleague here at PACEs Connection, @Donielle Prince, for Episode 22 of Latchkey Urchins & Friends Podcast.
My podcast co-host Anne Sherry and I interview Dr. Donielle Prince about holidays in the United States like Presidents day and the legacy of historical racial trauma and violence which complicates celebrating said holidays. We talk about the messiness of engaging with social justice and racial equity work and how to stay in the work. Most importantly we talk about why we need to keep doing this work. Listen to this episode for a new way to celebrate Presidents’ Day in America. This conversation was inspired by PACEs Connection's A Better Normal Ep.32 "Reinterpreting American Identity" that Donielle and I co-hosted on June 30th, 2020.
"A lot of the imperialist things the United States does around the world are for democracy so they have to hide any kind of issues that reveal that we haven’t had a commitment to democracy. A thing like Presidents’ Day, I look at that as never having really been intended as a celebration from a heartfelt place but it’s a piece of propaganda.
The degree to which you do that unpacking, then you make decisions as to whether you are going to participate in the propaganda or not.
If you think of something like Presidents’ Day as a celebration, you don’t really understand the country that you’re living in and the context you’re living in globally.
Another way to look at it is would be—'well, it’s a day off and I can BBQ with my family and I don’t really think about these other sociopolitical contexts.'
As there’s been this racial awakening and people have demanded that monuments to the confederacy fall—something like a Presidents’ Day or even a 4th of July—those are also monuments, they’re just not physical.” - Dr. Donielle Prince.
Donielle’s experience with research, policy, and reform is reflected in her deep commitment to advocating for social justice. This work has included youth mentoring, including first-time offending juveniles and foster youth; as well as community-based organizing against state violence, educational inequity, and lack of access to mental health supports, particularly for members of marginalized communities—similar to the community where she was raised, in East Palo Alto, CA, located in Silicon Valley.
Extensive show notes including resource and book recommendations here: https://www.latchkeyurchins.co...-dr-donielle-prince/
Latchkey Urchins & Friends is a podcast that is healing trauma through humor. There's a nurturance void when we experience childhood emotional neglect. Anne is a therapist. Alison works in public health in adverse childhood experiences. They look at the personal, interpersonal, and societal forms of neglect and find humor in the void. This podcast seeks to end the stigma of talking about mental health, trauma, and neglect while providing some resources for healing and growth. Topics: childhood emotional neglect, attachment, trauma, child trauma, mental health, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), growth, healing, nurturance, community, love, friendship, marriage, parenting, book recommendations, podcasts, pop culture, economics, politics, culture, racism, the patriarchy and more
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