Welcome to the One White Woman podcast… Being here means you’re probably aware of how much more aware you could be about the facts and the challenges that underly the realities of systemic racism in the United States.  Hopefully, too, you yearn for opportunities to heal the wounds brought on by the appalling facts of our country’s history. That’s why I’m here, sharing conversations I’m having with people who can help you and me to increase our understanding AND help us to become more effective in the repair, on all levels, that needs to happen… for everyone’s sake moving forward. The upcoming conversation is with Rachelle Zola, a 72-year old “white” woman who has an impressive history of her own, volunteering all over the world for causes that mattered to her… and who, like me, only recently gained clarity about the harsh realities of life in America for Black people. Her response is a mixture of dedication to peeling back the layers of miseducation in which we’ve all been immersed, ardent emotions and iron-willed convictions that white passivity is NOT an option. Reparations are very much in her sights… not WHAT reparations should look like, because that’s a different conversation she respectfully explains must include the Black community’s perspective and input… but simply and certainly THAT reparations must happen… that they’re long, long overdue. Rachelle’s hunger strike will begin on May 16th, 2021. You can learn more about plans and how the strike is progressing at any of her social media sites, all of which contain the words RachelleforHR40, and which will be updated by her volunteer support team. Please refer to the show’s notes to find Rachelle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. https://www.facebook.com/RachelleForHR40 https://twitter.com/rachelleforhr40 https://www.instagram.com/rachelleforhr40/ I would also like to share with everyone about an organization that has given me an abundance of hope and energy because its solutions-oriented approaches reflect uncommon levels of intelligence, integrity and practical, creative positivity across the full spectrum of human development and aspirational achievements. The organization is the Black Achievement Fund. You can learn more at their website: www.baf.solutions. (NOT www.baf.com. It’s www.baf.solutions, because solutions really is what the Black Achievement Fund is all about.) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/onewhitewoman/message