Disrupt Yourself Podcast with Whitney Johnson

Tina Opie: Don't Talk About it. Be About It

·50 min·4 clips

Tina Opie explains why you might not be ready to bridge with someone if you can't recognize power differences.

["The episode opens with Tina Opie stating that recognizing power differences is essential before attempting to bridge across divides.", "Host Whitney Johnson introduces Opie as co-author of Shared Sisterhood and founder of Opie Consulting Group.", "Opie shares her background as a military child who moved frequently, developing observational skills and using humor to navigate new groups.", "She reveals the indigenous spiritual history of lacrosse, which her family plays, as an example of looking deeper into cultural practices.", "Opie explains she and co-author Beth Livingston wrote Shared Sisterhood during the summer of 2020's racial reckoning, motivated by their academic, consulting, and lived experiences.", "The DIG process involves introspection about one's identities and when awareness of racial or other differences began.", "BRIDGE requires four elements for authentic connection: empathy, trust, risk-taking, and vulnerability, all of which must be present.", "Opie illustrates this with her initial meeting with Beth Livingston, where trust and empathy were lacking at first.", "She defines power as access to and control over resources, distinguishing historically power-dominant and marginalized groups.", "Whitney Johnson shares she felt angry while reading the book, recognizing her own experiences as a woman and Christian while acknowledging her power.", "Opie discusses indicators someone isn't ready to bridge, including claiming colorblindness or giving private support with public silence.", "She emphasizes that people often have more power than they realize, using the Norma Rae film as an example.", "Collective action in organizations involves examining eight people processes like recruiting and pay, with input from both leadership and marginalized employees.", "Opie gives an example of removing unnecessary college degree requirements for certain positions based on actual job tasks.", "She recommends starting points: reading the book, joining book clubs (initially in racially homogenous groups), signing up for her blog, and joining the Shared Sisterhood Facebook group.", "Opie explains that sisterhood is not gendered but represents a way of leading with empathy, trust, risk-taking, and vulnerability, contrasting with traditional hierarchical approaches.", "She references Audre Lorde's speech about translating anger into action rather than silencing it.", "Johnson reflects on three key takeaways: avoiding self-interference like private support/public silence, understanding sisterhood as a way of life, and embracing imposter syndrome during the dig work.", "The episode concludes with recommendations for related episodes and an invitation for listeners to potentially join a future roundtable discussion.", "Production credits are given to Justin LaRere, Whitney Jobe, Alexander Turk, Stephanie Brummel, and Nicole Pellegrino."]

As heard by us

A candid conversation about power, anger, and the self-examination behind equity work.

Tina Opie's conversation keeps equity work grounded in power, readiness, and the self-examination that has to come before any real attempt to bridge difference.

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Why you'd press play

You will hear how anger, power, and self-examination can turn an equity commitment into something you are ready to practice.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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