In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra speaks with Megan Erickson, a Philadelphia-based barista and member of Starbucks Workers United, about the growing labor movement inside Starbucks. Together, they examine the widening gap between the company’s “third place” narrative and the working conditions faced by baristas across the United States.

From unpredictable scheduling and low wages to stalled union contract negotiations and ongoing allegations of union busting, this conversation examines how Starbucks became one of the most prolific labor law violators in modern U.S. history and how organizing by Starbucks Workers United has helped reignite the labor movement across the United States.

This podcast episode breaks down what union organizing looks like in practice, what “good faith bargaining” requires under U.S. labor law, and why thousands of Starbucks workers have gone on strike demanding fair pay, reliable hours, and workplace protections.

In this episode, we explore:

• Starbucks union movement: the rapid rise of Starbucks Workers United and coordinated organizing across hundreds of U.S. stores
• Labor law violations and union busting: over 1,100 unfair labor practice charges filed with the NLRB, including allegations of retaliation, store closures, and bad-faith tactics
• Contract negotiations and corporate leadership: how union bargaining shifted following the arrival of CEO Brian Niccol
• Working conditions at Starbucks: low wages, unpredictable scheduling, chronic understaffing, and barriers to accessing benefits
• Good faith bargaining under U.S. labor law: what the National Labor Relations Act requires and how delays, cancellations, and surface bargaining undermine negotiations
• Solidarity and community care in labor organizing: how striking workers built mutual aid networks, including a community-run strike kitchen, demonstrating how worker solidarity extends beyond the picket line

“When the systems in place fail to care for the people who make them run, solidarity gives us the power to build our own systems of care.” – Megan Erickson

How to take action:

• Delete the Starbucks app
• Find your local union store at sbworkersunited.org/map
• Sign the pledge at nocontractnocoffee.org
• Follow and support Starbucks Workers United at sbworkersunited.org

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, we slow down the AI conversation to ask harder questions – not just about what these systems can do, but who built them, who profits from them, and what we give up by using them. Manpreet Kalra is joined by Vauhini Vara, author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age and longtime journalist covering Big Tech, to unpack the structural forces at play behind the AI boom.

Together, we explore how AI is less a neutral technology than a mirror of the economic and ideological forces that built it. A social system shaped by corporate incentives, embedded bias, and the quiet erosion of our ability to define truth for ourselves and what it means for all of us when the infrastructure shaping that truth is privately owned, profit-driven, and constantly learning from us.

This isn't a conversation with easy answers. It's about sitting with complexity, and the uncomfortable reality that opting out is rarely simple.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why AI bias is more than a technical glitch and how it reflects deeper social and economic power structures.
• The legal battles over AI training data, including The New York Times v. OpenAI and Bartz v. Anthropic
• How AI systems can reinforce confirmation bias and shape our perception of truth
• Why Big Tech’s incentives matter when the infrastructure of communication and tools shaping public knowledge are privately owned
• The relationship between users and tech companies; and why exploitation and convenience can coexist
• Alternative models for technology governance, from public infrastructure to nonprofit platforms

AI isn’t just a technical system. It’s a social and economic one. The outputs we see reflect the data they’re trained on, the incentives of the companies building them, and the broader political economy of the internet. If we want different outcomes from AI, the conversation must expand beyond engineering fixes to include questions of ownership, accountability, and power.

Vauhini Vara is the author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age, named a best book of the year by Esquire, Slate, and Publisher’s Weekly and a winner of the Porchlight Business Book Award. Her previous books are This is Salvaged, which was longlisted for the Story Prize and won the High Plains Book Award, and The Immortal King Rao, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Colorado Book Award. She is also a journalist, currently working as a contributing writer for Businessweek.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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The conversation moves beyond the headlines to unpack the lived reality on the ground. Senator Maye Quade explains why documentation and constitutional observing have become critical tools of protection, how mutual aid networks are sustaining families, and what meaningful accountability could require in the months and years ahead.

We explore:

• What Operation Metro Surge looks like on the ground and how ICE is using racial profiling to terrorize communities.
• The importance of constitutional observing and documentation as tools for accountability.
• Community resilience in the face of state violence and how mutual aid networks are sustaining families through rent support, food distribution, childcare, and emergency response as families shelter in place.
• The possibilities of state-level action amid federal overreach.
• What other states and communities should prepare for if this playbook spreads.

Meet Our Guest

Minnesota State Senator Erin Maye Quade made history in 2022 as the first out lesbian, the first Black mom, and one of the first Black women elected to the Minnesota Senate. She serves as Vice Chair of both the Education Policy and State and Local Government Committees, and she is a member of the Human Services and Education Finance Committees. Senator Maye Quade has successfully led initiatives to expand reproductive freedom, protect LGBTQ+ rights, safeguard election integrity, and promote literacy, among other key priorities.

Pay Attention. Stay Informed. Take Action. 

• Want to show up in a meaningful way? Visit StandWithMinnesota.com to contribute to mutual aid efforts and connect with trusted support resources.
• Know your rights and build communication networks with neighbors. Preparation and community are powerful forms of defense. Download red cards in your preferred language: ilrc.org/redcards

Content warning: This episode includes descriptions of state violence, please take care while listening. 

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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This isn’t a story about changing consumer tastes or “retail trends.” It’s actually about debt, extraction, and what happens when the logic of Wall Street collides with the fabric of daily life. 

From JOANN's origins in Cleveland’s garment-manufacturing era to its pandemic boom and rapid collapse, we break down what happens when private equity enters the picture: a leveraged buyout that loads a company with debt, management fees that drain resources, and cost-cutting that hollows out the very labor and expertise the business depends on. Along the way, we connect JOANN’s downfall to the rise of fast fashion, the history of DIY economics, and the way private equity continues to enter our lives. 

In this episode, we explore:

• How Joann Fabrics went from zero debt to total collapse after a private equity-led leveraged buyout loaded the company with over a billion dollars in obligations and ongoing management fees.
• What a leveraged buyout actually is, and how private equity firms use company debt, not their own money, to finance acquisitions and extract returns.
• The history of U.S. garment manufacturing, from unionized apparel hubs like Cleveland to offshoring, fast fashion, and the shift of sewing from necessity to hobby.
• How private equity hollowed out JOANN's core strengths (the expertise of its employees) while using a brief boom during the pandemic to obscure deep structural damage, and how JOANN's collapse rippled outward to destabilize adjacent industries.
• The bipartisan political support underpinning private equity’s takeover of our lives and why consumer choice can’t solve this.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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In this episode of Art of Citizenry, Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Dr. Peter Hinton, impact investor and Associate Fellow at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, to unpack the financial architecture behind impact investing — debt, equity, and quasi-equity — and what these instruments really mean for social enterprises and impact-driven businesses on the ground.

Together, they trace the field’s roots from faith-based socially responsible investing and the rise of microfinance to today’s trillion-dollar impact investing market. Along the way, they dig into the hidden risks of hard currency loans and the tension between investor expectations and the realities faced by entrepreneurs and communities. They tackle one of the field’s thorniest questions: how do you measure social impact without overburdening the very organizations you’re trying to support? 

This episode dives into:

• The financial architecture of impact investing: how debt, equity, and quasi-equity shape risk, power, and investor-investee relationships.
• Historical roots of the field, from faith-based socially responsible investing and microfinance to today’s global impact investing ecosystem.
• Global power dynamics, including currency risk, capital flows, and the implications of hard-currency loans for entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
• The challenges of measuring social impact, why standardized metrics fall short, and how reporting requirements can burden social enterprises.
• Community-centered evaluation and accountability, exploring methods that elevate beneficiary voices and prioritize cultural and linguistic contexts.

Whether you’re new to impact investing or wrestling with its limitations from the inside, this episode offers a grounded, critical, and hopeful look at what a more equitable approach could look like.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal
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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Philz Coffee made headlines earlier this year when the iconic San Francisco coffee company got bought by private equity firm Freeman Spogli in a deal that cancelled all employee common stock options. Together, Manpreet and Anna dig into what happened, breaking down the complex financial maneuvers and unpacking how this conclusion was both unexpected and not all that surprising.

In this episode, we explore the case of Philz Coffee while touching on:

• What private equity is and how “leveraged buyouts” and high-risk financial engineering shape our daily lives
• The hierarchy of who gets paid when investors are involved and what Philz’s decision to cancel worker stock tells us about whose investments really matter
• How consolidation in coffee offers insights into the  broader patterns of the global economy where consolidation has become the name of the game
• The people, let’s be real…men…behind Freeman Spogli, the firm’s origins, and ties to U.S. politics.
• Why transparency, journalism, and informed communities are essential for pushing back on corporate impunity

Tune in as we begin to unmask corporate consolidation in coffee and beyond: Nestlé’s and JAB’s coffee empires, the pressure on small ethical roasters, historic low coffee prices for farmers, and how firms like Freeman Spogli have been quietly reshaping everything from grocery chains to farmers’ livelihoods. We connect the dots between colonialism, capitalism, and financialization, showing how risk is repeatedly pushed down onto workers (and farmers) while profits are siphoned off at the top.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal
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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined in conversation with Noor Tagouri. Together, they interrogate how narratives influence systems — reflecting on what it means to tell stories with transparency, courage, and care in an era where journalism itself is being redefined.

We explore:

• The transformative power of storytelling when rooted in self-investigation
• How a rapidly evolving media landscape is reshaping the role and responsibility of independent journalists
• The far-reaching consequences of representation and misrepresentation in shaping politics, pop culture, and public opinion
• How cross-community solidarity among marginalized groups can reclaim narrative power and deepen the integrity of storytelling

Storytelling isn’t neutral. Self-investigation asks us to move through our own stories with courage — allowing curiosity to become our compass as we explore our own identities, stories, and beliefs. This conversation is an invitation to listen deeply, ask hard questions, and question the stories we inherit — letting each question reshape what we know.  

📌 Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal
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Explore Past Episodes of the Art of Citizenry Podcast with Manpreet Kalra: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Nicole Vitello, Vice President at Equal Exchange, a worker-owned co-operative with the mission to build long-term fair trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound. Together, they unpack how tariffs, trade wars, volatile commodity markets, and climate pressures are colliding to threaten the survival of ethical supply chains.

From a 39% tariff on Switzerland to 50% tariffs on Brazil and India, industries ranging from chocolate and coffee to fashion are under immense strain. For fair trade, ethical businesses and co-ops, it’s not just about surviving the current administration’s tariff strategy – it’s about whether ethical supply chains can survive in a system tilted toward multinationals and shareholder profits. While these taxes are marketed as efforts to “bring manufacturing home,” the real impact lands on those least able to absorb the cost – smallholder farmers, small businesses here domestically, and ultimately consumers.

We explore:

• How the trade wars, increases in tariffs, and high commodity prices are destabilizing ethical, sustainable, and fair trade supply chains – causing cost and pricing spikes from farmers to consumers
• Why ethical businesses and co-ops are uniquely vulnerable under protectionist trade policies
• How climate change, tariffs, and inflation are compounding global price volatility and putting financial pressure on farmer coops
• The impacts of USAID cuts on economic development programs 
• Why cooperative business models and consumer solidarity may be the last line of defense against exploitative trade

🎧 Ethical supply chains that center fairness and sustainability remain the exception, not the rule. Tune in as we examine the human cost of tariffs and the structural inequities baked into modern capitalism and global trade systems.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

This episode invites you to think critically about how narratives of the future are shaped and who gets to author them. Elaine’s reflections on diaspora, cultural authenticity, and resisting reductive tropes are not just lessons for sci-fi writers, but for anyone grappling with representation in storytelling.

During this conversation, we explore:

• Identity & diaspora: Wrestling with the question “Am I ___ enough?” and writing through the tension of layered identities.
• Orientalism & Techno-orientalism: From Edward Said’s groundbreaking critique to sci-fi tropes that flatten and exoticize Asian cultures.
• Cultural Hegemony in Literature: Resisting the pressures of making her work “palatable” to a mainstream audience by embracing specificity, language, and cultural nuance.

📚Be sure to check out Elaine U. Cho’s book, Teo’s Durumi and debut Ocean’s Godori

Also mentioned in this episode: Edward Said’s 1978 book: Orientalism

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

From the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live and mass doxing campaigns reminiscent of McCarthyism, to the militarization of cities and the campaign to “Free Ben & Jerry’s,” these stories are more than isolated flashpoints. Together, they paint a troubling picture of democratic fragility and the creeping rise of authoritarianism.

Join us as we unpack the escalating threats to free speech—from censorship and defamation lawsuits to corporate pressure and racialized violence. We connect the dots between media, governance, and power, revealing how dissent is being stifled and narratives tightly controlled—and why independent voices and collective resistance matter now more than ever.

“When that space for scrutiny is narrowed, whether through censorship, intimidation, or the co-opting of media outlets, the public’s access to truth is replaced with narratives carefully engineered to reinforce the power of an authoritarian regime.” — Manpreet Kaur Kalra, Art of Citizenry

⏰ Timestamps:

• 00:55 Trump’s $15 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against The New York Times
• 03:52 Disney-Owned ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel! Live!
• 10:25 Jerry Greenfield Leaves Ben & Jerry’s
• 15:49 The Erasure of Racial Violence in the Wake of Charlie Kirk
• 18:50 Deployment of Federal Forces for “Crime Control”
• 21:34 How We Fight Back

What emerges is an ecosystem of control: voices silenced through lawsuits, narratives erased through selective coverage, and public space militarized to cement that erasure. Together, they show a contracting democracy.

🎧 Tune in as we discuss how the erosion of press freedom and free speech is central to authoritarianism. 

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Behind those staggering numbers lies another story: who profits. Among the biggest winners are private equity firms and the billionaire class they represent. From building detention centers and surveillance systems to running telecommunications and healthcare inside facilities, private equity has positioned itself to cash in on every step of the deportation pipeline.

In this episode of the Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Azani Creeks, Senior Researcher at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) to unpack how this bill opens the floodgates for private equity firms to profit from detention, deportation, surveillance, and border militarization as engines of profit for billionaires.

We explore:

• How H.R. 1 supercharges ICE funding and detention capacity.
• The role of private equity in profiting from detention, deportation, and surveillance.
• Why firms like CoreCivic, GEO Group, and their Wall Street backers are among the bill’s biggest winners.
• The broader pattern of immigration enforcement as a business model—and what this means for the future.

🎧 Tune in as we ask the deeper questions – about how policy, profit, and power converge in the Deportation Industrial Complex.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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Explore Past Episodes of the Art of Citizenry Podcast with Manpreet Kalra: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode of the Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kalra is joined by Dr. Marcia Chatelain, historian and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America. Together, we dig into the intersections of civil rights, economic justice, and corporate accountability, exploring how the pursuit of liberation has too often been commodified under the guise of economic empowerment.

Dr. Chatelain reminds us that food justice isn’t just about what’s on our plates – it’s about the systems shaping access, health, and community power. We discuss how corporations like McDonald’s embedded themselves in Black communities by co-opting civil rights advocacy, reshaping not only economic life but also the very language of empowerment and progress.

This conversation takes us beyond individual choices and into the systemic structures that dictate our options:

• The American blueprint for corporate co-optation of justice movements
• The pitfalls of framing entrepreneurship and capitalism as a blueprint to freedom
• How DEI and corporate “justice” strategies are often inseparable from profit motives

From the civil rights era to today, we unpack the corporate playbook: social movements absorbed, monetized, and repackaged as market opportunities. 

📚 Get Marcia Chatelain’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America.

🎧 Tune in as we ask the deeper questions – who profits, what gets repackaged as justice, and how do we reclaim community power in a system designed to commodify it?

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

So, if you believe in what we’re building here—if you believe that holding power to account, amplifying marginalized voices, and telling stories with integrity matters—I invite you to invest in this podcast. Because supporting Art of Citizenry isn’t just about sustaining a show. It’s about sustaining the values that shape a more just, equitable, and kinder world. 

Head to artofcitizenry.com/support to contribute today!

To keep the content flowing, I am asking you to support in any way you can by donating via Paypal,  joining my Substack subscriber community, or by contributing via Patreon. No amount is too small—every single contribution makes a difference.

📌 Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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Thank you for listening, for being part of this community, and for believing that independent journalism is worth fighting for!

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

From a $16 million “settlement” between Paramount and the Trump administration that raises red flags for journalistic independence to a fashion campaign steeped in coded racial and cultural messaging, this episode invites listeners to slow down and ask: What does this reveal about the rules — written and unwritten — that shape our society?

Timestamps:

1:45 Paramount’s $16 Million settlement to the Trump Administration

19:10 Kamala Harris announces she is not running for office, says, “The system is broken”

27:15 “Sydney has great jeans” Eugenics & American Eagle Ad

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• The Paramount settlement and what it signals for press freedom.
• The cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and what it reveals about corporate influence.
• What a vice president’s low-profile departure suggests about the state of democracy
• How American Eagle’s latest campaign taps into racialized, gendered language — and why it’s worth unpacking.

By connecting the dots between media consolidation, political power, and the commercialization of cultural narratives, this conversation examines the fragile boundaries of what’s considered acceptable — and what happens when those boundaries shift.

🎧 Tune in to explore how seemingly small stories can reveal seismic shifts in our political and cultural landscape.

Mentioned: 

• John Stewart on the cancellation of The Late Show - The Daily Show
• Media Freedom - Freedom House
• VP Kamala Harris’s with Stephen Colbert - The Late Show
• Paramount-Skydance Deal Subverts Free Speech and the Free Press in America - Open Market Institute
• How the Right Shaped the Debate Over the Sydney Sweeney Ads - NY Times
• American Eagle Stock Soars After Trump Backs Sydney Sweeney Ad - AdWeek

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal
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Is there a topic you would like us to explore on the show? Share it with us here! https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/episode-ideas

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Explore Past Episodes of the Art of Citizenry Podcast with Manpreet Kalra: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast

Thank you to our producer, Aly Honoré, and editor, Steven Blevins. The music featured in the podcast was created by Katrina Zemrak.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Since the assaults on Gaza began, the Tel Aviv stock exchange has risen by 179%. Titled "From economy of occupation to economy of genocide," the report identifies corporations across sectors profiting from or contributing to Israel’s crimes in Gaza and the West Bank. These businesses – from weapons manufacturing and tech to finance, construction, and academia – are complicit in structural human rights violations, including apartheid, annexation, and genocide.

Business and human rights scholar Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Lydia de Leeuw, researcher and strategic litigation lead at SOMO, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations. Together, they delve into the report’s findings on how corporations are enabling, sustaining, and profiting from genocide in Gaza. Their conversation explores the broader implications for international law and emphasizes the urgent need for binding, enforceable mechanisms to hold corporations accountable for their role in human rights violations.

During this episode, we examine:

• The findings of the UN report and what they reveal about profit-driven complicity in genocide
• What legal mechanisms are proposed and available to hold corporations and their executives accountable
• The U.S. government’s unprecedented response and what it signals
• How this moment fits into the broader conversation of corporate accountability for human rights abuses abroad

Resources & References

• UN Report: From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide
• Economic Sanctions Now: the EU is Israel’s largest investor by SOMO
• Business as usual in Palestine? by SOMO

The complicity of corporations in international crimes is not accidental, it's structural. The economies of occupation and genocide are deeply intertwined. This episode exposes an entire economy and profit-making industry built on dispossession, surveillance, and militarized control, enabled by some of the most powerful companies in the world. Without enforceable accountability, corporate actors will continue to profit from the destruction of Palestinian life. The call is urgent—complicity must end and those responsible must be held to account.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
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Thank you to our producer, Aly Honoré, and editor, Steven Blevins. The music featured in the podcast was created by Katrina Zemrak.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Host and social impact advisor, Manpreet Kaur Kalra, sits down with Concepción Galdón, Vice-Dean of Business with Purpose at IE Business School in Madrid and co-author of: Promise, Pitfalls, and Potential of Social Entrepreneurship. Together, they challenge the very definitions that underpin social entrepreneurship and how to move beyond heropreneurship to build more restorative approaches to social change.

During this conversation, we examine: 

• Who defines what “impact” means in different cultural and economic contexts 
• How heropreneurship narratives harm both entrepreneurs and communities
• Why traditional expectations around scalability and growth pose challenges
• The hurdles with impact measurement and impact investing

This episode is a call to slow down, to listen more deeply, and to rethink the definitions, expectations, and power dynamics that shape the world of social enterprises.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
• Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In episode 19 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet is joined by Anthony Enriquez, the VP of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at RFK Human Rights. Together, they discuss the complexities of immigration detention in the U.S., focusing on the financial motivations behind privatized detention centers, the historical shifts in immigration policy, and the role of race in shaping these policies. Anthony highlights the significant abuses occurring in detention centers and the need for advocacy and reform to address these issues. This conversation delves into the complex issues surrounding immigration detention centers, their economic impact on local communities, the evolving political narratives around immigration, and the structural challenges within immigration policy. It highlights the importance of local advocacy and the need for oversight and accountability in immigration detention practices, emphasizing the role of community-led movements in shaping a more just immigration system.

Meet Our Guest

Anthony Enriquez is the Vice President of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. He is an attorney working to reduce mass incarceration in the United States by exposing and stopping human rights abuses in the criminal legal and immigration systems. Anthony leads a team of advocates fighting in U.S. courts and international human rights mechanisms in solidarity with grassroots campaigns for accountability for state-sponsored racial discrimination, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

“Immigration detention is more than an immigrants' rights issue alone. The power we give to the U.S. government to inflict abuses on immigrants is inevitably used against citizens: from racial profiling to mass surveillance to prolonged civil detention and even deportation itself. The public funds we use to transform rural economies into private prison towns could have been used for investments in small businesses, manufacturing, and vocational and educational training instead of multi-million-dollar CEO salaries.”  

Take Action.

At this moment the safety of many is under threat. With much uncertainty, members of our communities are living in fear of what lies ahead. The current administration is attempting to fast-track deportations without due process and have already passed a series of executive orders that further push hardline immigration policies and threaten Constitutional rights. Moments like this demand our action. Now is the time to support the efforts of local grassroots organizations and immigration legal services. Also, take a moment to know your rights – regardless of status, you have rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Thank You for Listening

Please subscribe and leave a five-star review for Art of Citizenry wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow along and share your thoughts on Substack - artofcitizenry.substack.com

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra sits down with renowned historian Robin D. G. Kelley to unravel how capitalism has always been a racialized and gendered colonial project. Together, they examine how systemic racism is ingrained in economic structures, shaping everything from labor practices and property rights to state power and global migration.

Meet Our Guest: Dr. Robin D. G. Kelley is Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA.  His books include Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination and Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression.

In this deeply insightful conversation, we examine:

• how race and gender hierarchies have historically been used to justify exploitation
• the role of slavery in shaping modern labor systems
• Juneteenth and the reality of emancipation in the U.S., reframing the history we’ve been taught
• Jim Crow as a response to interracial labor movements
• ongoing impacts of colonialism on labor practices and immigration policy today
• the importance of solidarity in dismantling systems of oppression

Dr. Kelley makes clear that racial capitalism isn’t just history, it’s the blueprint behind our current economic order. Understanding its roots and mechanisms is critical to any movement seeking genuine liberation and systemic change.

“If the goal is liberation, two things have to go: modern capitalism and systemic racism.” — Robin D.G. Kelley

📌 Robin D.G. Kelley’s work critically examines race, capitalism, labor, and radical social movements, offering powerful insights on the struggle for collective liberation. For more about Juneteenth, listen to his episode on the Majority Report.

Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Through a historical lens, the episode examines how colonial regimes fractured societies along religious, ethnic, and social lines to undermine solidarity and resistance. The legacy of these interventions lives on — in borders, in conflict, and in the structural inequalities that underpin the Global North-Global South divide.

🔍 In this episode, we explore:

• Historical examples of divide and rule, including:
  • The 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan
  • The creation of Bantustans under apartheid South Africa
  • Colonialisms use of tribal divisions in Rwanda to weaken collective governance and how that underpinned the Rwandan Genocide
• The evolution of these tactics into modern-day “soft power” mechanisms used by:
  • Global institutions like the UN, IMF, and WTO
  • Multinational corporations that exploit weak regulatory environments and divided societies for profit

The episode draws a direct line from historical divide-and-rule policies to the scapegoating and “othering” seen in today’s politics—from anti-immigrant legislation to the assault on trans rights. These are not disconnected events, but rather the continuation of a well-worn strategy designed to distract and divide, making it harder for communities to organize and challenge dominant power structures.

💭 Reflection Prompt: How do the tactics of divide-and-rule show up in your daily life, your community, or your field of work—and what does it look like to build across those divides?

Whether you’re a student of history, a social justice advocate, or simply curious about the ways power operates in our world, this episode offers a thoughtful, grounded look at how the past continues to shape our present—and how we might start to imagine something different.

Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this follow-up episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra reconnects with Anna Canning of Partners for Dignity & Rights to peel back the layers of fashion’s financial structure. Together, they trace how corporate ownership is intentionally opaque, and how firms like Authentic Brands Group are profiting by fragmenting responsibility. From bankruptcies and brand buyouts to complex licensing deals, together, we unpack how private equity is redefining who owns what—and why that matters for the future of corporate accountability. 

We talk about the companies you don’t see on tags—the ones pulling the strings behind brand names by diving into: 

• How private equity uses debt, licensing, and outsourcing to extract value
• The growing trend of intellectual property empires
• Why bankruptcy is now a business tactic, not a failure
• What Forever 21, Shaquille O’Neal, and mall landlords have to do with all of it

Private equity isn’t just reshaping fashion—it’s financializing daily life. From healthcare to the roads we drive on to legacy fashion brands, this episode is a deep dive into the real cost of profit-maximizing business models—and the urgent need for structural accountability.

“If the goal is to maximize returns on investment at any costs, then the working people at the bottom are always the ones who pay.” — Anna Canning

Meet Our Guest

Anna Canning leads the Worker Rights team at Partners for Dignity and Rights. Prior to that, she was with the Worker-driven Social Responsibility Network. Throughout her career, Anna has led creative campaigns taking on corporate power and the fairwashing used to cover corporate abuses. Anna has over 20 years of experience working in supply chains and in movements for food justice and human rights.

📌 Partners for Dignity and Rights is a non-profit that advocates for human rights, especially the rights to dignified work, housing, and public education.

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/private-equity-in-fashion

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Art of Citizenry is 100% listener-supported. Every contribution helps us continue producing research-intensive episodes and paying our small but mighty team. If this episode resonates with you, consider supporting our work:

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In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by longtime collaborator and CEO of El Puente, Jette Ladiges, whose voice as a business leader serves as a source of inspiration in the face of political silence. Together, they unpack why “neutrality” is not neutral, and what it means to lead fearlessly in an era defined by rising authoritarianism.

“Choosing to stay silent is just as much a political decision as taking a stand.” – Jette Ladiges, CEO of El Puente

This episode examines how rising far-right ideologies and authoritarian movements threaten not just governments, but the global economy. Manpreet and Jette discuss the recent elections in Germany and how extremist political movements in Germany, the United States, and globally pose a critical need for continuous and collective rebellion against the spread of dangerous ideologies and oppression. Against this backdrop, they argue that silence—especially from institutions with power and influence—is not a neutral position, but a tacit endorsement of harm. 

Together, they discuss how we can rethink current economic structures, the importance of small-medium size businesses, and the role of businesses in advocating for democracy and human rights. The conversation explores the urgent need for leaders across all sectors to drive structural change and lead with values, particularly in the face of today’s mounting global challenges.

They also examine how stakeholder-led governance models can disrupt extractive economic systems and serve as blueprints for systemic transformation. The discussion challenges entrenched Global North–Global South dichotomies, highlights the precarious future of Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, and reflects on the fragility of democracy across borders. This is a conversation about rejecting complacency and recognizing that building ethical, resilient systems requires collaboration, community, and confronting extremism head-on.

Meet Our Guest

Jette Ladiges is the CEO of El Puente, a Germany-based social enterprise and member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). Her work has always been rooted in the social enterprise movement. She also serves on the board of the World Fair Trade Organization and Forum Fairer Handel, the German Fair Trade association and advocacy office, where she advocates for business models that put people and the planet first.

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/a-call-for-humanity-standing-against-extremism

Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
• Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra speaks with Anna Canning, Worker Rights Senior Program Director at Partners for Dignity and Rights. Anna recently published an article exposing Lucky Brand’s role in severance theft at Industrial Hana, a now-shuttered Guatemalan garment factory. The factory supplied apparel to companies including Lucky Brand, Puma, and American Eagle, yet only two of those brands have contributed to the $1.5 million in severance owed to workers. Lucky Brand continues to stall.

From unauthorized subcontracting to complex corporate structures, we take listeners behind the seams of global apparel production while unpacking the importance of legally binding agreements to protect garment workers in supply chains. We examine how systemic wage theft and labor abuses become “no one’s responsibility,” and what real accountability—rooted in worker-led models—could look like.

“The goal is to build a world where corporate impunity is out and worker-driven corporate accountability is the norm.” - Anna Canning, Partners for Dignity and Rights

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/not-so-lucky-jeans

Read Anna’s article: https://dignityandrights.org/2025/02/not-so-lucky-how-lucky-brand-shein-and-private-equity-fleeced-guatemalan-garment-workers/

Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
• Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode, Manpreet Kalra is joined by Clare Hammonds of the UMass Amherst Labor Center and Katie Nguyen of Students for International Labor Solidarity, co-authors of Beneath REI’s Green Sheen, a report that investigates human rights violations in REI’s global production network. From union-busting and debt bondage to sourcing partnerships with corporations known for environmental destruction, their research reveals a pattern of practices that put supply chain workers at high risk of exposure to egregious labor rights abuses with no reliable avenue for recourse or remedy.

We unpack the systemic issues that enable these violations, the limits of corporate impact reports, and the role of worker-driven social responsibility initiatives and student movements in supply chain accountability.

What happens when a brand’s values become a marketing tool rather than a moral compass? And how can we collectively hold companies accountable when harm is buried deep in the supply chain? Tune in for a conversation that unpacks the realities of complex supply chains—and uplifts the people building power to confront it.

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/beneath-the-green-sheen-rei

Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support

Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra sits down with Courtney Lyons-Garcia, Executive Director of Partnership for the National Trails System, to unpack what these changes mean for the protection and stewardship of America’s most treasured landscapes. We’ll explore how federal funding freezes are impacting nonprofit partners working on the ground, and what this means for how we experience the outdoors. But beyond these threats, we also discuss paths forward—how Indigenous stewardship efforts are reshaping conservation, what policies we should be keeping a close watch on, and how everyday people can take action to safeguard public lands.

Are we witnessing the systematic dismantling of public lands as we know them? And if so, what will it take to fight back? Tune in for a critical conversation about the intersection of policy, economics, conservation, and the power struggles defining America’s national trails.

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/the-fight-for-national-trails

Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support

Patreon: 

https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Behind REI’s glossy green sheen and feel-good messaging, workers are fighting a different battle—one for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to unionize without retaliation.

Meet Our Guest

Emma Harris (she/her) is a bike and ski shop technician at the REI Flagship store in SoHo, New York City unionized with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). As a member of REI Union SoHo, she serves as an elected member of the union bargaining committee and is part of the store’s Contract Action Team. The REI Union currently consists of workers who have unionized at 11 REI retail stores across the country with either RWDSU or the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

Labor Organizing

Labor activism in the United States has experienced a significant resurgence over the past three years and it is being led by young people. Workers have launched successful organizing efforts across industries from Amazon to Ben & Jerry’s to REI. Public support for unions has also reached historic levels, with Gallup polls indicating that 70% of Americans—and nearly 90% of young workers—approve of unions, a level not seen since the 1960s. Despite this increase in momentum and the proven success of worker-led movement efforts, increased labor activism has not translated into greater union density because of two primary reasons according to an article published by the Economic Policy Institute: (1) deeply flawed labor laws and (2) relentless corporate resistance to worker organizing.

Corporations are always going to be looking out for their bottom line, even if they like to brand themselves as “progressive” or “a different kind of company.” I want workers to realize the power that they have in their labor and the connections they form with their coworkers. There is incredible strength in collective action and the only way to make real, structural change in the face of Big Business is to band together and rise up! - Emma Harris

REI’s Union Busting Law Firm

Despite none of its unionized stores securing a collective bargaining agreement, REI maintains that it is negotiating in good faith. From June 2022 until switching law firms, REI SoHo was bargaining with REI through a different law firm, and had made some tentative agreements. However, since bringing on the new law firm, progress has slowed significantly.

REI’s new law firm of choice, ​Morgan Lewis, known for its hardline, union-busting tactics, has a long history of involvement in high-profile anti-union efforts. Their dedicated labor practice dates back to the 1950s. By the 1970s, it had become the most powerful management-side labor practice in the country, frequently appearing in the largest federation of US unions AFL-CIO’s "Report on Union Busting." Their extensive experience in "union avoidance" has made them a prominent choice for corporations aiming to maintain non-unionized workforces.

In January 2024, SpaceX, represented by none other than Morgan Lewis, filed a lawsuit against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), introducing a new anti-union playbook.

Over the past year, companies like Amazon, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, alongside SpaceX have intensified efforts to weaken labor rights. Beyond their usual union-busting tactics, these corporations are now actively seeking to have the entire National Labor Relations Board declared unconstitutional. Alongside REI, Morgan Lewis represents Trader Joe’s, Amazon, and SpaceX.

Under the new administration, the NLRB is in upheaval. During his first few weeks in office, Donald Trump fired the NLRB general counselor and removed a board member. While the NLRB’s day-to-day work can continue, the board cannot order parties to pay remedies or recognize a union because it needs three members to make a ruling. With the current situation quite volatile, it is likely that we will begin to see a reversal of many of the pro-labor decisions that have been issued by the board previously.

The Co-op Illusion

When REI calls itself a cooperative, it means that it operates under a member-owned business model rather than being a traditional publicly traded corporation. In theory, this means that the company is governed by its members—customers who pay a one-time fee to join—rather than by shareholders. REI uses this structure to differentiate itself from conventional retailers, positioning itself as a community-driven organization that reinvests profits back into the business and its members. To reaffirm this sentiment, REI describes a Co-op as “the people it brings together. The we.”

REI markets its cooperative status as a sign of social responsibility, emphasizing community engagement and sustainability initiatives. However, while this cooperative model suggests a more democratic and values-driven approach, in practice, REI functions like a traditional corporation, with a top-down governance structure and executive leadership making key decisions—not its members or workers.

A Call to Action for REI Members

If you are a member, REI’s board of directors vote is officially open. REI has chosen to offer only their handpicked nominees. I encourage you to select “WITHHOLD” to vote against each of REI’s corporate nominees to block them from joining the board. Get involved in the “Vote No” campaign here.

If you are not a member, please remember your voice has power too. Help us amplify the organizing efforts of REI Union members and workers.

Resources & References

• Learn more about the REI Union and follow the national campaign
• Check out the REI Union’s 10 Essentials for a Better Co-op
• Read more about the REI SoHo ski shop strike in the Nation
• Read more about the REI Board Elections in Huffington Post
• Read about the corporations actively seeking to have the entire National Labor Relations Board declared unconstitutional with the help of Morgan Lewis in The Guardian: ‘Dark forces’: how US corporations turned to courts in fight against unions
• More resources and references can be found here.

Become a Patron

Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. Your support directly sustains our podcast, helping cover the wages of our dedicated three-person team. 

• Please consider supporting by visiting: patreon.com/manpreetkalra
• To make a one-time contribution, you can do so here: visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal

Thank You for Listening – please subscribe and leave a five star review! 

Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow along and share your thoughts on Substack - artofcitizenry.substack.com

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

A Note From Manpreet

I really appreciate you being here, and joining me in this conversation. This episode holds a special place in my heart, it is an episode I have been wanting to do since I started the podcast almost five years ago. If you have listened to some of the early episodes of this podcast or attended any of my keynotes or workshops, you know that cultural humility as a framework has grounded my work for years now. I incorporate it into almost every one of my talks because it offers a perspective that challenges the worldview that knowledge transcends (or does not require) lived experience – in other words, it challenges the false notion that you can simply learn enough about another culture to truly understand it. 

What do you mean when you talk about “cultural humility”?

Cultural humility pushes us to challenge our assumptions and prejudices. It encourages us to put aside our judgments about a community or culture, instead approaching others from a place of vulnerability, wanting to learn instead of lead. 

The issue I often see is placing an oversimplified understanding of someone’s unique experiences upon them out of an over-eagerness to find common ground. This results in the single story of how others are defined. Cultural humility is not just about individual experiences, it is also a process of active self-reflection and unpacking of the power dynamics we each encounter. It challenges us to understand how historical systems of oppression (e.g. colonialism) continue to marginalize communities today.

References

Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia, Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (May 1998), p. 117. – The seminal paper published by Dr. Melanie Tervalon and Dr. Jann Murray-Garcia as a critique of cultural competency training, which was widely used in medical education at the time. This paper established cultural humility as a guiding framework in healthcare.

“Cultural Humility: People, Principles and Practices," is a 30-minute documentary by San Francisco State professor Vivian Chávez, that mixes poetry with music, interviews, archival footage, and images of community, nature and dance to explain what Cultural Humility is and why we need it. The film describes a set of principles that guide the thinking, behavior and actions of individuals and institutions influencing interpersonal relationships as well as systems change. These principles are:

• Lifelong learning and critical self-reflection 
• Recognize and change power imbalances 
• Institutional accountability

Become a Patron

Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. Your support directly sustains our podcast, helping cover the wages of our dedicated three-person team. 

Please consider supporting by visiting: patreon.com/manpreetkalra

To make a one-time contribution, you can do so here: visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal

Thank You for Listening – please subscribe and leave a five star review! 

Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow along and share your thoughts on Substack - artofcitizenry.substack.com

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Meet Our Guests

Maru Mora-Villalpando is a longtime immigrant and community organizer, dedicated to the fight for immigrant justice. She is the Founder and Advisor of La Resistencia, an immigrant-led grassroots organization working to shut down the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, and end all detentions and deportations in the state. Maru’s work embodies the power of grassroots organizing, direct action, and collective resistance. 

La Resistencia plays a crucial role in amplifying the voices of those directly impacted by the immigration enforcement system. It remains the only organization in Washington State led by individuals targeted by detention and deportation, ensuring that advocacy efforts are driven by the people most affected. 

Alejandra Gonza is an Argentinian human rights lawyer. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Global Rights Advocacy, a Seattle-based non-profit providing pro-bono representation at international bodies. She focuses on defending the right to freedom of undocumented immigrants at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, as well as environmental defenders, political prisoners, and those wrongfully convicted abroad. She believes in the power of storytelling to empower individuals to build their own reparation framework.

Global Rights Advocacy is on a mission to provide victims access to international human rights mechanisms through high quality legal defense and advocacy strategies. GRA has also been doing incredible work in documenting the testimonies of detainees at Northwest Detention Center for the past ten years.

Melting ICE Exhibit

Melting ICE is a visual storytelling project done in collaboration between La Resistencia, Global Rights Advocacy and UW Tacoma that artfully humanizes a problem that often dehumanizes individual narratives – allowing the people most impacted to guide the storytelling process.The exhibition serves as both an artistic and political intervention, engaging the practice of storytelling as an act of living resistance to the oppressive conditions of immigrant detention. 

Take Action

The work of grassroots organizations is crucial. They amplify the voices of those inside, mobilize advocates, and challenge the policies that uphold these violent institutions. But they cannot do it alone. True solidarity means more than just awareness—it requires action. Support grassroots groups doing this work in your neighborhood and donate to mutual aid funds. If you decide to get involved in the fight for immigrant justice, follow the lead of those already doing the work, and use your skills and resources to support their demand for an end to detention as a tool of oppression.

Grassroots Organizations & Partners Fighting for Immigrant Justice

• La Resistencia is a grassroots organization led by undocumented immigrants and people of color who have been oppressed by the immigration enforcement system in Washington State.
• Tsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities.
• Global Rights Advocacy offers access to international human rights mechanisms through representation, reporting and education.
• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education.
• Detention Watch Network brings together advocates to unify strategy, build partnerships and strengthen the movement to end immigration detention.

Resources

• Immigration Know Your Rights Resources - double-sided posters you can print out.
• Know Your Rights Resource in Punjabi - guidance in both English and Punjabi, including red-cards that can be downloaded and printed.
• National Immigration Legal Services Directory - Search for immigration legal services providers by state, county, or detention facility. Only nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost immigration legal services are included in this directory.
• Download & Print a Red Card - Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s Red Cards help immigrants exercise those rights and protect themselves in many situations, such as when immigration agents visit our homes. Available in 16 different languages.
• ACLU Know Your Rights - Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. Learn more here about your rights as an immigrant, and how to express them.
• The National Immigration Project - a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members that litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those who are impacted by America’s immigration and criminal legal systems are supported.
• Know Your Rights: For Employers & Community Businesses - Workplace raids are a common immigration enforcement tactic, often targeting industries reliant on immigrant labor, such as agriculture and food service.

Resources

• La Resistencia: #FreeThemAll: Voices from Inside NWDC
• Follow La Resistencia on Instagram
• Conditions at the NWDC: Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Assault - Report by University of Washington Center for Human Rights
• Conditions at Northwest Detention Center - Report by University of Washington Center for Human Rights

Become a Patron

Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. Your support directly sustains our podcast, helping cover the wages of our dedicated three-person team. 

Please consider supporting by visiting: patreon.com/manpreetkalra

To make a one-time contribution, you can do so here: visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal

Thank You for Listening – please subscribe and leave a five star review! 

Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow along and share your thoughts on Substack - artofcitizenry.substack.com

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Meet Our Guest

Anthony Enriquez is the Vice President of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. He is an attorney working to reduce mass incarceration in the United States by exposing and stopping human rights abuses in the criminal legal and immigration systems. Anthony leads a team of advocates fighting in U.S. courts and international human rights mechanisms in solidarity with grassroots campaigns for accountability for state-sponsored racial discrimination, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

“Immigration detention is more than an immigrants' rights issue alone. The power we give to the U.S. government to inflict abuses on immigrants is inevitably used against citizens: from racial profiling to mass surveillance to prolonged civil detention and even deportation itself. The public funds we use to transform rural economies into private prison towns could have been used for investments in small businesses, manufacturing, and vocational and educational training instead of multi-million-dollar CEO salaries.”  

Take Action.

At this moment the safety of many is under threat. With much uncertainty, members of our communities are living in fear of what lies ahead. The current administration is attempting to fast-track deportations without due process and have already passed a series of executive orders that further push hardline immigration policies and threaten Constitutional rights. Moments like this demand our action. Now is the time to support the efforts of local grassroots organizations and immigration legal services. Also, take a moment to know your rights – regardless of status, you have rights under the U.S. Constitution. 

Resources

• ACLU Know Your Rights - Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. Learn more here about your rights as an immigrant, and how to express them.
• Immigration Know Your Rights Resources - double-sided posters you can print out.
• National Immigration Legal Services Directory - Search for immigration legal services providers by state, county, or detention facility. Only nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost immigration legal services are included in this directory.
• Download & Print a Red Card - Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s Red Cards help immigrants exercise those rights and protect themselves in many situations, such as when immigration agents visit our homes. Available in 16 different languages.
• The National Immigration Project - a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members that litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those who are impacted by America’s immigration and criminal legal systems are supported.
• Know Your Rights: For Employers & Community Businesses - Workplace raids are a common immigration enforcement tactic, often targeting industries reliant on immigrant labor, such as agriculture and food service.
• Fact Sheet: A High-Level Analysis of Trump's First Executive Actions - An overview of day one executive orders impacting immigration policy.
• For Health Care Workers - ICE can now raid hospitals. Learn about your ethical obligation as a health care provider.

Grassroots Organizations

• La Resistencia is a grassroots organization led by undocumented immigrants and people of color who have been oppressed by the immigration enforcement system in Washington State.
• Global Rights Advocacy offers access to international human rights mechanisms through representation, reporting and education.
• Detention Watch Network brings together advocates to unify strategy, build partnerships and strengthen the movement to end immigration detention.
• Tsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities.
• Southeast Dignity Not Detention is a coalition composed of over 20 organizations in Louisiana with the goal to shut down all immigration detention centers.
• Justice for Migrant Families is a nonprofit agency that promotes justice for migrant families by providing support to individuals in the federal detention facility in Batavia, information and resources to families in the community, and advocacy both within and beyond the local community.
• South Brooklyn Sanctuary empowers New Yorkers to represent themselves in immigration court.

References to Dive Deeper

• End The Gain On Pain - Report exposes rampant abuse in Louisiana ICE detention facilities
• Conditions at NW Detention Center - UW Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) reports on the conditions at the NWIPC.
• Structural Due Process in Immigration Detention - Law Review article written by Anthony Enriquez referenced in this episode.
• Border & Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism by Harsha Walia

Thank You for Listening 

Please subscribe and leave a five-star review for Art of Citizenry wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow along and share your thoughts on Substack - artofcitizenry.substack.com

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Episode Time Stamps

• Intro: 00.43
• Reflecting on the First Term: 4.15
• The Tech Industrial Complex & Crony Capitalism: 07.23
• Global Political Context: 10.19
• Executive Orders, Policy, and Global Affairs: 11.22
  • Immigration: 14.05
  • Climate Change: 15.18
  • Trans Rights: 17.15
  • Public Health & Reproductive Healthcare: 19.17
  • Trade & Tariffs : 20.47
  • Civil Liberties & Disinformation: 21.36
  • Tech Corporations Role in Policy Making: 23.05
• International Affairs: 24.15
• Calls to Action: 25.20

Day One Executive Orders

On day one, Trump marked the start of his second term with a series of executive orders and pardons – two presidential privileges that fueled Trump’s sadistic passion for authoritarian rule. In addition to revoking 78 of Biden’s Executive Orders, including ones that protect LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, the planet, and women’s health, and issuing many more executive actions, he pardoned nearly all the 1,600 individuals charged in the January 6th insurrection, effectively ending all cases. Executive orders ranged across distinct categories: immigration, climate, trade, DEI, and public health. It was clear that this time around, Trump was prepared to execute the full powers of the presidency.

Now is the Time to Mobilize

This moment demands not only reflection but action. History has shown us that grassroots organizing can be the bedrock of change. From local communities to national coalitions, people are mobilizing to push back against authoritarianism and safeguard democracy. Stop Project 2025 Taskforce is actively working to counteract right-wing extremist policies targeting reproductive rights, climate justice, and civil liberties. Groups like Indivisible provide resources to build local political power, resourcing individuals to influence policy decisions directly in their communities. Meanwhile, the Sunrise Movement continues to rally young people to fight for climate justice, and organizations like the ACLU and Black Lives Matter lead the charge in protecting civil rights and chipping away at systemic inequities. 

Now is the time to get involved–whether by joining these movements, supporting their efforts financially, or even starting your own local coalition. Change begins with each of us, and together, we have the power to shape the future.

It is our responsibility to ourselves and one another to do everything we can to build, nurture, and sustain networks of community care. We must take this moment as our calling to build together, nurturing relationships rooted in compassion and reciprocity. We must cultivate resistance movements collectively to effectively challenge the systems that continue to uphold our oppression.

Resources to Support Safety and Collective Action

• How to Take Action on Inauguration Day and Beyond | ACLU
• Know Your Rights - We Are Casa
• Identity Documents for Trans People - Lambda Legal
• Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Tune in weekly for thoughtful conversations about decolonization and storytelling as Host, Social Impact Advisor, and Human Rights Scholar, Manpreet Kaur Kalra examines the power of narrative to challenge systemic inequities. From the impacts of business on people and the planet to the resilience of communities fighting for justice, Manpreet challenges us to rethink the systems we live in and envision a more equitable, restorative, and just future.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

📌 IMPORTANT NOTE: For medical providers like Dr. Berry, coming out as an abortion provider is very risky to their safety. I want to thank her for her time, compassion, bravery, and for sharing her expertise with us because it is important that we humanize abortions and give voice to our medical experts.

Topics Covered: Dr. Berry will be talking to us about reproductive justice, what getting an abortion actually means, the recent Supreme Court ruling, the way language shapes narratives around abortions, the nuances around abortion access irrespective of the state you reside in, and her own upbringing as a member of the Catholic church.

Meet Our Guest

Dr. Allison Berry, MD MPH — Health Officer for Clallam and Jefferson Counties

Dr. Allison Berry is a family physician, mother, and trained abortion provider. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and received her masters from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Most recently, her work has been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic as she has served as the health officer for Clallam and Jefferson Counties, in Washington State.

📌 LISTENER NOTE FROM DR. BERRY: I work as the Health Officer for Clallam and Jefferson Counties and as a family physician for the Jamestown Tribe. My views expressed here are my own and have not been vetted by or approved by my organizations.

For access to the complete show notes, please visit: artofcitizenry.com/episode-16

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

During the last episode, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra spoke with Madina Wardak about the ways in which the global narratives about Afghan women perpetuate harmful stereotypes that deny any form of agency. We see these same themes play out in conversations surrounding the anti-trafficking industry. From refugee resettlement efforts to anti-trafficking organizations, often “doing good” centers the “hero,” all while continuing to sideline the voices of those who are being “saved.” This puts the “savior” up on a pedestal while turning those whose stories are being used into nothing more than a metric with a marketable soundbite. The blatant stereotypes that are often perpetuated by anti-trafficking organizations reinforce the pervasive assumption that women of color are oppressed by using terms such as “rescuing” or “saving,” which take power and agency away from the individual. With a hyper-fixation on sex trafficking, anti-trafficking organizations often fail to recognize the many other forms of trafficking that exists, including forced labor. 

A lot of the narratives surrounding Human Trafficking upheld by the Rescue Industry are influenced deeply by the work of Nicholas Kristof, a Pulitzer Prize winning NY Times journalist and the author of many do-gooders’ bible, “Half the Sky." His reporting, writing, and stereotypical interpretations of human trafficking have not just influenced the narratives within the industry, but have also inspired many to start social enterprises, especially those dedicated to addressing trafficking.

During Episode 15 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Rachel Faller, the co-creator of zero-waste fashion brand, tonlé. Together, they deconstruct the ways in which the anti-trafficking industry is a perpetuation of Christian supremacy, rooted in imperialistic and colonial power structures that further the belief in Euro-American superiority.

Rachel Faller is an entrepreneur by trade and a creative at heart. She dedicates most of her time to rectifying harm within the garment industry using a systemic approach- encouraging people to think about the root of systemic injustice and tackling these issues at their core rather than simply treating the symptoms. Rachel is a co-creator of tonlé – a zero waste, ethical and sustainable fashion line that is both a brand and a manufacturer. Rachel is also a co-founder at Reclaim Collaborative. Rachel’s personal and community care practices include crafting, painting, mending, gardening, and foraging.

Art of Citizenry is a community supported podcast dedicated to decolonizing storytelling. Please consider supporting by visiting:  patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Over the past week, much of the conversation around Afghanistan has been focused on the “liberation of Afghan women.” These calls for “liberation” are a manifestation of Euro American imperialism under the guise of white feminism. The same narratives of “women’s liberation” that were used to justify war 20 years ago continue to dominate headlines without acknowledging the ways in which war, forgein occupation, and imperialism only further exasperate harm.

When it comes to Afghan women, we have equated what they wear to degrees of oppression. By doing so, we have made “freedom” synonymous with western fashion standards instead of centering what “freedom” means to Afghan women themselves which includes their self-defined priorities around access to economic, education, and political agency. By centering Euro American standards around what liberation looks like, we are sidelining the voices that we should be listening to: the voices of Afghan women who are on the grounds challenging the systems they live in. 

Madina Wardak is a displaced Afghan settled on Tongva Land (Los Angeles, CA). Madina studied Political Science with an emphasis on the Middle East, and Social Work. She is the founder of Burqas & Beer, a social media platform Madina that explores identity, mental health, SWANA current events, and truth-telling. She currently serves as a Youth Advocate for a transitional living program and is on track to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Art of Citizenry is a community supported podcast dedicated to decolonizing storytelling. Please consider supporting by visiting:  patreon.com/manpreetkalra

Take Action

1. Make space to listen, learn from, and amplify Afghan voices
2. Check out the show notes for resources on ways you can take action and help Afghan refugees who are having to rebuild their lives. 
3. Reach out to your local Congressional representative, ask them to increase refugee quotas and accept All Afghan asylum seekers. You can do this also by texting Crisis to 52886
4. And finally, avoid using oversimplified language and tropes rooted in imperialist ideologies about Afghan people.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Anti-Asian racism is systemic. From terrorizing the very Chinese immigrants who built America’s infrastructure in the 1800s to Japanese American incarceration during WWII, anti-Asian racism is baked into America’s history. It continues to manifest through harmful imperialist narratives that further the dehumanization of Asian communities - perpetuating exploitative power structures in the form of white supremacy, giving validity to hate and violence. They are furthered through stereotypes that fuel microaggressions, exotification, and sexual violence.

To understand the complex intersections of hate that influenced the horrific shooting in Atlanta, Georgia that killed 8 individuals, 6 of whom were Asian women, we need to unpack white-American Imperialism and conservative Christian ideologies around sexuality.

White supremacy continues to terrorize anyone outside the bounds of whiteness. Hate, however, is further compounded by various forms of systemic oppression. Religious hegemony, white supremacy and toxic masculinity are all deeply interconnected. Though, to truly understand how this reality intersects with anti-Asian hate, we must first deconstruct a history of white sexual Imperialism.

Imperialism is this notion of exerting force over another community, culture, or country to expand power and control.

Take Action

Over the last year, over 3,800 incidents of hate against Asian Americans have been documented. Please visit StopAAPIHate.org to volunteer, donate, and access helpful resources.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

A Note to Impact-Driven Brands + Organizations:

The farmer’s protest is about worker rights, it’s about land rights, it’s about equity, and it’s about justice amongst so much more. If your goal as a business is to advocate for global justice and fair living wages, then standing in solidarity with India’s small farmers and farmworkers is critical because that is exactly what they are standing up for. They are advocating for themselves against a government that is built on systemic oppression rooted in exploiting those who have historically been and continue to be marginalized.

Join in Solidarity: A  Statement  Championed in Collaboration with Fair World Project

If you are a brand or organization working in the intersection of social, climate, and economic justice, please consider adding your name alongside many others: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/solidarity-statement

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Over the past week, I took some time to reflect on last Wednesday’s white supremacy insurrection. From Modi’s India to Trump’s America, there is no arguing that nationalism thrives on the polarization of the other. 

Two of the world’s largest democracies are currently grappling with the realities of autocratic leaders who have managed to create deep divides within their countries through nationalist appeals. From the farmers' protest to BLM protests, neither Modi nor Trump are strangers to protests, but both have managed to disregard democratic norms to strengthen and test the extent of their executive power. 

Polarization + Islamophobia

Trump’s Muslim Ban Executive Order, which now feels forever ago but really wasn’t, blocked the entry of individuals from several Islamic countries, especially Syrian refugees seeking protection in the United States. The Trump administration cited terrorism as a reason for the Muslim Ban, giving validity to white America’s inability to think a terrorist can be anyone other than a brown skinned, Arabic-speaking Muslim or anyone that “looks Muslim.” The events at Capitol Hill would certainly counter that narrative. On the other side of the world, Trump’s dear friend Modi, played his own page from the Islamophobia for World Leaders playbook. 

Earlier last year, Modi pushed into effect the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which authorized the use of religion as a criteria for determining whether undocumented migrants in India can be granted citizenship. What’s interesting is that Islam was specifically not included as a fast-tracked religion while other religions were. Islamophobia at its finest.  

While on the surface the simple notion of granting citizenship to the country’s undoucmented population sounds like a move towards creating a more equitable society, this layer of religious hegemony feeds into India’s push towards a Hindu-centric nation.

Nationalism Exists because of Systemic Oppression

Nationalism at its core, creates dangerous divisions that can easily be stoked through false narratives. It builds on fear, giving hate the fuel it needs to thrive. 

So, why do we keep saying things like “America is better than this” or “This isn’t who we are” when America was built on the genocide and exploitation of Indigenous and Black people?  My fear with many of the conversations currently happening in light of last week's events is this notion that Nationalism is somehow a new construct. It is not. It has always existed, it is now just planting its flag at the nation’s capital.

India and America might be called democracies, but both are currently navigating the result of an autocratic government, which thrives on the consolidation of power, oppression of dissent, and nationalism. This consolidation of power is built on the existence of structural oppression and its exploitation. There will always be people who wield power and those who yield it. 

Where do we go from here?

We are seeing the realities of polarization -- with hate running through the veins of nation states and dripping off the tongues of their leaders. So where do we go from here? 

1. Understand that uprisings are not the problem, in fact they are a necessity in any healthy system because they challenge the consolidation of power. However, motivations when rooted in hate must be addressed by unpacking the systemic structures breathing life into hate. 
2. De-bias language. Address why we use “softer words” to describe white people who terrorize the nation’s capitol by simply calling them armed protestors instead of what they really are: terrorists. Language has power and using the right term leads to more accountability. 
3. Recognize how we benefit from and at many times reinforce systems of oppression. By reflecting on where we stand in relation to power and challenging the systems we operate in, we are not accepting the status quo at face value and naming our privilege. For example, if it wasn’t for the Civil Rights movement led by Black Americans, my family would have not been able to move to the United States under the Immigration Act of 1924, which was overturned in 1965 after the Civil Rights movement challenged white-America’s racist systems.

Looking back at Nazi Germany, we might tell ourselves how obvious it must have been to identify fascism, but that’s the thing. History repeats itself because in any given moment we struggle to name moments what they are. Throughout Trump and Modi’s term, there have been countless policies driven by hate, but it took one of the most outrageous events in American history and the world’s largest protest for us to finally recognize the ways in which we are letting history repeat itself. 

Thank You!

Thank you for listening! This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. 

To amplify and continue these conversations, please subscribe, download, share and leave a review for the Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support! Follow me and share your thoughts on Instagram @manpreetkalra +  @artofcitizenry. To learn more about Art of Citizenry and for information on future webinars and workshops, please visit artofcitizenry.com.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

At this moment, the largest protest in human history is happening. 250 million farmers and workers across India, many from the states of Punjab and Haryana, have taken to the streets in protest of three new agricultural bills that threaten to obliterate their livelihood. On the surface, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has claimed that these bills promote a “free market,” but like everything we cover in this podcast, we know that not everything is always the way it seems.

Punjab: A Land Divided

We can’t begin this episode without understanding the history of a land divided. What is now considered the state of “Punjab” is just but a fraction of what used to be the land of lush green fields and flowing five rivers. In 1947, as the British left India, they divided Punjab between what is present day Pakistan and India. What followed was the world’s largest mass migration, resulting in the bloody displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Families were uprooted from their homes, forced to leave the land they had lived on for generations. During the journey, many lost loved ones due to violence caused by the displacement.

Post 1947, Punjab was even further reduced in size from 58,000 square miles to 19,000 square miles. However, despite its relatively small size, it produces a disproportionately high ratio of India’s crops.

Why India’s Push for a Free Market is Exploitative

In most “developed” countries with a free market system, farmers have protections, farm subsidies, that essentially help reduce any financial risk related to weather, commodities brokers, and disruption in demands. But as with any capitalist system, these systems usually only benefit larger producers, but still, they exist, discouraging the complete monopolization of the agricultural industry by corporations.

“The world farmers protest currently underway in India opens up a pandora’s box of questions that humanity is going to face in next few years. What is the future of sustainable growth, food diversity, ethnic cultures, urban migration in a profit-driven economy? Should our heroes be the next billionaires or farmers fighting on ground to retain food diversity - something that makes this world worth living? These are the questions we all need to ask.” - Arvinder Singh

Capitalism at its core is built on the existence of inequities. The goal of any business operating in a capitalist society is to maximize profits for shareholders, prioritizing profits over people. This notion leaves those at the bottom, the workers and small farmers, with only a small share of the wealth, if that. Addressing these layers of complexities when understanding any issue is critical.

In India, the main security blanket that exists for small farmers in particular is the Minimum Support Price (MSP), which has not been included in writing under the new ordinances. Without significant subsidies and a MSP, India’s small farmers are likely to be priced out and unable to compete. As is the case with free markets, when corporations get involved, the marketplace becomes competitive, allowing corporations to undercut prices to the point at which small farmers are unable to compete, left with no farm, and no land. 

This in turn, only feeds into an already volatile situation with India’s farmers experiencing an exorbitantly high suicide rate.

“My family went into a lot of debt to try to purchase the supplies and the agrochemicals that they needed to keep up with the changes of the Green Revolution. And that debt got passed down. So it started with my grandfather, went to my dad, from my dad it went down to my Chacha. And so my Chacha, who's still in Punjab and still farming he's still dealing with that debt… For a lot of folks, it seems so insurmountable, and they don't see an opportunity to get out of it just through farming, and suicide becomes the only option or the only option that they see.” - Amrit Singh

It also then allows for corporations to hoard large amounts of crops, increasing demand, and therefore, the market value of the crop. They can, in turn, sell the crops at a much higher price than what the farmer was paid to begin with. This allows for unfair pricing -- hurting both farmers and consumers while lining the pockets of those who already hold most of the country’s wealth.

Global Economic Development

“The economics of a particular country has to be grown there. If you try to import it directly from another country, those models sometimes fall flat.” - Arvinder Singh

The issue with a cookie cutter approach, we fail to acknowledge the complexity of layers that exist in any given society. We see this with social entrepreneurship as well. To assume the same approach to economic development can work in any country is naive. We must recognize that sustainable development and change requires understanding the nuance surrounding why a society exists the way it does. That requires deconstructing the layers of deep seated cultural and often even religious influences. While capitalism on paper has its pros, the way modern day capitalism is built, it not only furthers, but benefits from societal inequities. Capitalism as we see it currently centers corporate profits.

The Environmental Impact of Agribusiness

What is wheat and paddy in India is corn in the United States. Let’s take a moment to step back and reflect on the environmental factors at play when we think about agribusiness.

In the United States, when driving through the Midwest and Great Plains, you cannot miss the sprawling corn farms. Corn has become a staple of the US farming industry because of its versatility. While it can be used to make food like corn meal, it’s primary use in the United States is for ethanol, animal feed and high-fructose corn syrup. Corn receives more subsides from the federal government than any other crop. It also consumes a large amount of freshwater resources and 5.6 million tons of nitrogen in the form of chemical fertilizer which gets washed into lakes, rivers, and the ocean -- hurting the ecosystem.

What has happened in regions such as Ohio is that the farming industry is no longer working to feed people, instead it is working to simply sustain in whatever way possible. Agricultural diversity of fruits and vegetables has been sidelined for the safer pick: corn. In an article published by Scientific American, the author sums up the problem with this key point:

“It would be simply wrong to blame farmers for any of these issues. In this economic and political landscape, they would be crazy not to grow corn; farmers are simply delivering what markets and policies are demanding. What needs to change here is the system, not the farmers.”

Looking at economics alone is just not enough.

Unpacking the Green Revolution

To understand the impact of the Green Revolution on Punjab, we first need to understand all that led to the infiltration of chemicals depleting the nutrients of Punjab’s soil. The thing about the Green Revolution is that it promised self-sustainability to India as a nation. Instead of having to import crops to feed India’s exponentially increasing population, India would be able to produce enough crops for the masses. This led to farmers being forced to use specific high yielding seeds, which they were forced to purchase along with all the necessary chemical fertilizers at retail price, not wholesale. So what we saw during the Green Revolution is that the agriculture economy of Punjab was co-opted by the central government. 

“The old way of farming, it was very much community-centered. The farmers had a role to play in the functioning of their society, but so did everybody else, whether you were a seamstress, or whether you were an ironsmith, everybody had an important role to play to the functioning of everybody else. So you're responsible to each other and for each other.” - Amrit Singh

One of the biggest costs of the Green Revolution was that it was no longer possible for Punjab to self-sustain itself agriculturally with the emphasis on wheat and rice farming. Even the varieties of wheat and rice that were grown were now limited to the ones that satisfied the goals of the Green Revolution, tremendously reducing biodiversity.

Punjab’s Contentious Relationship with the Central Government

Since 1947, India’s Central government has had an unstable relationship with Punjab, especially Punjabi Sikhs. One of the issues that remains at the heart of State versus Central government tension is access to river water, especially after Punjab was further split to form the state of Haryana and Himachal in 1966.

The partition of Punjab between India and Pakistan, left Punjab with only 3 of its 5 rivers. The further divide of Punjab made the rivers inter-state rivers, meaning Punjab lost not just land, but was choked of its water resources. By creating artificial boundaries that split Punjab’s rivers between states, they suddenly fell within the purview of the central government. In reality, under India’s constitution, river management falls under the purview of the state government.

“It's quite common for developing countries to face these sorts of injustices, especially when you have such a dominant government structure that basically just tramples on every single person.” - Phavanjit Kaur

Religion, Nationalism + Politics

“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.” - Toni Morrison

From the partition of Punjab in the Sikh massacres in 1984, Sikhs have been consistently persecuted by the Indian state. One of the most tried and tested ways to erase a culture or community is by erasing its history.

“Every facet of this movement is related to religion, and to try to create a divide and separate those two is a disservice.” - Prabhjot Singh

The Indian government’s response to the protestors has been nothing short of history repeating itself. From being called terrorists to blackouts on fair media reporting, memories of India’s government-sanctioned 1984 Sikh Genocide are resurfacing, opening up wounds that never fully healed. Seeing the army deployed and the police brutally beating protesters is horrifying. It is forcing so many of us to revisit our community’s past trauma and face the realities of our present. Survival is the name of the game, since thriving is a far fetched dream. 

“The farmers protest is the final attack in a larger Sikh genocide that the Indian Government has waged against Sikhs.” - Prabhjot Singh

The protests are being led by our grandparents and great grandparents -- braving the cold winter air of Delhi, the capital of India just to ensure their voice is heard. The reality is, these laws are deadly to the livelihoods of small farmers. So much so, that these farmers are willing to risk their lives to demand that the laws be repealed and that farmers, not just corporations, have a seat at the decision-making table. From Punjab, Haryana and other parts of India, these farmers have been met with police brutality and government-regulated false reporting. It is not uncommon for oppressors to paint people who challenge their power as unpatriotic, but isn't it more patriotic to hold your government up to a higher standard? Painting farmers as terrorists to justify state-sponsored violence is the reality of India’s democracy.

A Look at Healthy Nations of Tomorrow

“No community can survive without the role of farmers, and I think if you're going to look at healthy nations of tomorrow, they have to look at ‘What are the kind of farming practices that we are promoting within our own community?’ and ‘What are the kind of farming structures that we are enabling?’ And if you feel empathy towards small farmers, I think, wherever you are in the world, I think it becomes your duty to raise your voice and to empathize with farmers and to raise your voice for their rights.” - Arvinder Singh

Additional Resources + Links

If you would like to support those protesting in Delhi, please consider donating to KhalsaAid.org. We must demand fair reporting and support initiatives like Trolley Times, which is a grassroots project highlighting the voice of protests in Delhi right now. Also, please consider donating to Sahaita Farmer Support Project.

Articles About the Protests

• Washington Post: History shows Punjab has always taken on tyrants. Modi is no different.
• The Atlantic: Where Nationalism Has No Answers
• Vice News: The Indian Farmer Protest Shaking the World
• CNN: Indian farmers are right to be outraged
• AP: India’s winter of discontent: Farmers rise up against Mod
• NY Times: Angry Farmers Choke India’s Capital in Giant Demonstrations
• Slate: India Just Had the Biggest Protest in World History Will it make a difference?
• MsMagazine: Unprecedented Farmers Protests in India: Lest We Miss This Feminist Moment
• BBC: Are India's new reforms a 'death warrant' for farmers?

Additional Resources Related to the Protests

• Kisan Ekta
• Resources Compiled by KisaanEkta.co
• A Sovereign World: Find a Protest and Know if you own a product by Ambani

Educational Content

• Maps of Partition
• Delhi Fateh Diwas: When Mughals fell and the holy symbol of Khalsa Panth was unfurled at Red Fort
• Who Was Maharaja Ranjit Singh
• Who are Punjab’s Disappeared?
• Free Jaggi Now: About the case of Jagtar Singh Johal
• 1947 Partition Archive
• Vice: Hindu Nationalism in the Age of Modi
• Time: It's Time India Accept Responsibility for Its 1984 Sikh Genocide
• Human Rights Watch: No Justice for 1984 Anti-Sikh Bloodshed
• The Paradox of India’s Bread Basket: Farmer Suicides in Punjab by Mallika Kaur
• Scientific American: It’s Time to Rethink America’s Corn System
• The Green Revolution - Rockefeller Foundation 1943
• The Guardian: Norman Borlaug: humanitarian hero or menace to society?
• ‘The Lockdown Killed My Father’: Farmer Suicides Add to India’s Virus Misery
• Dissent Is ‘Anti-National’ in Modi’s India
• BBC: Why are Sikhs Angry?

Connect with Our Guests

Arvinder Singh is a technologist, entrepreneur and community builder. He currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at The Digital Economist, a Washington DC based think tank. In the last decade, Arvinder has served in diverse roles - as CTO of a Big Data and AI company he co-founded, as an educator, an ethnic TV and Radio host, entrepreneur and a civil rights activist. As a civil rights advocate, he convinced a US House of Representative to back a bipartisan call to FBI to track hate Crime and was part of the delegation invited to the Obama White House for its first-ever briefing on Sikh civil rights issues in 2012. Follow him on Twitter: @askang

Amrit Singh aka Noyz is a rapper, spoken word artist, author, community organizer and mental health professional from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Follow his work by visiting noyzhiphop.com + check out his book and soundtrack, Keep Moving On. Also, be sure to tune into Immigrant Hustle Podcast by Noyz & B Magic

Phavanjit Kaur is passionate about social justice, politics and building sustainable habits + solutions. Based out of Malaysia, follow her work on Instagram: @phvnkaur + @kitaaban.withkaur

Dr. Prabhjot Singh is a Bay Area Sikh activist. He finished his doctorate in educational leadership, and has been working to educate the Sikh community on issues that are affecting them, while also trying to promote the values of Sikhi. Follow his activism work on Instagram + Twitter

Thank You

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to extend a special thank you to our guests, Arvinder, Phavanjit, Amrit, and Prabhjot for sharing their valuable insights. These conversations are not easy, and involve revisiting years of generational pain and trauma.

This episode features the song Land of Promise by Amrit Singh aka Noyz ft. Daysdeaf and produced by EMPWER from his newest album, Keep Moving On. 

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for the Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support! Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra + @artofcitizenry.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

This special podcast episode features a panel conversation hosted on November 20th by Reclaim Collaborative in collaboration with ESJ and Art of Citizenry as part of Reclaim Black Friday, a campaign calling on brands to redistribute a percentage of their sales to Indigenous and Black land-based organizations instead of running sales during Black Friday weekend.

A Deeper Look into Indigenous + Black Erasure

When having conversations about Thanksgiving, it is important to acknowledge the first people to encounter the Pilgrims, the Wampanoag Tribe. It is unfortunate that while most of us know so much about the Pilgrims’ journey because of the way we have been taught history, most of us don’t know the name of the community that was first colonized in what is now known as the United States of America. This is one simple example of how Indigenous people, or Native Americans, have experienced centuries of dehumanization, genocide, and erasure.

“Land back is rooted in this idea of literally getting to stewardship and restoring that ancestral relationship with the land, and letting Black and Native people lead that conversation around that movement.”

- Charlie Amáyá Scott

Addressing histories of exploitation takes deconstructing the systems we operate in. One simple step we can each take is acknowledge the people on whose land we reside.

“My family has always taken it as a day of resistance and resilience. It's been much more from an aspect of this is what we do traditionally, as Diné people, which is coming together and celebrating each other.”

- Emma Robbins on Thanksgiving

This year marks 400 years since the Mayflower arrived on Plymouth Rock. We must critically analyze the story we have been told and by who. It is time we deconstruct, rethink, and rebuild a more just future. Reclaim Black Friday is a campaign focused on redistributing to Indigenous and Black land-based organizations because it is important to acknowledge the original stewards of this land and return it to those who have historically cultivated regenerative and healing relationships with the Earth.

“Reparations as a whole isn’t just a racial justice issue, it’s also a climate justice issue.”

- Kai Ramey

It is important to hold space for reclaiming and healing, recognizing the trauma and genocide that is widely celebrated through what has been painted as an endearing holiday of gratitude. 

Black Americans, descendants of American Chattel Slavery, were taken captive and brought here to America for textile and agricultural work—building the wealth of this country. The dehumanization, exploitation, and abuse that Black people have had to endure for centuries continues today as Black Americans still face injustices and inequities in most spaces.

“As a Black person, or as an Indigenous person, we're always in the position where we're having to do the work to undo the things that we never had any part in to begin with.“

- Katie Pruett

Despite directly contributing to the wealth of this country, when enslaved Black Americans were freed, they did not receive reparations. Today, Black Americans collectively experience one of the highest poverty rates of any group in the United States. Our acknowledgement of this horrific truth and examination of how we can provide support without causing further damage, is a necessary step if we are to be part of creating real systemic change.

How can non-Black + non-Indigenous people help dismantle the systems we operate within without falling into the trap of white saviorism?

Redistributing wealth is a small way we can give back the stolen wealth and land we have all benefited from. It is by no means the only way nor is it a panacea. White individuals in America have directly and indirectly contributed to harmful cycles of exploitation by the nature of this country’s history. It is therefore, the responsibility of white and white passing individuals to help dismantle the systems that cause harm.

There is a lot of power that white folks do have in the world we live in today, but I think it’s more important to cede power in very silent ways and by that I mean not taking up space.

- Kai Ramey

So what is white saviorism?

It’s a little bit of guilt and a little bit of “Hey, look at what I’m doing. I’m doing good, but I want you to know I’m doing good.” But let me tell you something -- when you’re really about that life and you really are here for change, you don’t get to donate $10 here and there. You have to give up some power and some wealth and you get to be uncomfortable and you get to feel how we’ve been feeling for centuries.”

- Katie Pruett

Reclaim Black Friday

Thanksgiving is steeped in America’s history of genocide and theft from Indigenous people. The weekend of frenzied consumerism that follows further contributes to issues of racism and classism in this country. Reclaim Black Friday is dedicated to amplifying the work and voices of Indigenous and Black leaders, and a call to action for redistributing wealth to those who have suffered the most because of historic and continual exploitation in America.

Join Reclaim Collaborative November 27th - 30th for Reclaim Black Friday, a campaign calling on businesses to not offer discounts, and instead redistribute a percentage of total sales to Black and Indigenous led land-based organizations. This campaign aims to address the problematic history of Thanksgiving. Learn more and take the Redistribution Pledge!

Reclaim Collaborative

This episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast is brought to you in collaboration with Reclaim Collaborative, a values-aligned affiliate network. We are on a mission to build and foster an inclusive community of brands, content creators, and industry experts dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression across all aspects of the fashion and lifestyle ecosystem. We believe an intersectional and collaborative approach, one rooted in trust and respect, is necessary to create widespread systems change. Learn more!

Additional Resources + Links

Interested in reading some of the resources I reference during the episode? Check out the links below curated with support from Charlie Amáyá Scott + Katie Pruett:

• Pre-order ESJ Issue 7 about Reclaiming Space
• Art of Citizenry Podcast Episode 6: Voluntourism, Mission Trips + Dismantling the Savior Complex
• Racism and the Logic of Capitalism
• From Capitalism and Racism: Conjoined Twins
• Truthsgiving: The True History of Thanksgiving
• Decolonizing Thanksgiving: A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools
• CNN Visits Tribe for National Day of Mourning
• Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe welcomed Pilgrims, but loses land on eve of Thanksgiving
• A Collection of Treaties published by the Oklahoma State University
• The Henceforeward Podcast
• Ericka Hart’s podcast: Hoodrat to Headwrap
• [Book] An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the US by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
• [Book] Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Thanksgiving-specific Resources:

• The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday by Sean Sherma via Time Magazine
• Do American Indians celebrate Thanksgiving? by Dennis Zotigh via Smithsonian Magazine.
• The Invention of Thanksgiving by Philip Deloria via The New Yorker
• The Wampanoag Side of the First Thanksgiving Story by Michelle Tirado via Indian Country Today.
• The True, Indigenous History of Thanksgiving by Alexis Bunten via Bioneers
• As A Native American, Here’s What I Want My Fellow Americans To Know About Thanksgiving by Corinne Oestreich via Huffpost.
• Thanksgiving | Native Americans | One Word by The Cut via Youtube
• The Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Alcatraz Sunrise Ceremony Draws on the 1969 Occupation to Inform Native Resistance by Ray Levy-Uyeda via TeenVogue

National Day of Mourning Resources

• United American Indians of New England
• Thanksgiving 'National Day Of Mourning' For Some by AJ+ via Youtube
• For many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning by Pamela Kirkland via CNN
• Native Americans host ‘National Day of Mourning’ on Thanksgiving via Al Jazeera
• Thanksgiving: The National Day of Mourning by Allen Salway via Paper Magazine
• What is National Day of Mourning? How Anti-Thanksgiving Day Started and Everything To Know About It by Kelly Wynne via Newsweek

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Status Removal

• Trump administration revokes reservation status for Mashpee Wampanoag tribe amid coronavirus crisis by Rory Taylor via Vox
• U.S. Appeals Ruling In Mashpee Wampanoag Land Case by the AP via WBUR News
• The ‘Thanksgiving Tribe’ Is Still Fighting for Food Sovereignty by Alexandra Talty via Civil Eats

Connect with Our Guests

_“There needs to be an intention to build with others. We can't have this future that we're dreaming of if it's just by ourselves.” _

- Charlie Amáyá Scott

Charlie Amáyá Scott is a Diné (Navajo) scholar born and raised within the central part of the Navajo Nation. Charlie reflects, analyzes, and critiques what it means to be Queer, Trans, and Diné in the 21st century on their personal blog, dineaesthetics.com, while inspiring joy and justice to thousands of their followers on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Their English pronouns are they/them and she/her.

Kai Ramey is a community organizer, poet, land steward, & dog dad in Yanawana / Somi'Sek formerly known as San Antonio, TX. They work with Roots of Change community garden and Trans Lifeline, a trans-led resource organization. He has a passion for BIPOC connection to the land as well as Black & Indigenous rest as resistance. Follow Kai on Instagram.

Katie Pruett is the founder and editor-in-chief of ESJ Magazine and has been working to make sure representation exists within the sustainable fashion space, and that real conversations that lead to accountability and action are happening in fashion. Over the past year, her work with the magazine has expanded to create a bigger platform for Black women and femmes, and women of color to take up space in ethical and sustainable fashion. Follow ESJ on Instagram.

Emma Robbins is a Diné artist, activist, and environmentalist with a passion for empowering Indigenous women. As Director of the Navajo Water Project, part of the DigDeep Right to Water Project, she is working to create infrastructure that brings clean running water to the one in three Navajo families without it. Through her artwork, she strives to raise awareness about the lack of clean water in Native American nations. Robbins is also a 2020 Aspen Institute Healthy Communities Fellow. Follow Emma on Instagram.

[Moderator] Julysa Sosa is a Native Xicana visual artist whose work focuses on evocative storytelling, drawing out the obscured imagery existing on the periphery of life experiences. Her work embodies a search for identity and often creates dreamy, moody visual translations of her reality, dreams, and ancestral memories hidden deep in the psyche. Julysa received a BA in photojournalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently based in Yanaguana also known as San Antonio, TX. Follow Julysa on Instagram

And of course, don’t forget to follow @reclaimcollaborative on Instagram too!

Thank You

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to extend a special thank you to our panelists, Amaya, Kai, Emma and Katie along with our moderator, Julysa for sharing their valuable insights. These conversations are not easy, and involve revisiting years of generational pain and trauma.

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support! Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra + @artofcitizenry.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In Episode 08 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kalra is joined by Eunice Pais in a conversation exploring the ways in which colonial legacies led to the dominance of the English language, creating barriers rooted in power. They discuss the ways in which photography conveys stories and builds connections at a raw, humanistic level, transcending linguistic barriers. Together, they explore the role of photographers as visual storytellers with Eunice sharing her experience as a Black-Portuguese photographer.

Colonial Barriers Through Language

Throughout this podcast we have explored the power of language and words. As many of you know, I strongly believe that words have the ability to shape perceptions and are an important part of how we share not only our stories, but shape the way others understand our experiences. Unfortunately, the conversation of language is often approached from a subconscious place of dominance. We don't necessarily realize how language itself can play into how we experience and navigate power.

"Most narratives about the Black experience are American centric, or very British centric, which, again, it's not something that is probably conscious collectively, but it does happen. And sometimes I feel like I in a way, I'm privileged because I speak English fluently, so I can convey my experience and my messages clearly in two languages. But if someone doesn't, then their experience as a person of color, who doesn't speak English, is not included in the conversation."

- Eunice Pais

English is the most spoken language in the world with Mandarin following as a close second. The thing that is important to note as a difference between the two is that while the majority of Mandarin speakers are concentrated by region, English is much more spread out. This is, of course, the result of colonization of communities around the world by the British Empire. After all, it was "the empire on which the sun never sets." This idea of English being the language of dominance continued to manifest with the spread of American culture. With English being the primary language of the original colonizers of what is now the United States, the association of English and whiteness became stamped. The persistent idolization of whiteness, as evidenced through the tragic history of slavery in the US, further cemented the roots of internalized racism leading to English taking a dominant hold. English is the de facto language of 70 countries and is the official languages of the skies. It has more non-native speakers than any other language in the world.

Historically, power, specifically political and social power, is intrinsically tied to the ability to speak the dominant language. It has resulted in the loss of culture, which is very much dependent on the survival of languages, many of which are now endangered. The drift away from a language often starts for understandable reasons like a desire to assimilate or even survive. This is something I've seen in my own community. Punjabi, being the language of my ancestors, has become increasingly endangered after years of ridicule as the language of uneducated villagers. Many in Punjab itself choose not to speak Punjabi out of a desire to assimilate and be treated with respect by India’s elite, who speak Hindi and hold power and prestige. Even schools in Punjab that once taught in Punjabi now teach in Hindi. It is important to understand this context especially as I speak to you right now in English, my second language, a fact I have often shied away from sharing out of fear of being considered less than.

So how do you tell a story that transcends the barriers of power that language often creates within society? Over the years, I have come to recognize the power that art has as a universal language. No matter what culture or community you belong to, art, particularly photography, has the ability to communicate the nuances that often language fails to when navigating across cultures.

The Legacy of Colonization: Mozambican War of Independence

One of the things many people don't realize is that colonization also resulted in forced migration. It was as much about power through expansion as it was about the annihilation of communities and cultures. This meant that many people were forced to move to countries where they continued to live in endangerment. People were forced to assimilate, abandoning their identities for the sake of survival.

My family had to flee their own country because they didn't choose their nationality. They have no agency to choose, they were under strict dictatorship. They came to Portugal in '74 with a nationality that wasn't well received here, so they came to the country that colonized them and yet did not accept them as Portuguese.

- Eunice Pais

About Eunice Pais

During this episode, we speak with Eunice Pais, the founder of Pais Ethical Image Making. Eunice is a self-taught ethical fashion photographer based in Portugal. Her journey in photography started three years ago with a question: “Can photography be responsible ?” Partnering with ethical fashion brands, Eunice was able to develop and implement environmentally and socially positive methods of work in her fashion productions. This year, she decided to elevate the initial personal project even further by creating an agency that champions ethics in image-making while pushing for a more equitable industry. She shares her experience with her Black-Portuguese identity, the impact of colonialism on her identity, and together, we explore the role of photography in storytelling.

That even with singular stories and different backgrounds from those who lead the conversation, we are still participating in a common goal: an equitable system.

- Eunice Pais

CONNECT WITH OUR GUESTS

Support Eunice’s work via GoFundMe + follow @pais.agency on Instagram.

THANK YOU

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to thank Eunice for joining me today and sharing her valuable insights.

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support on this exciting journey! 

Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

One of the things I have found to be most impactful in my work is unpacking the complexity and layers to how we identify. No single person has a single identity. We are multidimensional, with each layer of our identity shaping how we see ourselves and hope to be seen.

It is not controversial to say that our identities are about more than just our race. And yet, when we think about representation, the web of experiences that shape our intersectional identities often melds together into one singular identifier of difference: race.

Representation cannot be about individual characteristics that make up any given person, it's about how those characteristics intersect and influence a person's experiences. This is why concepts like intersectionality, which was coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw are important, which essentially looks at how multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage compound themselves.

Our advantages and disadvantages as we navigate an unequal world change, they are fluid and shift as the circumstances around us change. And so, our experiences are a result of a hierarchy of factors that influence the privileges and oppressions that we encounter. Privileges and oppressions compound each other, influencing how they shape our experiences.

Let me share a story…

While in school, my husband traveled to Cuba for a medical education trip. At the immigration counter, the person on the other end was confused by him. Before him stood a brown man with a beard wearing a turban who appeared to be Indian, but was born in Canada, was an American citizen with an American passport, and spoke fluent Spanish without a hint of a distorting American accent. The officer stood confused, eventually summoning a second officer to verify everything was up to snuff. In that moment, why it took longer for my husband to pass through screening cannot be pinpointed to any one aspect of his identity. Sure, some factors, like race in many cases, weigh heavier than others, but the way these aspects of our identity intersect and sometimes contradict each other requires nuance that many of us fail to recognize when talking about representation. We are more than any one aspect of our identity.

Over the past few months, conversations around representation have become a core response for businesses on how they plan to foster a more anti-racist culture within the work place. Across industries, representation has become all about putting more black bodies in front of the camera and in Instagram feeds. Which, don't get me wrong, is fantastic, but this approach to representation can be hollow and easily falls short.

Representation normalizes difference and builds up those who are otherwise left unheard and unseen. Brands need to recognize that their marketing and branding should not just show what their current customer base looks like, but rather strive to represent the customer base they hope to have, one built on inclusion, not exclusion.

Representation + Black Lives Matter

Racism has historically and continues to fuel the way we navigate difference. It is reinforced by the systems and policies we navigate. These differences are what define how others see us, what boxes we are put in.

What happened with Breonna Taylor and her case, represents our current climate, it represents a lack of value for black and brown lives. It represents a lack of caring.

- Chloe Jackman

One of the things I have noticed over the last few months is an increase in representation of black bodies in brand marketing, especially on social media. I remember right after the murder of George Floyd, brands started to post photos and run ads with black models on Instagram. It is amazing to have more people of color in front of the camera, but we must be cautious not to fall into the realm of tokenism and performative allyship. 

If you are really trying to make change, if this is something you really want to. do, what are you doing on the backend? What are you doing that nobody is going to give you a pat on the back or high five for? What are you doing that is not front facing or forward facing to the world? What are you doing to work on yourself, and your business and challenge your ideas of racism because we all got them…For me representation in the world of social media especially goes deeper than. what. you see on the surface. I want to. know you are doing the work behind. the. scenes. - Chloe Jackman

At this moment in history, it is in vogue to have people of color in your marketing, but that must be intrinsically tied to doing the work of unpacking power structures at play within your business. Power structures that might mean your business is not truly representing a diversity of voices, a diversity of identities.

Representation matters from diversity of ethnicity and cultural background to sex to LGBTQ to accessibility…all of that matters. - Chloe Jackman

Representation in Brand Marketing

A lot of times people say, how do I look authentic, instead of actually saying, how. do I be authentic?…in order to have a company that effectively tackles, climate change, climate justice, and social justice, in order to have a company that does that, well, our business needs to be made up of people who know how to fix those problems, and who have been affected by those problems. And that will naturally lead to having a business that's more diverse.

- Rachel Faller

Inclusivity has to be about more than customer facing photography and marketing campaigns. It has to be about incorporating a diversity of experiences in all aspects of your business.

“…having that representation of people who are deeply embedded in the problems and the solution across your whole business model, not just in the people that you're supposedly trying to ‘save,’ is representation to me.” - Rachel Faller

In the fair trade, ethical, sustainability space, we often see brands that claim to be diverse because all the artisans making their products are people of color, but that is not representation. Representation is about inclusivity in leadership, including the people you hire to be part of your team, may they be full time employees or consultants in the Global North.

I don’t think the goal should be diversity itself. The goal should be that if we really want to create models that promote equity and justice, our businesses must be inclusive and representative. A business that is not inclusive and representative, is fundamentally not a justice focused business. - Rachel Faller

Reclaim Collaborative

Reclaim Collaborative is a community dedicated to building a better, more just fashion and lifestyle ecosystem. We believe no one person or brand alone can address systemic injustices. We are a community of brands, content creators and industry experts dedicated to creating widespread system change. We are both an affiliate marketing platform, but also a community dedicated to fostering healthy and equitable relationships built on respect for everyone's work and talents. We believe in challenging the systems we operate in by supporting brands to address inclusion in all aspects of their business. Learn more!

Reclaim Black Friday

As you know the Black Friday weekend is quite problematic, so we've designed a campaign to reclaim Black Friday weekend and redistribute funds from sales to Black and Indigenous operated environmental organizations. Our goals with Reclaim Black Friday are twofold: to challenge the colonialist, capitalist, consumerist mindset that drives Black Friday, and to put money directly in the hands of Black and Indigenous folks who are working to heal the land and support their communities. If you are brand looking to participate, learn more and register your interest here.

Additional Resources + Links

Interested in reading some of the resources I reference during the episode? Check out these links:

• [Instagram Live] Where are you really from? featuring Manpreet Kalra + Neha Sharma
• [Podcast] Art of Citizenry Podcast Episode 6: Voluntourism, Mission Trips + Dismantling the Savior Complex
• [BLOG POST] Revisiting Our Branding: Treating Symptoms vs Systemic Change by Rachel Faller
• [BLOG POST] Co-creating an Equitable and Just Future with Manpreet Kalra, published on tonlé
• [TED TALK] The Urgency of Intersectionality by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
• Reclaim Community Values

Connect with Our Guests

Chloe Jackman is a professional photographer based in San Francisco and co-founder of Reclaim Collaborative. Follow @chloejackmanphotos on Instagram.

Rachel Faller is the founder + creative director of tonlé and co-founder of Reclaim Collaborative. Follow @tonledesign on Instagram.

And of course, don’t forget to follow @reclaimcollaborative on Instagram too!

Thank You

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to thank Neha, Lindsay, and Austin for joining me today and sharing their valuable insights.

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support on this exciting journey! 

Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Exploring Guilt Trips

Why does helping people who live far away feel different than helping those who are closer to home? From mission trips to building homes in remote villages, at what point does volunteering abroad do more harm than good? Anu Taranath says it best in her book Beyond Guilt Trips when she writes:

"Our travels to culturally and economically different locations often turn into guilt trips precisely because we have little practice navigating the unequal power dynamics and different-than-me-ness we find. We're not always sure how to think or speak about the differences we notice, even though these differences might have fueled our desire to travel in the first place. Those of us with more privileges and social advantages, in particular, might be even less practiced in recognizing and saying aloud what it is we are noticing and feeling about identity, race, power, and hierarchy. Simmering in our guilt and discomforting feelings about systems we have not created but continue to participate in and perhaps benefit from does nothing for justice."

I recently spoke to a group of business school students about anti-racism and social impact. During the conversation, I noticed how most of them thought about addressing issues abroad when thinking about incorporating "social good" into their business models. This idea that those abroad are more in need of help than those living nearby stems from colonial power dynamics rooted in systemic racism.

Episode 6 comes out of an Instagram Live conversation I recently co-hosted with Neha Sharma,  an embroidery artist who creates South Asian and social justice-inspired art with a background in economics and public health. During the live, we discussed how voluntourism is built on a white savior complex and how it truly isn't as altruistic as it seems, which sparked some interesting conversations with our listeners.

The Global North vs Global South

The term "Global South" is the new acceptable term used to describe "third-world or developing" countries. However, by nature, it implies a problematic top-down power structure to the way we approach difference on the global stage. In 1980, former German Chancellor Willy Brandt proposed the "Brandt Line" which is an imaginary line that divides the world map into the "Global North and "Global South" based on GDP per capita. The visual of the map is almost comical as it goes across the map and then loops down to include Australia and New Zealand.

When looking at the countries that make up the Global North, they are almost all countries that we historically consider to be "white" majority, ignoring indigenous communities on whose land we reside. Global South countries, on the other hand, are often tied to "people of color."

All too often, “do-good travelers” from the Global North travel to previously colonized countries in the Global South that are still struggling to rebuild as a result of years of extraction, which continues today in the form of capitalism and self-serving guilt trips. There's a lot to be gained that is oftentimes one sided and not two sided, keeping power in the hands of those who have it and taking advantage of those who don't.

Ask yourself: "Why are you coming into a community that are completely unfamiliar with, to a culture you have no ties to, and taking over whatever it is that they are doing? Any sort of initiative to improve a community needs to be led by that community." - Neha Sharma

Colonization, Mission Trips + Heropreneurship

"I went on a three month trip, and it was sort of exploratory to see if I'd want to work in Bangladesh. And I was very inexperienced…I was not in any way educationally prepared to offer anything that to Bangladesh, except Jesus." - Austin Miller

Colonization historically was built on the idea to conquer and convert. You conquer a country and then impose your understanding of religion, culture, and living. And we see these similar ideologies manifest in the way many approach voluntourism may it be faith based or not.

"Essentially, this approach is coming from a time where, you know, Europeans and North Americans generally, either generally white people believed that they had the so called duty to bring civilization and God to these, you know, so called poor people or people of color who supposedly needed Western culture to become fulfilled human beings. And it's really it's coming from a place of superiority where you think somebody could not possibly live in a different way that I do, and I need to impose my values on them." - Neha Sharma

The reality is many social enterprises or mission-driven businesses stem from these trips as well. Unfortunately, no form of economic exchange could possibly every reverse the history of colonialism. While you might be able to create jobs, you cannot bring back communities that were annihilated, you cannot un-burn documentation of community histories, and you cannot bring back languages that are spoken no more.

Unless we have an intersectional approach to how we think about economic development and how we think about building just economies, we can't really create sustainable change. Sustainable change is about more than you, which is hard for many to fathom.

"More people need to start doing their due diligence to understand the impact of their actions." - Neha Sharma

We need to ask ourselves one key question: "What makes me the right person to address this problem?” This want to be the hero leads to issues like heropreneurship.

Tom’s Shoes founder created a business model built on white saviorism and did more economic damage in the countries he set out to “help” than good.

Sustainable Voluntourism

Breaking cycles of racism is about giving up power, "...giving up power of being the one that distributes the money or the funds, of being the spokesperson, and saying how things are done." - Austin Miller

We need to recognize we are usually not the first person to see a problem or trying to solve it. We need to think about what are the alliances I need to build and how can I best support the work already happening, versus going in and trying to impose my own solutions. The truth is good intention alone is not good enough. Sometimes good intention can do so much more harm when executed without a thorough understanding of the issue we are trying to help address.

"Sustainable voluntourism always has to have elements of expertise, and invitation, if I'm not there at the invitation of the community, then I should not be there." - Lindsay Woodruff

When thinking about how to make voluntourism more sustainable, it is also important to think about longevity. Going into a community and expecting to make sustainable change in the span of two to three weeks is naïve. We have to give ourselves the time and space to first understand the community and society we are entering, approaching those conversations with empathy and humility.

Case Study: Renee Bach

One of the most notable examples of voluntourism going horribly wrong is the case of Renee Bach, an American Christian missionary, who traveled to Uganda after graduating from high school. After coming back from spending a few months volunteering with an orphanage, she decided to return to Uganda and start a treatment center dedicated to taking in malnourished children with extremely complicated medical conditions . She named her charity Serving His Children and had absolutely no medical training or qualifications. In the process we know at least 105 children died in her charity's care.

Why does society value the lives of white children more than children of color? Why can someone get away with this for so long before she is ever charged or shut down? What makes us think that a high schooler can provide medical care in Uganda when people struggle to trust medical professionals who look too young in the United States? This is what a savior mindset looks like, at its worst.

Resources + Links

Interested in reading some of the resources I reference during the episode? Check out these links:

• [Instagram Live] Guilt Trips + the Savior Complex featuring Manpreet Kalra + Neha Sharma
• [Podcast] Art of Citizenry Podcast Episode 2: Tanja Cesh of Mulxiply on Empathy
• [Donate] No White Saviors’ Revolutionary Library & Cafe in Uganda
• [Book] Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World by Anu Taranath
• [Book] Questions of Travel: Postmodern Discourses of Displacement by Caren Kaplan
• [Article] African Children Need to be Saved from White Saviors | Afropunk
• [Instagram Account] @NoWhiteSaviors
• [Blog] The Very Worst Missionary
• [Article] Buying TOMS shoes is a terrible way to help poor people | VOX
• [Image] Brandt Line of Global North and Global South

Connect with Our Guests

Neha Sharma, @nehaxstitch on Instagram (be sure to follow her!), is an embroidery artist who creates South Asian and social justice-inspired art with a background in economics and public health.

Lindsay Woodruff is the founder and owner of Pachamama Market, a neighborhood marketplace for fair trade, handmade, and eco-friendly goods in Troy, Ohio. Lindsay holds a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management and 15+ years of experience in learning lessons the hard way. Follow Pachamama Market on Instagram.

Austin Miller is the co-founder of Kahiniwalla, a brand built on the belief that children and families deserve to play with and use items that are thoughtfully designed, made to last, and produced ethically. Austin and his partner, Marita work closely with Pebble Child, a fair trade enterprise in Bangladesh that creates hand crochet baby toys and accessories. Follow Kahiniwalla on Instagram.

Thank You

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to thank Neha, Lindsay, and Austin for joining me today and sharing their valuable insights.

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support on this exciting journey! 

Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

“Mission-driven products are often sold using some level of someone's trauma and it ultimately makes you feel like you're just being valued for your traumas and nothing else."

Both the biggest strength and failure of a social entrepreneur is storytelling. Where light otherwise remains unshone, social entrepreneurs share stories of hardship, poverty, and inequality. As an unintended consequence, these stories often further deep-seated racial power dynamics first introduced with colonialism.

In episode 5, I am joined by Joy McBrien, the founder and CEO of Fair Anita, a fair trade social enterprise that strives to build a more inclusive economy for women. Fair Anita works with 8,000 women across 9 different countries to create fashion accessories ranging from jewelry to handbags. Their vision is to design a world in which women and girls can grow up feeling safe, respected, and valued no matter their geography.

Language in Storytelling

Language has the power to break and also reinforce stereotypes. I found it interesting to hear Joy talk about "agency" instead of "empowerment." Empowerment is a very loaded word and one I see often used by social enterprises to describe the impact of their work on the artisans they work with. Personally, I find the word empowerment quite problematic because it reinforces the idea that the person on the other end has no power to begin with, essentially discounting any form of agency.

“What does it mean as a white woman working with almost exclusively women of color? What am I then saying with that word because ultimately the word empowerment means to give power and I don't really feel like that's what it is. I think there's a mutual giving of power — like there's power in our combined relationship our shared experiences, but I don't feel like it's one-sided as the word empower suggests.”

Why is knowing the maker's name not good enough? Why is it that instead of sharing professional bios like most companies do of their employees, fair trade and ethical brands choose to share intimate details about the personal lives and trauma of makers?

Informed Consent

There is a difference between saying, “Sure you can tell people about my personal trauma” and knowing exactly the extent to which someone's photo and narrative will be used, on swing tags, in shops, on social media, on your website, and so forth. It is important for markers to understand what exactly they are giving consent to, and what that might mean for them, their families, and ultimately, their privacy.

"Remember that storytelling takes place not just on social media, but when we're talking to customers and building those relationships. Even if it's not trackable, it's still really important …and necessary that we're sharing those stories with consent and and in a way makers would want to be portrayed."

Consent in Photography

We tend to take photos and share them without really thinking much about consent or compensating the person like we would a model in the Global North if we were using their photo to sell our products.

“If you're walking on the street and you think it's fine to take a picture of somebody doing something over there. They're still in the picture — you still have to get their consent. If you don't feel comfortable getting their consent, that probably means you shouldn't be taking their picture.”

The classic example I like to share is that of the "Afghan Girl,” an iconic photo that was published on the cover of National Geographic in 1985. The woman who was photographed, Sharbat Gula, was pulled out of class without her consent or parental consent by the photographer, a white male, who took her to a nondescript location, posed her, and photographed her. What that photo is most known for is the fear in her eyes. When you read interviews with her in recent years, she talks about how that one photograph derailed her life while giving the photographer global recognition. What you see is her genuine fear of a stranger. It truly blows my mind how we don't apply the same principles around consent in photography with those living in the Global South as we do with those living in the Global North.

Where do we go from here as social enterprises?

No one is perfect, this is a process and the purpose of conversations like this is to get us thinking about how we can reflect on the systems we operate in and address some of those issues around making social enterprises more inclusive and giving each member of the business a seat at the table or an equal voice. All too often brands share photos of models who are white and place those next to photos of makers who are of color. Diversity can't just be the artisan partners you work with. It has to be in every aspect of your business.

Resources + Links

Interested in reading some of the resources I reference during the episode? Check out these links:

• [Blog Post] It's Time to Expand the Conversation About Consent by Joy McBrien
• [Article] Why Language is Important when Navigating Inequity by Manpreet Kalra
• [Resource Page]Crafting Inclusive Brand Narratives
• [Article] You'll Never See the Iconic Photo of the 'Afghan Girl' the Same Way Again

Connect with Fair Anita

Please make the effort to support small businesses — you can follow Fair Anita on Instagram and shop their collection online.

Thank You

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to thank Joy for joining me and sharing her experiences and valuable insights.

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support on this exciting journey! 

To learn more about Art of Citizenry and for information on future webinars and workshops, please visit artofcitizenry.com. Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

It is often said that you can learn a lot about the history of a community or culture through their textiles. However, that is only possible if those textiles have survived the human experience of war and conflict. In many countries, cultures have been erased by colonial homogenization or appropriated by selective extraction. During this episode, we explore the impact of Colonization on indigenous communities in Colombia, how the legacy of colonization continues to dictate social structures, and its impact on traditional art forms.

“The nostalgia of not knowing if I may be, a part of my ancestry is Muisca, I don’t know…we don’t see much culture left. Maybe some people have heritage of the Muisca people, but as a culture, it’s completely gone.”

In episode 4, I am joined by Tatiana Andrea Ordoñez Casallas of Zuahaza, a home textile studio based in Bogota, Colombia. Following an era of intense conflict, which continues to shape and affect Colombia today, Zuahaza seeks to participate in the peacemaking efforts to reunite and heal the country through art. Tatiana will be sharing her journey with rediscovering the rich history of her country, and how that has influenced the way she approaches her business.

The Single Narrative

Colombia is more than the single story you have heard time after time about drugs and war. As a society, we often feel this need, at least in the United States, to put people in a box. But that can be really dehumanizing. It rejects how within a country people have different experiences based on a variety of factors including region, religion, social economic status, and so much more.

“We have a lot of problems like a lot of other countries, but there is another story to tell.”

We also see this often in the social impact space, where we create these single stories of people from countries and sometimes even continents, erasing historical context and the rich heritage of the various communities that reside within any given country or continent. This single narrative then reinforces harmful stereotypes.

What does racism look like in Colombia?

“There is not an easy way to describe racism in Colombia, but is not just a matter of skin color, it is also a matter of wealth distribution. The poorest regions of our country are either majority black or majority indigenous. In parallel these happen to be regions that are most affected by guerrilla conflicts. With this long history of conflict fueled by the drug trade (which is another article for another time), we have become a separated people. We made fences. We hired security guards. We built walls around our neighborhoods, and in all this, we prolonged the separation and discrimination against our fellow black and indigenous Colombians.” 

Colorism + Whiteness

The National Museum of African American History & Culture has an excellent article on their website exploring the concept of whiteness, which they thoughtfully define as the way that white people, their customs, culture, and beliefs operate as the standard by which all other groups of are compared. In my understanding, this normalization then manifests itself in form of cultural hegemony, power dynamics, and racist power structures that have then been internalized by marginalized communities themselves. This makes whiteness something to strive for, often putting what is considered "global north" countries on a pedestal.

Unlike many of her peers who used education as an excuse to leave Colombia, Tatiana used the skills she built while studying textile design in the States to reconnect with her ancestral roots in Colombia. She moved back and began using her talents as a weaver to connect with other weavers and work to revive textile traditions lost to colonial destruction.

Resources + Links

Interested in reading some of the resources I reference during the episode? Check out these links:

• [Resource Page] Whiteness by The National Museum of African American History & Culture
• [Article] Black Lives Matter Movement: What does it look like in Colombia? by Tatiana Ordoñez
• [Resource Page] Learn more about the Muisca civilization that was completely erased by Spanish colonizers in Colombia
• [Podcast] Which is it? Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation

Connect with Zuahaza

Please make the effort to support small businesses — you can follow Zuahaza on Instagram and shop their textile collection online.

Thank You

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to thank Tatiana for joining me and sharing her experiences and valuable insights.

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support on this exciting journey! 

Interested in attending a future webinar or workshop? Keep an eye on Art of Citizenry! Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Interested in attending a future webinar? Keep an eye on Art of Citizenry!

My favorite part of hosting these conversations is of course the discussion. So, if you are interested, tune in till the end for the webinar Q&A led by Zachary Rochester as an added bonus.

Before we dive in, I want to welcome everyone to the conversation -- from the social entrepreneurs out there to fair trade advocates, thank you for taking the time to have these important conversations.

Navigating Cultural Appropriation in Social Impact

In the social impact world may it be fair trade home goods or sustainable fashion, cultural appropriation often furthers the very hegemonies brands, organizations, and consumers are seeking to address. This episode explores ways in which we appropriate cultures and communities and what we can do to address the problematic impact of appropriation, especially in the fair trade and social impact space. We focus the conversation on language, symbols and fashion through the lens of power and profit.

Resources about Cultural Appropriation

Interested in reading some of the resources I reference during the episode? Check out these links:

• [Reference Slides] Which is it? Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation by Manpreet Kalra
• [Resource Page] Crafting Inclusive Narratives by Manpreet Kalra
• [Book] So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• [Article] How 'Namaste' Flew Away from Us by Kumari Devarajan
• [Article] An Open Letter to White Makers & Designer Who are Inspired by the Kimono and Japanese Culture by Emi Ito
• [Book] Who Owns Culture?: Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law by Susan  Scafidi

Thank You

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to thank Katherine Bissell Cordova and Andrea Dennis from Chicago Fair Trade along with Zachary Rochester from Iowa City Fair Trade Coalition for moderating.

I also want to thank everyone who attended the live webinar and the many of you who continue to support my work, I appreciate you and your dedication to keep learning. 

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for Art of Citizenry Podcast — I appreciate your love and support on this exciting journey! 

Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Navigating Impact with Cultural Humility

In this episode, Tanja talks about her journey from working in fast fashion to slow fashion. She shares her personal reflections on what led her to start Mulxiply, and the challenges she both experienced and observed along the way. Tanja talks about the role of empathy when navigating within a culture other than your own and ways in which social enterprises can use empathy to build relationships and address colonial power dynamics.

In fast fashion, orders are given to the maker with set expectation and limited communication, but slow fashion is much more collaborative. For socially conscious designers like Tanja, the design process is as much about her vision as it is about the maker's.

Impact During a Pandemic

Global inequities are staring us right in the face. At a time like this, the systemic inequities of society are magnified by the ways in which each country and community navigate crisis. Each individual experience is unique, but it has been especially difficult for those who are economically disadvantaged globally.

“It’s heart-breaking and gut-wrenching to see what’s happening on the borders right now in Nepal. Citizens who have been working abroad are trying to get home. It’s their right! Thousands have been on foot for days and are now stuck with no process for entering or quarantine, no water or food, etc. Thousands of men, women and children are stranded.”

— Tanja Cesh [read the full post here]

Connect with Mulxiply

Please make the effort to support small businesses — you can follow Mulxiply on Instagram and shop Mulxiply’s contemporary collection online.

Thank You

This podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space to discuss and challenge topics surrounding how we each navigate our personal advantages and disadvantages. I want to thank Tanja for being one of the first individuals I interviewed for this podcast — her energy and dedication is truly an inspiration!

Finally, thank you for listening! Please subscribe, download, and leave a review for Art of Citizenry Podcast on iTunes — I appreciate your love and support on this exciting journey!

Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow me and share your thoughts with me on Instagram @manpreetkalra.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

This podcast explores the intersection of social justice, personal journeys, and power dynamics. I am Manpreet Kaur Kalra, your host and in-house storyteller. 

I want to take a moment to share with you the inspiration behind this podcast.

Over the years, I've traveled across six continents, spending extended periods of time in cities and villages around the world. As the stamps in my 52 page passport continued to multiply, so did my passion to do something impactful. My travels left me with a deep rooted desire to “do good” and be a part of a bigger change in how we create, sell and consume products. I started a small retail business. I wanted to better understand supply chains and how a sustainable business can do good. During that journey, I realized two things: the first, that impact does not scale like a business and secondly that sometimes doing good does more harm. Like so many other social entrepreneurs, what I failed to recognize at that moment was that my small business alone could not solve generations of structural inequity.

This podcast comes out of my experience as a social entrepreneur and advocate for inclusive brand narratives. Over the past few years, I have worked with purpose-driven businesses dedicated to producing things ethically. Through my work, I have seen the many ways in which doing good can create great impact, but I have also discovered the ways in which it can reinforce cultural stereotypes and colonial power dynamics.

Over the course of each episode, we will explore topics of social justice through the lens of identity and impact. This podcast is dedicated to creating a space for listeners to reflect and challenge themselves. Talking about difference is uncomfortable, but true change in the way you navigate through life can only happen if you are willing to navigate through discomfort. Doing good in an unequal world requires giving ourselves the space to reflect and approach inequity with humility.

Whether you are an aspiring social entrepreneur, an academic or social justice warrior, I hope this podcast gives you the opportunity to learn something new.

I look forward to you joining me as we explore the art of citizenry.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes