Revolution is Not Risk-Free

Our fifteenth installment features Cardozie Jones, with our host Courtney J. Boddie from the Teaching Artistry with Courtney J. Boddie Podcast, who strives to accompany individuals through difficult processes because on the other side of struggles are miracles. Even with the serious situations Diversity/Equity/Accessibility/Inclusion (DEAI) can prompt, Jones manifests action from a place of joy. 

“Like firefighters?” says Courtney. Yes, Jones among countless others do not question good or bad before performing their duty, instead they react upon what is right; humanity. However, not everyone has the capacity. Jones gets paid to embed anti-racist logic into the world. Many individuals, specifically BIPOC, continue to educate without collecting a dime. This exhausting routine has the power to break people down, even those who truly want to provide good into the world. BIPOC should be guiding the labor anti-racist work brings, however, the oppressed are often doing the labor simutaneously. The reality is that labor is necessary in revolutionary moments where the oppressed must lead the revolution. This is a heavy burden, so naturally individuals are debilitated by sheer fear. 

What is on the other side? Jones would tell you “...nothing, because life is the constant thoroughness that we need to both exist in and conquer to function.” The unknown is scary but it should be welcomed. 

Interdependency is one remedy. Often, it is much easier to tackle something collectively than alone. Just like we learn in music about the importance of each instrumental part, society cannot function without individuals’ intertwined relationships. In DEAI, the “I” stands for inclusion, but this promotes the idea that someone is including someone else (i.e. gatekeeping). To reduce fears, it is necessary that we rely on one another where the foundation of trust is secure. 

With arts organizations having the ability to craft imagination, it allows them to organically build empathy, which then can be shared to surface truth. However, many arts organizations fail to share everyone’s truth, instead distributing a limited perspective or relying on stereotypes. One of the many reasons deep reflection is needed is to avoid one sided cultures. Organizations have to be thoughtful about mitigating potential harm for everyone, and this can only be achieved through open communication. 

By examining culture through the lens of relationships, the power to confront history within the present is possible. However, it can prove difficult when many of us have been indoctrinated with the ideal history; a white history. However, other forms of existences happen simultaneously. The more we come to terms with this, many of our White counterparts want to ignore our complex past to obscure White supremacy, the “forgive and forget” mindset is easily evoked. The sad truth is that those who have been committed to ignoring others' existences have and will find loopholes to secure power and oppress others. Yet, when the excavation process occurs, the power to dismantle poor societal norms and create balance seems fruitful. 

If you remember last episode, Takiema Bunche Smith and Jody Drezner Alperin discussed that we tend to focus on institutions, but what about the individuals housed within. In order to gain liberation, individuals must be committed to going through the labor for a nation we all would like to see. One of the first steps, understanding self. 

Join us next week when Courtney interviews Alaina Newell, a senior Musical Theatre major at Western Carolina University. Not just a performer, Alaina launched a podcast, Fourth Wall, where she talks to people all over the Broadway and arts community about discrimination and bias in our industry. You can catch an episode anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

Cardozie Jones began his career as a teacher and administrator at a high school in Brooklyn, NY where he experienced first-hand the ways in which systemic oppression is no anomaly, but rather the impact of structural design. After formally leaving the classroom, Cardozie spent the next few years focusing on supporting LGBTQ+ youth as Manager of Youth Programming for Live Out Loud, a nonprofit committed to connecting LGBTQ+ youth with inspiring queer role models. Later, he served as Co-Artistic Director of the Youth Pride Chorus, an arts-based organization that uses music to galvanize LGBTQ+ youth around self-acceptance and social change. With a background in critical race theory, Cardozie worked as a trainer for the Center for Racial Justice in Education and the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools at New York University before founding his own firm, True North EDI. 

Cardozie founded True North EDI on the belief that organizational and institutional change can only happen through deep and informed reflection on the ways that identity, history, and power intersect and impact our lives. Through workshops, training, and coaching, he and his team support professional communities in the development of human-centered practices, policies, and cultures that allow for and promote the possibility for each individual to show up and thrive as their whole and authentic self.

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