Legacies of Light

Building a sustainable anti-racism practice with Jo Gillard and Anja Naundorf-Adu

May 02, 2022 Josette LeBlanc Episode 8
Building a sustainable anti-racism practice with Jo Gillard and Anja Naundorf-Adu
Legacies of Light
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Legacies of Light
Building a sustainable anti-racism practice with Jo Gillard and Anja Naundorf-Adu
May 02, 2022 Episode 8
Josette LeBlanc

During this episode, I speak with Jo Gillard and Anja Naundorf-Adu, two dear friends and partners on this path of doing what we can to build an anti-racist practice

We met during Thérèse Cator’s “Embodied Solidarity” program, which is open for enrollment at the time of this episode. It goes without saying, but Anja, Jo, and I highly recommend this program. 

Working on anti-racism is an ongoing commitment. It’s a topic that brings up so many emotions it can feel overwhelming. So slowing down, being gentle, and understanding what’s going on in our bodies is a crucial part of engaging with it. 

What we discuss: 
01:45 Where we’re coming from - Anja
03:15 Where we’re coming from - Jo
06:05 Where we’re coming from - Josette
09:25 The trigger term “privilege”
12:05 Dismantling internalised racism 
15:00 Equipping yourself for this work
16:45 Bypassing the pain
21:00 The “white spiritual woman” bubble
24:35 The role of religion in oppression
29:30 Working with the book “Me and white supremacy” 
35:10 Responsibility and humility in self-education
39:50 Find your people, do the work

Anja Naundorf-Adu is a white german mother co-parenting her mixed-race child in a majority white environment. Aside from working a corporate job and making a home for herself and her kid, she is stumbling through the shadows of internalized racism and white supremacy in order to make her family and community a bit more safe in regard to racial discrimination. Anja believes, the foundation of any tangible societal change lies within white peoples' individual and communal work of dismantling their very own internalized ideas of racial superiority and whiteness. She leans into a strong vision of the liberation of all human beings, rooted in Audre Lourde's “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”

Where to find Anja: https://www.facebook.com/merlinicke/
https://www.instagram.com/merlinicke/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anja-naundorf-adu-04b651142

Jo Gillard's passion lies in helping people enhance their experience and enjoyment of life, by weaving their soul-fuelled dreams into reality. She works with inspirational humans who have a deep desire to know themselves and why they are here on this planet. By guiding them on a journey of deep self-discovery toward heart and soul-aligned clarity, as well as building up the courage to follow their inspiration, she helps them to align with their highest soul purpose, to embody and express their truth and begin truly loving their lives. A critical element of Jo’s coaching is the safe space she holds for clients to explore aspects of themselves that can be uncomfortable and vulnerable, she is committed to exploring how she can grow and expand this capacity by consciously seeking out where she may have unconscious bias and needs further work to truly lovingly hold safe space for all beings on this planet.

Where to find Jo: https://www.instagram.com/jo_gillard/
https://www.facebook.com/SimplySoulfulSisterhood
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrcwBouaYFSGVKYGVYEOxmQ

Find the extensive list of resources here:  https://www.josetteleblanc.com/podcast/episode8

How to find Josette:
https://www.josetteleblanc.com

Show Notes

During this episode, I speak with Jo Gillard and Anja Naundorf-Adu, two dear friends and partners on this path of doing what we can to build an anti-racist practice

We met during Thérèse Cator’s “Embodied Solidarity” program, which is open for enrollment at the time of this episode. It goes without saying, but Anja, Jo, and I highly recommend this program. 

Working on anti-racism is an ongoing commitment. It’s a topic that brings up so many emotions it can feel overwhelming. So slowing down, being gentle, and understanding what’s going on in our bodies is a crucial part of engaging with it. 

What we discuss: 
01:45 Where we’re coming from - Anja
03:15 Where we’re coming from - Jo
06:05 Where we’re coming from - Josette
09:25 The trigger term “privilege”
12:05 Dismantling internalised racism 
15:00 Equipping yourself for this work
16:45 Bypassing the pain
21:00 The “white spiritual woman” bubble
24:35 The role of religion in oppression
29:30 Working with the book “Me and white supremacy” 
35:10 Responsibility and humility in self-education
39:50 Find your people, do the work

Anja Naundorf-Adu is a white german mother co-parenting her mixed-race child in a majority white environment. Aside from working a corporate job and making a home for herself and her kid, she is stumbling through the shadows of internalized racism and white supremacy in order to make her family and community a bit more safe in regard to racial discrimination. Anja believes, the foundation of any tangible societal change lies within white peoples' individual and communal work of dismantling their very own internalized ideas of racial superiority and whiteness. She leans into a strong vision of the liberation of all human beings, rooted in Audre Lourde's “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”

Where to find Anja: https://www.facebook.com/merlinicke/
https://www.instagram.com/merlinicke/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anja-naundorf-adu-04b651142

Jo Gillard's passion lies in helping people enhance their experience and enjoyment of life, by weaving their soul-fuelled dreams into reality. She works with inspirational humans who have a deep desire to know themselves and why they are here on this planet. By guiding them on a journey of deep self-discovery toward heart and soul-aligned clarity, as well as building up the courage to follow their inspiration, she helps them to align with their highest soul purpose, to embody and express their truth and begin truly loving their lives. A critical element of Jo’s coaching is the safe space she holds for clients to explore aspects of themselves that can be uncomfortable and vulnerable, she is committed to exploring how she can grow and expand this capacity by consciously seeking out where she may have unconscious bias and needs further work to truly lovingly hold safe space for all beings on this planet.

Where to find Jo: https://www.instagram.com/jo_gillard/
https://www.facebook.com/SimplySoulfulSisterhood
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrcwBouaYFSGVKYGVYEOxmQ

Find the extensive list of resources here:  https://www.josetteleblanc.com/podcast/episode8

How to find Josette:
https://www.josetteleblanc.com