The Wintering Sessions: Emma Dabiri on history and belonging
Hello,
This week, I talk to Emma Dabiri, author of Don’t Touch My Hair and What White People Can Do Next.
What begins as a conversation about Emma’s new-found commitment to appreciating all the seasons - not just summer - becomes something else entirely. Emma is one of our most agile thinkers and fearless speakers, and soon she is talking about everything from race and class to how we should think about the world right now. A thread of belonging runs through it all - how we seek and find it, how complicated our identities have become, and why it matters.
References from this episode:
Emma’s Book: What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition
Emma’s Book: Don’t Touch My Hair
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò: Elite Capture
Nella Larsen: Quicksand & Passing
Other episodes you might enjoy:
Season 3: Cole Arthur Riley on 'We did good'
Season 3: Aimee Nezhukumatathil on nurturing wonder through nature
Warmest wishes,
Katherine
Note: this email includes affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission for any purchases made
From the transcript
Emma Dabiri:
But a lot of that is because-- there’s the narcissism of small differences, but then, that’s turbo charged as well by the fact that this concept of clout-rage and calling people out and these sassy ‘I’m speaking truths to power’ takes are actually more divisive than that, actually kind of witch hunts and pile-ons on people and stuff. That is actually really incentivised, particularly in somewhere like Twitter. That highly emotive content is what accrues likes and shares and, therefore, more influence, so people are actually incentivised to be divisive. It’s kind of like a politics of competition rather than one of solidarity.
Katherine May:
Yeah, who’s the most outraged; who’s the most offended? That’s seen as a position of triumph, and it’s just unconstructive, I think.
Emma Dabiri:
Well, who has the most followers, but a great way to accrue followers is through outrage.
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All artwork by Iveta Vaicule