235: It’s Not Race, It’s Racism: Raising Multi-Ethnic Families, with Naomi Raquel Enright

One of the things that we find most rewarding about our own journeys in anti-racism, racial justice, and social justice is when we come across practitioners who come from a similar framework that we do (heart-centered, humanity first, believe people when they tell you their stories, and all of those things) but also challenge us to think more broadly, or more deeply, about these topics in powerful ways. Our guest today does all of that and more.

 

Naomi Raquel Enright is a DEI practitioner, Ecuadorian and Jewish, a mother, sister, daughter, and so many more things - and all of these identities influence how she views the world, especially when she thinks about raising her son. It was an honor to be able to talk about raising multiethnic children with her today, especially with her clear focus on the systems that keep us trapped in a narrative about race that helps zero people in the end. We hope that you sit with what she says, and think about how you frame your understanding of families, systems, and individuals as a result.

 

What to listen for: 

• How being raised as the daughter of an Ecuadorian mother and white father shaped Naomi’s perspectives in raising her son

• What to think about when assuming things about other families – in particular, whether someone is or isn’t a certain child’s mother – and what that felt like to be on the receiving end of

• The reasoning behind some new-to-us phrasing – “presumed to be white” instead of “white-presenting” or “passing for white” and “multi-ethnic” instead of “multiracial/biracial” 

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