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Resmaa Menakem: Dance, Joy, Ancestry, and the Quaking of America

Ryan Honeyman
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Today’s guest is a leading voice in the conversation of racialized trauma. Resmaa Menakem is a therapist, trauma specialist, and the founder of Justice Leadership Solutions. He is also the New York Times bestselling author of My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. His forthcoming book, The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nation’s Upheaval and Racial Reckoning was released on April 12th, 2022.

In our eye-opening conversation with Resmaa, we find out what made rapper Nipsey Hussle one of the most profound philosophers of his time and how Resmaa is learning to cultivate joy in the face of white supremacy. He explains the functions of the vagus nerve and the psoas muscle and how natural primordial movement has been constricted by the standardization of the white body. White body supremacy is still rearing its ugly head whichever way you look. 

Tune in to hear about the value of movement exploration, ancestral connections, and communal knowledge, and get up to speed with what it means to be anti-racist in the world today.

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Key Points From This Episode:

  • Why Resmaa Menakem considers Nipsey Hussle to be a philosopher.

  • Why Resmaa believes people need to break away from structures and do what they love.

  • The thwarting concept of white supremacy and how Resmaa cultivates joy in defiance of it.

  • How natural primordial movement has been constricted by the standardization of the white body and why it’s important to explore movement in trauma therapy.

  • The value of communal knowledge over individual knowledge. 

  • The structures that bypass spring-loaded energy to maintain white comfort.

  • The futility of land acknowledgment conversations, and what ritual means to Resmaa. 

  • The importance of ancestral connections and the disconnect in white culture.

  • How white body supremacy reared its head amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

  • The structural racism on both the left and right, and the purpose of The Quaking of America.  

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Tweetables:

“In Black culture, we have a lot of knowledge that white supremacy says is invalid.” — @ResmaaMenakem

“When I see black bodies on the come-up, it fills me with so much joy because it is literally the energy of creation busting through concrete.” — @ResmaaMenakem

“Do what you love because eventually, the world will catch up.” — @ResmaaMenakem

“We are a part of creation, not apart from creation.” — @ResmaaMenakem

“There’s no such thing as ‘not racist’. Either you’re doing everything you can to usher in a living embodied anti-racist culture, or you’re complicit by saying [and] doing nothing.” — @ResmaaMenakem

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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Resmaa Menakem — https://www.resmaa.com/

Resmaa Menakem on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/resmaamenakem/

Resmaa Menakem on Twitter — https://twitter.com/ResmaaMenakem

Resmaa Menakem on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/resmaamenakem

The Quaking of America — https://www.sourcebooksellersonline.com/the-quaking-of-america-an-embodied-guide-to-naviga.html

My Grandmother’s Hands — https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781942094470

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Show Notes + Other Links

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