Stories matter. Visibility matters. Human rights matter. Justice matters. Black lives matter. And as podcasters, we have the power to communicate that and to contribute to conversations that shift attitudes, hearts, and minds.

I grew up with white privilege. There was a time when most people in magazines and the books I read and the films I saw mostly looked like me and this didn’t seem strange. It was just the way it was.

Until I heard others talking about all the voices who were missing.

When I started the Postcard Academy podcast, I planned from the beginning to invite a diverse range of guests — women, people of color, LGBT.

This proved harder than I thought it would at first. I was looking for travel book authors and expat entrepreneurs, and I was finding primarily white guys, who I also interview, but there are other voices that also deserve to be heard. Emphasis on the word ‘deserve.’

A few months ago, I was listening to a podcast between two white men who speak at a lot of conferences. One of them complained about conferences trying to be more diverse.

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He said that it was not fair that he, a white guy, might not get to speak because of a ‘token.’ He was speaking about women, but you can insert ‘black people’ or any minority.

And he said that if you’re good enough, you’d already be speaking on stage, you’d get the speaking slots you applied for.

This is a common thought, and I can guarantee you that this guy doesn’t think he’s racist or sexist.

And even liberals can think a version of his sentiment. That ‘there’s no black people or other minorities to speak or be CEO because they haven’t had the same opportunities, but this will change down the road…’

There are plenty of qualified black people and LGBT and women who would make fantastic guests for your podcast. To be speakers on stage. To be running Fortune 500 companies.

So why aren’t they?

Diverse role models matter

Yes, we have institutional racism. Yes, we have the inclination to choose people who look like us, who have the same background as us.

But also, if we don’t see ourselves represented somewhere, it might not occur to us to apply to a certain program, or to speak on stage.

I had kind of forgotten about this, but in college, I started out as a business major before switching to journalism. I had visions of being CEO of a vegetarian frozen food empire.

But I forgot about this. When I joined the corporate world, I thought, “I never want to be the CEO. I just want to come in, do my job.” I didn’t see myself as a leader or a mentor or having my own business.

And I felt that way until I worked at Apple when Angela Ahrendts was SVP of Retail.

When she was there, she had earned rockstar reverence. Every week, she put out a video to all retail employees talking about (as much as Apple does) Apple’s vision and strategic direction. She built trust—and incredible loyalty—among her employees.

Typical words they use to describe her: brilliant, empathetic, warm, strategic.

I realized that I had never heard people refer to a female senior executive in such glowing terms. At some point, I had internalized the headlines depicting women leading US firms as incompetent shrews struggling to ‘have it all.’ I didn’t identify with that, and so it didn’t occur to me to aim for the C-Suite.

Angela’s a great leader, not because she’s a woman, but because she’s got fantastic business sense and treats people with respect. She shifted how I thought about myself and what I could be. And she looked like me.

That’s when the importance of diversity really clicked for me. Yeah, I always knew diversity was important, but I didn’t think it was a big deal that most senior execs were white men. I didn’t think I needed a role model who looked like me. But I did. And so do black people. And LGBT people. And people in wheelchairs.

I’m not comparing my experience to the black experience, but share my story to show how I came to realize that having role models who look like you matters, in business, in podcasting, and everywhere else.

Inclusivity is not tokenism

So even though it would be very easy to just interview white male guests who are already being promoted and making the news, I know I’ll have a richer, more meaningful, and more interesting show by digging deeper and elevating voices that aren’t as easily found.

I never want my guests to feel — or for listeners to perceive — that I chose a guest just because of their skin color. Everyone who has been on my show has been there because they had something valuable to share. My black guests are not tokens.

Referring back to the disgruntled podcaster I mentioned earlier, podcast conferences don’t need tokens.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of black podcasters who give great interviews and would be great on stage. Just because we don’t know them personally does not mean we can’t find them.

We need to find them and amplify their voices.

PODCASTERS FOR JUSTICE CAMPAIGN

The text below comes from the WOC Podcasters Community for all podcasters to use:

Collectively, we have built engaged audiences that listen to our voices regularly, and with coordinated effort, we can combine OUR voices to take a STRONG stance against racism and police brutality.

We serve many audiences, but we can speak with one voice. One voice that does not mince words and demands justice.

We created this simple PSA for podcasters or any content creator to post and share in hopes that we can come together across digital spaces to support the work of activists on the front lines of change, who risk themselves daily to create a better world for us all.

Please join us in using your voice to take a stand and encourage action at this critical time by issuing the following statement on your podcast or other digital platform(s):

We are (podcasters/bloggers/youtubers/influencer/etc.) united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many many others at the hands of police. This is a continuation of the systemic racism pervasive in our country since its inception and we are committed to standing against racism in all its forms.

We believe that to be silent is to be complicit.

We believe that Black lives matter.

We believe that Black lives are more important than property.

We believe that we have a responsibility to use our platforms to speak out against this injustice whenever and wherever we are witness to it.

In creating digital media we have built audiences that return week after week to hear our voices and we will use our voices to speak against anti-blackness and police brutality, and we encourage our audiences to be educated, engaged, and to take action.

Here are three ways podcasters and content creators can participate:

Read this statement on your next show release & post the above statement and graphic to your social media feeds.
Donate a portion of your show proceeds and ask audience members to donate to any of the following:George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloydMinnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/Black Lives Matter: https://www.Blacklivesmatter.comMinneapolis NAACP Branch: https://www.paypal.me/mplsnaacp4050B
Sign A petition & Ask Your Audience To Sign:Text “Floyd” to 55156 to sign a petition a demand justice for George Floyd
Sign-up at Color of Change: https://colorofchange.org/ to be notified of more opportunities to take action