Hi there, I've been on a bit of a hiatus lately to finish my MFA degree in Arts Leadership from Seattle University and to reflect on current events. In the past few months I have written the longest essay in my academic career and presented on Rewriting the Narrative on Rural America through Oral Storytelling; I have been pressing into how institutions perpetuate inequality, settling into hard questions about white supremacy and the reality that working on my implicit and explicit biases is the work of a lifetime. What responsibility do I have as a white ally? What role should Reframing Rural play in moving the needle toward racial equity? How can I engage this platform I have created to continue conversations about justice and effect lasting change? These are a few questions I have been ruminating on lately, and in their wake I am finding even more questions. There is so much I have to learn and at times it feels overwhelming, but I'm finding hope in thinkers like Robin DiAngelo, who encourages white Americans to think critically about their race. I'm finding inspiration from podcasters like Lewis Raven Wallace who explores how the notion of objectivity in journalism upholds the status quo. I'm finding moments of awe and wonder in therapist Resmaa Menakem who uncovers how trauma affects the body and works to mend racialized trauma. While the pandemic has limited my ability to be in the same room as my MFA colleagues and community members, I find comfort in the artists and activists who keep me company through their podcasts, videos and books. I'll have more episodes to you soon and hope they are also able to inspire questions worth living. Yours, Megan Torgerson Reframing Rural Founder & Producer
What I'm Listening to, Watching & Reading:
Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo, General Commission on Religion and Race of The UMC
The View from Somewhere Podcast, Lewis Raven Wallace
Resmaa Menakem ‘Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence’, The On Being Project
What is Owed by Nikole Hannah Jones, The New York Times
1619 Podcast, The New York Times
Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, Krista Tippett