WHAT WILL THE AUDIENCE LEARN?
The audience will get insight from a professional theater practitioner about the social impact of storytelling. Listeners will learn about the new project at Artreach, Inc. that aims to use theater to illuminate racial bias in mental health and healthcare.
EPISODE SUMMARY:
Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, "Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.” When used for good, storytelling can be community; it can be therapy; it can be activism.
Rev. Dr. TLC will be accompanied by Emma Palzere-Rae: playwright, actor, director, producer and non-profit administrator. As Associate Director of Artreach, Inc., she is currently leading a project to use theatrical performance to expose and explore racial disparity in mental health and healthcare. Join us to discuss how art can be a vehicle for social change.
@ArtreachHeals (Instagram, YouTube) ;
https://www.facebook.com/artreachheals ;
https://www.facebook.com/BeWellProductions
EPISODE QUOTE:
Tune in for this important conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
Rev. Dr. TLC begins the show with a guided meditation. She introduces the topic for the episode before welcoming her guest Emma Palzere-Rae. Rev. Dr. TLC speaks on the importance of storytelling and how it relates to racial issues. Rev. Dr. TLC tells us of a time she worked in a public high school. She says it was clear as to who was in honors classes and who was in special ed classes. The school was 95% black and brown, and primarily black and brown children were in special ed classes. She asks, what story do you tell when you find that most white children are in honors classes? Rev. Dr. TLC says she was hired for that district because an overwhelming amount of black and brown males was suspended and expelled from school. There was also an overwhelming amount of black and brown students classified as socially and emotionally disturbed. It’s that language that is used that shapes the narrative being told.
Rev. Dr. TLC welcomes her guest Emma Palzere-Rae. Emma shares some of the sacred practices that keep her centered and grounded. Rev. Dr. TLC and Emma discuss ways journaling can be a helpful tool to connect within. Rev. Dr. TLC says she keeps two journals, one for her daily writing and the other is a gratitude journal. Gratitude journals help you see what there is to be grateful for. Emma discusses the origins of Art Reach and some of its background. Art Reach offers a variety of art programs for adults living with mental illness.
Emma explains what diversity means to her. She says diversity is recognizing and appreciating the differences everybody brings to the community. Emma talks about a play that is used to discuss the issues around systemic racism. She goes in depth on some of the issues that are tackled around racial disparities. This project is about creating positive change and giving a voice to the ones who are muted. Emma talks more about the racial disparities in mental health and some of the issues she has noticed in the field. She brings up language barriers where people in the Latin community who are in a health crisis have no means to a translator.
Emma discusses some of the experiences she’s heard about around the topics of George Floyd and the pandemic. She says it caused individuals to isolate themselves more and struggle to handle their emotions. Rev. Dr. TLC and Emma discuss the lack of trust the black community has in therapy. It is not common for the black community to reach out for help for their mental health, and something Emma and Rev. Dr. TLC would like to see change. Before the end of the segment, Emma shares some of the goals of the play and what message they are hoping to spread. To learn more about Emma, you can go to Art Reach Incorporated.
00:00:37.810 --> 00:01:07.369 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Hello, and welcome to the dismantled racism Show! I'm. Your host, the Reverend Dr. Tlc. I'm so delighted that you have joined me because the purpose of our show is to uncover, eradicate and to dismantle racism. And I want you to be a part of that movement. We are going to begin, as we always do, by taking a moment to center ourselves and to ground ourselves. So I want to invite you wherever you are.
00:01:07.660 --> 00:01:19.680 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: If you are in a place where you can sit firmly and comfortably in a chair and fill your feet on the floor, so that you can ground yourself,
00:01:20.350 --> 00:01:24.250 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and I want to invite you to just connect with your breath,
00:01:25.830 --> 00:01:30.339 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: breathing in and out, being conscious
00:01:30.630 --> 00:01:33.050 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of this moment and time
00:01:34.390 --> 00:01:36.940 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: just breathing in
00:01:37.140 --> 00:01:38.740 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and out,
00:01:39.910 --> 00:01:43.589 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and just give gratitude for yourself,
00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:55.999 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and just gratitude for this time
00:01:56.910 --> 00:01:59.520 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in which you can open up your heart
00:01:59.750 --> 00:02:01.420 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in your mind,
00:02:02.060 --> 00:02:06.050 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and you can expand your consciousness
00:02:06.770 --> 00:02:08.510 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: around race
00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:11.260 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: racial equities
00:02:11.640 --> 00:02:14.510 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and dismantling racism.
00:02:16.640 --> 00:02:19.840 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Breathe in and out,
00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:24.730 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: connecting with your sacred intelligence
00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:27.480 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: your divine wisdom,
00:02:28.260 --> 00:02:34.350 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that part of you that helps you to manifest your greatness,
00:02:34.430 --> 00:02:37.499 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: while manifesting the greatness of others,
00:02:39.020 --> 00:02:41.780 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: breathe in and out,
00:02:42.410 --> 00:02:49.680 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: recognizing this, a life force, this life force that is you, this power that is you,
00:02:51.770 --> 00:02:58.270 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: recognizing that your sacred source, your own divinity,
00:02:58.830 --> 00:03:02.919 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: is there to help you to make intelligent choices,
00:03:05.380 --> 00:03:08.310 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: breathe in and out,
00:03:10.270 --> 00:03:17.559 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: expanding your mind and accepting that you are limitless
00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:20.790 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: within you
00:03:21.310 --> 00:03:25.250 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: is power that you have yet to tap into,
00:03:27.190 --> 00:03:33.959 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Breathe in and out, recognizing that that power opens the door to possibilities,
00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:39.839 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: grab hold of those possibilities.
00:03:40.730 --> 00:03:42.980 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Breathe in
00:03:43.750 --> 00:03:45.750 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and exhale,
00:03:47.330 --> 00:03:50.450 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: breathe in and exhale,
00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:55.320 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: breathe in, and exhale,
00:03:57.040 --> 00:03:59.270 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: connecting with
00:04:00.530 --> 00:04:03.189 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: those that are present with you,
00:04:03.820 --> 00:04:07.989 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: connecting with those who are listening over the airways
00:04:08.090 --> 00:04:10.010 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: or social media
00:04:12.410 --> 00:04:18.280 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: connect with the wider community, world and universe
00:04:21.740 --> 00:04:24.740 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: breathe in and out,
00:04:26.130 --> 00:04:29.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: recognizing that what you do matters,
00:04:29.610 --> 00:04:31.969 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and that the power of one
00:04:32.490 --> 00:04:35.619 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: contributes to the power of community.
00:04:37.080 --> 00:04:40.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Together we can change the status quo,
00:04:43.940 --> 00:04:47.340 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: so breathe in and out,
00:04:49.760 --> 00:04:52.429 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and take one more big breath in
00:04:53.370 --> 00:04:55.220 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: side out,
00:04:56.130 --> 00:04:57.759 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and when you're ready,
00:04:58.510 --> 00:05:00.380 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: open your eyes
00:05:00.460 --> 00:05:02.150 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and let's begin
00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:12.090 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: today on our show. We're going to be talking about stories, because stories matter
00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:16.250 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: what we tell ourselves about ourself,
00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:19.439 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: what we tell ourselves about other people,
00:05:20.290 --> 00:05:25.550 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: those stories and our opinions and our perspectives.
00:05:25.630 --> 00:05:33.039 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: They have the power to heal, and they have the power to actually be deadly.
00:05:34.260 --> 00:05:37.879 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Think about the stories that you know
00:05:38.130 --> 00:05:42.730 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that you've heard in particular about people of color.
00:05:43.740 --> 00:05:48.609 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Think about the stories that you've even heard about white people
00:05:48.890 --> 00:05:50.970 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: or white supremacy.
00:05:51.790 --> 00:05:56.260 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Think about how the devastation
00:05:56.740 --> 00:06:01.199 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of not knowing the truth of our history
00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:07.920 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: has impacted us, because we only want to hear some stories,
00:06:08.690 --> 00:06:13.689 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and we know that stories are often told from the perspective,
00:06:14.820 --> 00:06:19.590 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: probably most often told from the perspective of the conqueror
00:06:19.670 --> 00:06:21.300 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of the victor.
00:06:22.050 --> 00:06:29.600 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And so we don't want truth to be known if we believe that it is going to threaten us and our livelihood.
00:06:30.770 --> 00:06:32.970 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So one of the things I think about
00:06:33.080 --> 00:06:39.229 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in terms of stories, and as I was preparing for today, I thought about the stories
00:06:39.290 --> 00:06:42.010 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that people have said
00:06:42.050 --> 00:06:44.620 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: about black people in particular
00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:50.329 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: around education, our intellect, and our mental health.
00:06:51.370 --> 00:06:53.769 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: When I worked at a public high school,
00:06:55.090 --> 00:07:04.560 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: when I walk through the doors, it was evident to me who was in honors classes, and who was in special Ed classes,
00:07:05.340 --> 00:07:08.929 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and the school was ninety-five percent black and brown.
00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:15.559 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So just think about that for a moment that if most of the black and brown students
00:07:15.780 --> 00:07:25.799 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: we're in a special way, class or regular ed class, and the Honors classes were predominantly white.
00:07:26.790 --> 00:07:28.819 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: What story do you make up.
00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:35.279 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: What do you believe to be the truth about how smart people of color are!
00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:41.609 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: What stories do you believe about us as it relates to being in special Ed.
00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:51.480 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: One of the reasons I was hired to work for that district is because we had an over abundance of black and brown males in particular,
00:07:51.490 --> 00:08:03.819 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: who were being suspended and expelled from school, but also we had an over abundance of black and brown students, who were identified as socially, emotionally disturbed,
00:08:04.780 --> 00:08:16.229 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and the language that was often used when we would have a meeting, even with sending students to in school suspension, would be sending them to the holding room.
00:08:16.770 --> 00:08:24.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So we're already creating a story around where black and brown students need to be housed.
00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:29.780 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Because when you say holding room, does that not remind you of a jail sale.
00:08:30.760 --> 00:08:40.840 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So we're already saying, this is where these students are going. They're emotionally disturbed. Not that they live in neighborhoods,
00:08:40.900 --> 00:08:47.299 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: for instance, for some of these kids where there are things going on in the neighborhood
00:08:47.780 --> 00:08:57.120 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that might contribute to their acting out experience that might contribute to their sadness or depression.
00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:11.059 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We didn't take a look at the larger system. So there's a story being told that when children behave a certain way that perhaps they don't have the intellectual capacity
00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:23.150 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to get better grades. Or perhaps they're acting out is because they're socially, emotionally disturbed rather than looking at the entire system.
00:09:23.820 --> 00:09:25.529 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: And I can tell you
00:09:25.710 --> 00:09:43.700 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that when I became a a school psychologist and began to look at the data a bit more carefully, there were many students that I took out of special ed because they didn't need to be there. They needed other resources to help them navigate life
00:09:43.710 --> 00:09:46.249 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and to help them navigate school
00:09:47.810 --> 00:10:02.840 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: when given the opportunity they excelled. But there was a story being told, and sometimes those stories are subtle, or sometimes, if we're not conscious about race and racism,
00:10:03.210 --> 00:10:06.340 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: we don't notice it, we accept it.
00:10:06.660 --> 00:10:12.990 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Another story that I learned about very early on in psychology
00:10:13.090 --> 00:10:17.690 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: was that most black people
00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:27.180 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Well, let me let me rephrase that that more black people were diagnosed with schizophrenia
00:10:27.520 --> 00:10:35.319 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: when there was a thought disorder happening, or when there were some other psychological behaviors happening,
00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:45.740 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Doctors did not examine them carefully enough, but just assume that, whatever their behavior was that seemed a little bit out of the norm
00:10:46.290 --> 00:10:48.940 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: would be diagnosed as schizophrenic.
00:10:49.680 --> 00:10:52.580 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Why? Because we were seen as deviant.
00:10:53.140 --> 00:11:01.609 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We were seeing as there being something wrong with us rather than taking a look at the system.
00:11:02.970 --> 00:11:07.089 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I think many of us have seen over the last couple of years with
00:11:07.230 --> 00:11:26.740 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: the ways in which we've had to manage Covid, and to manage the conversation around racism, and many folks who didn't recognize racism before have begun to see that really what we experien as people of color on a daily basis is really enough to make one
00:11:26.750 --> 00:11:28.140 lose their minds.
00:11:28.770 --> 00:11:30.680 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But most of us don't,
00:11:30.900 --> 00:11:33.249 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and most of us function
00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:35.190 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: every day
00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:37.750 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: with good intellect
00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:49.299 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and good emotional and psychological stability. But that's not what the world says, and that's not what the story says about us,
00:11:49.870 --> 00:11:57.870 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and it's time that we change that story, and the only way we change it is to learn more about one another,
00:11:57.930 --> 00:12:00.560 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: so that we don't fear one another,
00:12:00.670 --> 00:12:04.249 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and so that black and brown men
00:12:04.370 --> 00:12:06.970 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: who are stopped
00:12:07.350 --> 00:12:10.640 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: for a traffic violation, don't end up dead.
00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:15.459 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: That's why it's important for us to tell the story.
00:12:15.670 --> 00:12:21.640 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: It's important for us to tell the story so that we can reduce mass incarceration,
00:12:21.970 --> 00:12:26.480 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: where we don't find black and brown men in jail
00:12:26.500 --> 00:12:29.060 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: for crimes
00:12:29.230 --> 00:12:34.840 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that many white people commit. Don't end up in jail.
00:12:35.450 --> 00:12:37.500 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So what do we do about it.
00:12:37.700 --> 00:12:44.760 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We began to tackle the problem of racism in all aspects of our lives.
00:12:45.330 --> 00:12:55.510 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: My guess today is here because she is committed to changing the story, and she has found a way in her profession
00:12:55.580 --> 00:13:01.180 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: to change that story. She's found a way by using art.
00:13:01.450 --> 00:13:11.100 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So when I tell you that racism and the dismantling of racism can be infused in every aspect of our lives.
00:13:11.290 --> 00:13:13.189 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Indeed, it can,
00:13:13.260 --> 00:13:20.439 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: so i'm. Very excited today to have is my guess, Emma Palazzer Ray.
00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:26.210 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: She's a playwright, actor, director, producer, and nonprofit
00:13:26.250 --> 00:13:44.370 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: administrator. She is the associate director of Art Reach, incorporated where she oversees theater programming and fundraising she's the former artistic director of plays for living in New York City, a touring theater for social change.
00:13:44.380 --> 00:13:48.419 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Emma's plays include on Hattie's house
00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:55.759 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: What compelled Harriet Beecher stowe to pin Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Wood Hall, Project,
00:13:55.930 --> 00:14:14.089 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two presidential candidate Victoria Woodhall, which tour under the banner of be Well, production. Emma serves on the Steering Committee of the League of Professional Theatre, Women and Co-chair for New London Arts Council.
00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:32.140 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: She is a member of Actors equity association and the dramatic skill where she serves as the regional representative for New England, West in two thousand and twenty-one. Emma was awarded an artistic fellowship from the Connecticut office of the Arts.
00:14:32.180 --> 00:14:38.560 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Emma, I want to welcome you to the show today. Thank you so much for being here.
00:14:38.790 --> 00:14:58.299 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Thank you for having me. I'm really looking forward to our conversation.
00:15:01.490 --> 00:15:21.140 www.TalkRadio.nyc: Are you a business owner? Do you want to be a business owner? Do you work with business owners? Hi, I'm. Steven Fry, your small and medium sized business, or Smb Guy and i'm the host of the new Show, always Friday, while I love to have fun on my show. We take those Friday feelings of freedom and clarity to discuss popular topics in the minds of Smbs today.
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00:16:46.910 --> 00:16:47.820 You
00:16:49.170 --> 00:16:50.340 you
00:16:50.890 --> 00:16:51.730 you
00:16:51.910 --> 00:16:52.770 you!
00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:08.700 You!
00:17:12.930 --> 00:17:41.399 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We're back with the dismantle racism. Show my guest today, Emma Palace or Ray is here to talk about the stories we tell, as well as the work that she's doing in the artistic arena. As I said before, the break in My! I'm so excited to have you here. But I want to start out asking you something that I try to ask all my guests because we're living in the world where it seems like day to day. There's so much uh
00:17:41.410 --> 00:17:54.660 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: chaos that's going on, whether it be from wars or still trying to manage Covid. And still this discussion of racism that we're having? Among other things, you know. Um,
00:17:54.780 --> 00:18:05.479 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: do you have a sacred practice? Do you have something that helps to ground you, and you know kind of get you through the day to day experiences.
00:18:06.490 --> 00:18:12.259 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): I do. But I would say, until fairly recently it's been um
00:18:12.570 --> 00:18:30.239 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): less conscious, Right? Uh. I've had periods where I practice. Tm: but you know, especially like through Co. But it's like, Oh, i'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do like my two twenty minutes a day, and I still struggle to um. Do that consistently. So I kind of said, Let me let this go.
00:18:30.250 --> 00:18:39.079 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um! Two things that uh and and both are groups that we started at our reach. One is a practice called Bullet Journal.
00:18:39.130 --> 00:18:48.100 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um. So we have a group that meets every week to uh do our bullet journals, and I uh in my bullet journal I make a point of
00:18:48.140 --> 00:18:49.610 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): um
00:18:50.350 --> 00:18:58.940 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): looking at, and I started starting the day with gratitude and a focus for my day, and also
00:18:59.840 --> 00:19:03.080 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): looking at various um
00:19:03.170 --> 00:19:17.509 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): parts of my life. Like, am I creating something? Am I connecting with people, so that every day I am consciously like having an intention in in those, you know, not just work, and not just the to do list but those other elements.
00:19:17.520 --> 00:19:47.509 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): And then recently we started an artist way group, which is um if I don't know if you're familiar with artists way. It came out in the late eighties, and I had the book on my shelf, and I went to like three or four different events or speakers, where the person said, Well, I do. Morning pages from the artist way every day, and I thought, Okay, Universe, I hear you loud and clear. This is too much. So I went to the shelf and pulled out my artist.
00:19:47.520 --> 00:19:53.879 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): This was like the middle of the summer, and I started, you know, going through that
00:19:53.970 --> 00:20:08.279 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): that process, and which is very much about um connected with sacred intelligence. And I've been thinking about it as I um right and my um philosophy that artists are just channeling
00:20:08.290 --> 00:20:17.169 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): um creative energy. So it it really reinforces that and unblocks you
00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:25.149 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): so that you are able to just be that channel of creative energy. So that's kind of where my focus has been
00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:52.190 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: these days. So I just want to do to clarify, because Tm. Could mean many things. But I'm. Assuming you're meeting transcendental meditation. Is that what you're referring to? To know? Because sometimes we'll use language that we think everybody is familiar with um the Bullet Journal. You can say a little bit more about what that is, which has been pretty popular in the last couple of years, but
00:20:52.200 --> 00:21:01.310 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you know it's just a type of journal that people can use to manage their their life, so to speak, or to help them.
00:21:01.350 --> 00:21:13.229 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Oh, go ahead. Yeah. And so it's very customizable to what each individual's needs are. Um not only in terms of their life, but how
00:21:13.290 --> 00:21:30.099 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): their thought process works, or how they're, you know. Um. It was developed by a young man with Adhd. So you know, it was his own system for himself of uh tracking his life and making sure he's productive and focused and
00:21:30.390 --> 00:22:00.340 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: on purpose. Really, it's about, because it's also very much about the why are you doing all these things and not just Here's the things I need to do right So Yes, and and we all have to have ways in which we manage what is going on around. This is so interesting that you mentioned the artists way, and it being on your shelf because books call to us at the appropriate time, and it just means it. Now was the time for you to engage in in the
00:22:00.350 --> 00:22:05.849 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in that as well. I actually gave a copy of the artist's Way to one of my
00:22:05.930 --> 00:22:07.600 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: daughters, and
00:22:07.610 --> 00:22:34.099 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I will be honest. I had forgotten. I gave it to her, but one day she says, Mom, I just absolutely love this book, and so she really makes it a practice, and I wanted to say to our audience, Journaling is an awesome way of connecting with your feelings, helping you to be in a place of gratitude if you keep a gratitude uh journal as well, and and just really helping you to come
00:22:34.110 --> 00:22:56.270 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: sort through some of the things, and to be able to go inward and listen to your sacred intelligence. I actually have two journals that I keep. One is just my daily journal of writing, and the other one is, I try to make sure, if not every day. I'm doing a gratitude journal several times a week to see what there is to be grateful for,
00:22:56.280 --> 00:22:58.360 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: because in this work
00:22:58.540 --> 00:23:00.919 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of dismantling racism
00:23:01.820 --> 00:23:06.579 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: it would be so easy for us to look at everything that's not going well.
00:23:07.530 --> 00:23:12.660 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But when we can spend some time in that energetic space
00:23:12.670 --> 00:23:40.489 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of what is going well, and knowing that they are good people out here, and knowing that, and not just good people, because that's like a judgment, you know, to sometimes to use those term. But knowing that there are people out here who are on the journey with us, and so I want to thank you for being on the journey, and I want you to talk a little bit about. You know It's very interesting, because your work that you're doing is around social justice. So tell us a little bit
00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:43.910 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: about the project that you are doing
00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:59.359 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): so in your company in. General: Okay, Yeah. So let me kind of start with the background. So Um outreach was founded in one thousand nine hundred and eighty-five, primarily as a sketch comedy troop.
00:23:59.580 --> 00:24:23.590 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): But the sketch comedy was all um performed, written and performed by adults, living with mental illnesses, and about the mental health system, and about their experiences. So outreach is already always identified as a theater for social change from that regard. Um, even. Ah, you know, with its performances and
00:24:23.600 --> 00:24:36.640 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): and the eighties nineties was extremely popular, even into two thousands. Ah, toured nationally! Um! You know what premiere a new show every year, and and to it for that year.
00:24:36.650 --> 00:24:44.619 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um! And so that's our background. Today. We provide a whole variety of arts programs
00:24:44.630 --> 00:25:05.650 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Uh: still for the population of adults living with mental illnesses. Um, and our public performances and art exhibits help raise awareness about mental health and bust the stigma of mental illness. So we're working one on one and in small groups to um
00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:09.920 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): heal through creativity, and then using that creativity
00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:24.770 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): in the community at large, do heal society. So we do. Music, theater, visual arts, wellness programs and kind of any other creative. We do creative field trips we do. Um.
00:25:24.810 --> 00:25:43.339 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): You know, kind of anything that you know people are interested in. Uh will present that. So? Um! I have a background also in theater for social change. Um, through. I kind of stumbled into a job at the organization you mentioned in New York plays for living,
00:25:43.540 --> 00:25:54.489 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): and was like, Wow, I didn't know like theater for social change was the thing. It was one of those like. Oh, i'm home now, you know, when I found it, and
00:25:54.950 --> 00:26:02.740 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): at the time that I worked for plays for living, which was mid ninetys to early two thousands.
00:26:02.820 --> 00:26:18.810 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): We were doing a lot of work around um diversity in the workplace. Whole bunch of issues, domestic violence, um sexual harassment, diversity for middle and high schools, and there were different plays that address different issues,
00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:23.320 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): you know, back in the Ninetys corporations had a lot of money
00:26:23.490 --> 00:26:26.890 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): to bring the theater troop in.
00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:33.569 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): We, you know. At that time we flew all over the country to do these corporate trainings on diversity with a play called People like Us.
00:26:33.600 --> 00:26:35.820 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um!
00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:52.989 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): When I came to art, each in two thousand and nineteen, and we're designing theater programs at one point, we say, you know, let's have a theater for social change workshop, and we'll read different plays and discuss them every week, you know, and engage some people, and you know, just sitting around the table and reading plays,
00:26:53.000 --> 00:27:06.649 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): it didn't necessarily have to be members who like to get up on stage, you know. So um! And we took out that people like us play on diversity from place for living, and had a really rich discussion about it
00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:25.510 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): so fast forward to Covid, George Floyd's murder, and as an organization we said, Well, let's Let's do something, and we produce that play as a reading on zoom. It's a training just like for us as staff Members Board members volunteers to open the discussion on diversity.
00:27:25.550 --> 00:27:26.770 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um!
00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:45.010 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): So we got a great response to that, and applied for a grant to then tour that play um ten times to uh our communities mental health um uh agencies that we partner with. And uh, we also brought it to local libraries.
00:27:45.020 --> 00:27:51.490 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): So, getting that conversation going out in the community.
00:27:51.530 --> 00:28:09.459 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Kind of brings us up to the next project that before you get to the next project, because we are going to have to take a quick break, I when we come back. I'd love to hear what your definition of diversity
00:28:09.470 --> 00:28:36.760 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: it is us as the person who works to dismantle racism. I'm very clear when I go into spaces that i'm talking about racism because a lot of times when we think about um, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and belonging. Now people are talking about every group, but we fear talking about race is more comfortable to talk about the other. So when we come back
00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:56.110 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I want you to answer the question, What What do you mean by diversity? And then we'll talk a little bit more about your project. So we are going to be right back with Emma Pa Palazier Ray, talking about outreach and the work that they are doing in social change will be right back.
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00:30:57.420 --> 00:31:14.909 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We're back with my guest today and on the ray and we're talking about art really in the theater and social change. So, Emma, before the break. You were talking about the work that you all were doing with social change around versus what does diversity mean to you?
00:31:16.020 --> 00:31:28.270 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): So. Yes, and you maybe realized like That's habitual, that I describe that play as being about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, because we really did pitch it, as
00:31:28.280 --> 00:31:45.859 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): you know, looking at systemic racism in the place of this, these fictional characters and um and that's just kind of the history of it. But diversity, yes, is to me recognizing and appreciating the differences that everybody is one hundred and fifty,
00:31:45.870 --> 00:31:53.539 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: bringing to um a community in a space. So with those plays. When you all
00:31:53.590 --> 00:32:08.090 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: went in. You had a fair number of uh black and brown people, who were also acting in those place as well. So like this was all possible because or um
00:32:08.350 --> 00:32:19.979 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): more doable because of Covid virtual platforms. Um! The cast of the play, and and I should say right. This play was written in
00:32:20.050 --> 00:32:25.699 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Ah, one thousand nine hundred and ninety four, I believe we had very little to change
00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:27.150 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in terms of,
00:32:27.160 --> 00:32:48.090 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): and the situations presented still very. What is changed is our language around it, right in the facilitation um, static racism, and and instead of diverse looking at diversity in an office right and different ways. We could debrief the play, so the play doesn't stand alone. It's it's
00:32:48.100 --> 00:32:55.319 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): purposes to spark discussion so um right that discussion as kind of
00:32:55.360 --> 00:32:56.780 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): change
00:32:56.920 --> 00:33:10.949 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): I wouldn't say the the meat of the conversation as a change. It's the words we use to discuss it that has changed um. And do you think the response has changed the response. When you're going into these spaces
00:33:11.040 --> 00:33:12.900 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: after
00:33:14.090 --> 00:33:21.210 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: twenty twenty, do you think people are more open to hearing what you have to say
00:33:21.850 --> 00:33:29.109 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): yes, and I would say um in the public performances at libraries and the public venues we did.
00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:48.060 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): This will sound funny, but there was always one old white guy, as I call them, who came, who read about it, and came because they wanted to figure this out. They uh often exhibited a lot of white
00:33:48.070 --> 00:33:52.370 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): male privilege, and felt that their opinion on the subject was
00:33:52.380 --> 00:34:22.319 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: worth hearing, and and and they were gonna hold on It's hard to change right. And one of the things about changing our work stories is that it requires us to change. But we also get into this place of fear that if I have to change my story. Am I going to lose something when I become more inclusive? And And they came, and they came wanting to learn and be a part of the program, and
00:34:22.330 --> 00:34:33.520 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): and and actively engage in conversations. So that's a a plus that's a win. Um, But uh going back to the play. The play calls specifically for um.
00:34:33.620 --> 00:34:43.979 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): A black male who's a middle manager, a white male who's um uh more senior, but not like kind of the company,
00:34:44.010 --> 00:34:50.190 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): a black female who's lower management, and up for a promotion
00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:54.490 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): uh Hispanic Latina
00:34:54.790 --> 00:35:10.969 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): uh who's a lower management lower part of the lower group. So the group of three women. There's a Asian woman, latina and black woman. Um. And yeah, that's our five actors. So some of them play multiple characters. Uh, but the story
00:35:11.370 --> 00:35:20.990 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): revolves around Dave, who's our black middle manager and aid as promotion, and
00:35:21.910 --> 00:35:23.100 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): it it gets
00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:43.060 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): put off and put off and put off, and Dave gets put in the position of having to tell her right, and it's all coming from the top down. Oh, no, we gotta hire this other guy because he's the nephew of so and so. And we gotta hire this guy because he went to Harvard Um. And then there's a whole scenario around the company launching a
00:35:43.240 --> 00:35:50.279 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): a product in China, and it's not going well, and that they have this Asian employee who
00:35:50.490 --> 00:35:56.219 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): gets it. You know she knows why it's not going well, and you know
00:35:56.380 --> 00:36:09.010 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): they receive information from her. You know more instantly she does get promoted. She also ends up getting head hunted by the competition and and leaving for a better job. So
00:36:09.020 --> 00:36:39.010 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: it it really talks about all the dynamics of what happens when you don't understand race, and how racism impacts things, you know. And so it sounds like It's a great play, but I But I do want to make sure that we get to the work that you're actually doing right now, particularly around mental health. And again trying to shift the stories that we are familiar with. Yeah. So in two thousand and twenty, we said. As an organization we said,
00:36:39.020 --> 00:36:46.570 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Look this, these are our strengths and opportunities. We have a strong theater team. We know theater for social change.
00:36:46.990 --> 00:37:01.530 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Social change is a lot broader. Um, you know. Yes, a lot of people are dealing with mental health right now. But as a as you know, this issue of racism is a big one, and let's tackle it.
00:37:01.540 --> 00:37:16.490 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um! So you know, the people like us. Project was kind of putting our toe in the water, and then Um, we said, Okay, yeah, we're we're committed. To this. We applied for Grants to create our own play, devise a play
00:37:16.620 --> 00:37:26.150 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): around disparity, racial disparity in health care, particularly mental health, so
00:37:26.230 --> 00:37:45.700 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): that that those proposals have been extremely successful. Clearly, there's a need for somebody to be out there um getting this conversation going. But we also what is, What are the things that you're seeing in terms of disparities that you want to address
00:37:45.710 --> 00:37:47.029 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: in the play?
00:37:47.170 --> 00:38:06.189 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Well, we we recognize. This is not our story to tell. So a lot of our work, and we're still kind of in the stages. The final stages of this has been pulling the team together, whose story it is to tell, and we are simply the facilitators. Now.
00:38:06.200 --> 00:38:20.609 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Okay, there's still we raise the money. So there's still this power structure that we're saying, Okay, yeah, we have to minimize that. Um: We did a great theater training a couple of us at the beginning of one hundred, and one
00:38:20.910 --> 00:38:37.119 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): or earlier, in twenty twenty-two uh call, creating culturally competent productions. And it was just it was exactly. It was run by a company called Black and Brown Theater. That's I think, in Detroit and um
00:38:37.130 --> 00:38:48.649 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): along with some other theater people who really kind of broke it down in a very positive way. Um, and helped us right from the get-go. Say, okay,
00:38:48.790 --> 00:38:52.360 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): we have to like this. This already exists
00:38:52.400 --> 00:39:11.920 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): we're we're a pride predominantly. White Female organization, and we have the money for this project. So who how? Who else do we engage? Who do we bring on board? Um, in an authentic way? Be a part of this conversation. And how do we just support the process? And um
00:39:11.930 --> 00:39:20.590 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): and the platform for this conversation to happen? It's also really important to us that the project
00:39:21.120 --> 00:39:34.129 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): um be about creating positive change. We're not coming together. We're gonna share stories. But along that way, finding the way. To say, Okay,
00:39:34.340 --> 00:39:43.610 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): these are true-lived experiences, or this is, you know, however artistically, that manifests itself.
00:39:44.820 --> 00:40:01.339 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: But in i'm wondering in as an audience to right, that we can have that conversation. Of what can we do? What can we do? That's different. Where are the baby steps we can take to charts to start to change um, so that our audience, though, would be um would, would,
00:40:01.350 --> 00:40:05.949 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you know, understand some of these disparities? Can you speak to?
00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:22.010 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Because if you're doing a play on disparities. That means that you've heard some story that you've seen the statistics so could you just talk about maybe one or two uh things that you've noticed that are different. So I spoke earlier about diagnoses.
00:40:22.020 --> 00:40:34.310 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): What are you noticing? We We did have a series of community conversations, and we are partnering with a black run theater. Um! That's a fairly new theater in New London called Emergent Theater Project. So um
00:40:34.500 --> 00:40:50.489 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Ah, Michael Bradford from emergent theater, has been ah terrific to work with and co-facilitated conversations with our executive director, Becka Atkins who is our mental health professional. So we heard
00:40:50.730 --> 00:41:01.750 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): interesting that we heard a lot about language barriers so mixed. Race and Spanish speaking.
00:41:02.470 --> 00:41:11.639 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Individuals in health crises have no access to translation, or their privacy is violated
00:41:13.110 --> 00:41:18.149 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): because of translation issues so um
00:41:18.380 --> 00:41:26.489 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: well, and that that just reminded me of something else. No, I don't know if you've noticed this, but I remember when I worked in the high school,
00:41:26.500 --> 00:41:54.060 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: and if we had a parent who did not speak English, the very child that we were talking to the parent about would have to translate, and that becomes problematic right if you do not have uh the proper uh translator to be there. And you've got to also say, am I hearing the right thing am I getting at the right thing? I know that even when I have had translators
00:41:54.070 --> 00:42:04.669 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: um as a person who was doing the diagnosis, I had to make sure. Are you asking the question that I'm asking you to ask? Because sometimes
00:42:04.920 --> 00:42:20.729 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: it will be a long conversation, and i'd get one or two words back. No, you need to have somebody trained in this area who knows how to do those? And if the person getting medical care has been a victim of abuse,
00:42:20.740 --> 00:42:33.009 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): or or victimized in some other ways like how how that impacts the situation. Um! So we also heard a lot uh, too, that like Oh, no, therapy is a white
00:42:33.370 --> 00:42:34.830 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): is a white thing,
00:42:34.850 --> 00:42:53.210 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): right? I was brought up not to, you know, from um uh black people that were part of our conversations. I was brought up that, like you know, we don't do therapy. There's no therapists in my community. I don't see black therapists um right? I Don't.
00:42:53.660 --> 00:43:23.469 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Well, that's really an interesting thing, right? Because I did my dissertation on help seeking behavior of African American parents. And, as it turns out, most of the ones that I interviewed were willing, because I had that same perspective, too. But I think it depends on whether people think that they can see people who look like them who get them. And then we also come from this system of you know, like the Tuskegee experiment where
00:43:23.480 --> 00:43:29.099 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: you know, we don't trust the system that we're going to. And so I think that
00:43:29.280 --> 00:43:32.690 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I think that we have to do something about this,
00:43:32.700 --> 00:43:51.210 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: even myth, that we don't go to therapy right, and there' be isn't available. It isn't needed for us, because there is that stigma out there, and quite frankly, uh I know this to be true as well. Sometimes we normalize behavior
00:43:51.340 --> 00:43:59.129 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: that really needs care, and that happens in all cultures. But I think that even when I think about
00:43:59.140 --> 00:44:12.139 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: like there's an extra stress that we experience that can cause uh issues. We all know that stress can have medical implications. They can have psychological implications, and
00:44:12.150 --> 00:44:34.409 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: we need to take those things into consideration and start telling a different story. But yes, we do go to therapy, I mean i'm a therapist. So of course I I, you know I want to make sure that that um that we are also engaging in uh getting our own mental health treatment as well.
00:44:34.560 --> 00:44:57.210 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I know that there are few of us, particularly in this area. There are few Uh African American therapists of cold color and uh, of color, um redundant, but African American therapist, and and I actually don't see clients anymore. So you know It's It's not a great pool of therapists who um
00:44:57.450 --> 00:45:24.259 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: who are available often, who look like the people that they serve. So Um, Emma, we do have to take another a quick break. So when we come back I want to just hear a little bit more about the goals of the project that that you're working on, and you've talked about that a little bit. But if you could just expand that, and we're going to be right back. Uh, this is the dismantle racism show. I'm your host, the river, Dr. Tlc.
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00:47:24.980 --> 00:47:53.710 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: We're back with my guests, then, my Palazier Ray, Emma, I do hear a little bit about the goals of your current project that you're working on. But before we do that, you know, at the top of the hour you talked a bit about uh George Floyd's murder and Covid, and tell me a little bit about the conversation you heard around that combination that really sparked you even more
00:47:53.720 --> 00:48:06.529 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): to engage in the work that you're doing,
00:48:06.560 --> 00:48:10.899 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): experiencing any kind of mental
00:48:10.950 --> 00:48:18.199 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): mental health issues. Right? Isolation was going to exacerbate that. So that's just
00:48:18.300 --> 00:48:30.839 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): right. And of course, that's what we've seen happen. Um! So that's a struggle in and of itself, and our conversations that we were having with black and brown people in the community.
00:48:30.900 --> 00:48:34.229 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um! Just the
00:48:35.280 --> 00:48:38.270 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): amount of pain
00:48:39.200 --> 00:48:45.819 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): and struggle that we heard about that people experience.
00:48:46.080 --> 00:48:49.829 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): You know. They were already in a difficult place
00:48:49.850 --> 00:48:57.840 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): because of Covid when George Floyd's murder happened, that that was really just
00:48:58.430 --> 00:49:02.870 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): pushed. People, you know, as far as I could,
00:49:02.890 --> 00:49:06.629 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): you know, imagine that the
00:49:06.870 --> 00:49:14.510 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): some people expressed it cause them to just isolate more because they didn't know how to
00:49:14.540 --> 00:49:18.810 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): handle their emotions, or
00:49:18.850 --> 00:49:23.069 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): or that they just couldn't face anything just that.
00:49:23.110 --> 00:49:30.349 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): So right that confluence of events is,
00:49:30.720 --> 00:49:33.889 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): you know, as something to unpack. And
00:49:34.050 --> 00:49:44.140 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): ah! You know right now we're looking at who's going to be the creative team that's going to create this piece and perform it. And
00:49:44.700 --> 00:49:47.290 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): you know what
00:49:47.970 --> 00:50:07.880 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): providing them with. You know, uh recordings of these conversations and other research, statistical research. Um, Other conversations that people are having around racial disparity and health care and mental health and um their own lived experiences and what they're gonna bring to the conversation. But
00:50:07.890 --> 00:50:37.239 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: I if I was just about the pain. Yeah, if I could just jump in there for a second. I have talked to uh. Even even black men who for the first time said, look. I realized I actually did need to go to therapy, and I did need to take a break, because if day in and day out, you see, uh people who look like you being abused and murdered, and all of that. First of all that's That's terrorism
00:50:37.250 --> 00:50:55.690 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: at its best to see things like that, and we take it as the norm. But what happens is is that it impacts your Psyche and I had some people um who I've talked to. Actually, one man in particular that I I talked to, who talked about his pain,
00:50:55.700 --> 00:51:14.789 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: of what happened to George Floyd and him needing to take time off work. And then, just weeks later, his brother was shot by the police, you know, and these are very real things that are happening to both, and it's not just happening. People in certain neighborhoods and all of that, you know,
00:51:14.890 --> 00:51:20.310 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: people are being stopped by the police, and things happen
00:51:20.370 --> 00:51:49.339 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: right. They it escalates it. So I think it's really important for our listeners that we're talking about. Changing stories is not only important for white people to change their stories about what they think about black and brown people, but it is important for us is people of color to change our stories, to change our stories so that we go and get the help that we need to go and and change our story around. Who's available to help us,
00:51:49.350 --> 00:52:00.160 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: because it doesn't just happen. Half have to be a person of color for therapy, but that therapist does have to understand
00:52:00.170 --> 00:52:30.160 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: what black and brown people go through, because the thing that we dislike so much about going to therapy and going to the doctors and going to mental health professionals in any capacity. Even the school is that when people doubt that racism is impacting us, and I think that's the reason why it's important for us to tell the stories that matter, you know, and and my hope is that um, and you'll talk just for a second. I know
00:52:30.170 --> 00:52:46.709 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: we're going to run out of time here about your goals of of your of this play. I hope that the goals will be around changing the mindset of of everyone involved, so that we can provide
00:52:46.720 --> 00:52:53.270 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: the best treatment so that we can go and get care, so that we can understand that
00:52:53.750 --> 00:53:14.399 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: we need to reconcile our relationship so that we all can heal right. But talk a bit, then, about your your goals?
00:53:14.410 --> 00:53:15.580 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um,
00:53:15.940 --> 00:53:28.259 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): really saying so. How do we? What did we see in the play? What can we address? How do we as a community change it so that um,
00:53:28.570 --> 00:53:42.880 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): you know. Yes, the play will. The performance will be for black and brown people, but it's for the community as a whole, and for people who are in mental health care and health care so that they can say, Oh,
00:53:42.890 --> 00:53:53.449 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): yeah, I didn't realize I do that. Or um, Yeah. Gee, we could change that one thing. How do we either fight for translators, or how do we better? You know, How do we improve
00:53:53.460 --> 00:54:11.140 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Um. The delivery of care or the access to care. Right? So there's those two kind of issues. Access is, you know, one big question. We have to explore um, and whether That's the story. One tells themselves that I don't have access to care, or
00:54:11.150 --> 00:54:22.380 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): often it's. I don't need it particularly with mental health, Right? Um, or I can. I can deal with this on my own um versus um like,
00:54:22.390 --> 00:54:34.329 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): you know. What do we do so that people understand what's available to them, and how and and understand that they have access to it. And then what that delivery of care looks like? Is there a full understanding of
00:54:34.670 --> 00:54:38.390 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): the experience of this person and what they need.
00:54:38.540 --> 00:54:45.619 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: So and let me ask you um, if you would just really quickly do do you?
00:54:45.630 --> 00:55:06.320 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Because you're interested in getting people who have mental health issues as well as people who uh care for those people. Are you doing anything special to draw those people in? So we we we have two minutes to the show is. But if you could tell me really quickly, if you are specifically targeting those uh groups,
00:55:06.550 --> 00:55:35.009 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Yes, and that's like a whole other part of the project. That's the non artistic side. How are we? Who are we targeting as an audience? And how are we getting them? Um, you know, to to this performance, and you know so. But so much of it, especially well, not especially with topics. It's always the case. But we have to be especially cognizant of it is one on one conversations. Right is us as a team, and the broader team and the people we engage in the community
00:55:35.020 --> 00:55:46.439 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): say, Hey, this is what we're working on. Help us, you know, Like who else do you think should be at the table, or be in the audience
00:55:47.050 --> 00:55:58.950 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): time consuming but important right that like one to one relational um, and And that's part of what coming back to the beginning, this culturally competent productions. Workshop we did was like,
00:55:59.300 --> 00:56:10.559 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): you know, especially as white people say. Oh, I don't want that person to think i'm asking them because they're black and and really right, like understanding. I'm asking you because,
00:56:10.590 --> 00:56:16.649 Emma Palzere-Rae (she/her): Carolyn, you're a therapist you have seen, but I value your opinion.
00:56:16.660 --> 00:56:46.629 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Um, and I want to engage you in this, Probably right? Yeah. So I I hate to cut you short. But we we we're We're running out of time here. I want to thank you so much for being a guest on the show today. I just want to invite people to uh look up. Art reach Incorporated, and you can learn more about Emma. We will have all of her contact information, of course, posted on her our site. So please do look uh up, Emma, and be ready to come to the play when it's all
00:56:46.640 --> 00:57:03.119 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: uh ready uh for the community as well, particularly locally. I want to invite you to stay tuned for the conscious consultant hour with Sam Lee, but with where he helps you to walk through life with the greatest of ease. Enjoy, Emma. Thank you so much for being my guest today.
00:57:03.130 --> 00:57:10.879 Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry Avery: Thank you to my listening audience. Be well. Be safe. Be encouraged until next time, Bye, for now.
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