Apr 4, 2023
Dr. Joel A. Davis Brown is an author, educator, and LGBTQ
activist. He is the author of the book
The Souls of Queer Folk, which explores the power of queer
wisdom and its potential to transform leadership practices.
Dr. Joel A Davis Brown set out to explore what it meant to be
queer, but found that his research didn't satisfy him. With
encouragement from friends, he wrote a book to explore the answer
to this question. In The
Souls of Queer Folk, he shares the wisdom of the queer
community that has enabled queer people to survive and thrive in a
hostile world. He argues that this wisdom can help us all to
navigate our increasingly volatile society and elevate our
leadership practice. He reminds us that queer people are strong and
have been fighting for their rights for centuries, and that it is
important to stay focused on those who need the most attention.
In this episode, you will learn the following:
1. What is queer wisdom and why is it important?
2. What are LGBTQ leadership lessons and how can they elevate and
transform leadership practice?
3. What is the inclusion paradox and how does it illustrate the
current situation for marginalized communities?
Chapter Summaries:
[00:02:39]
Joel Brown introduces his book called The Souls of Queer
Folk.
Joel talks about Queer Wisdom and its importance.
[00:08:03]
Inclusion paradox: The idea that seemingly, if you just look at
television and pop culture and media, it could feel like we have a
lot more rights than we do. That in and of itself, makes it hard
for people to understand that we are actually dealing with very
unprecedented, dangerous times.
[00:17:59]
The wisdom that our community has provided has helped people to
avoid discrimination, recrimination and death. And the queer wisdom
is informed by a number of different communities. What leadership
comes down to is giving yourself permission to be yourself.
[00:21:40]
Simma asks:
So what made you, Joel Brown, Black gay man who was successful, very successful, made you decide to write this book?
Joe says, "If I may say so myself. I didn't seek to write a book. I think, you know me. I'm doing my thing."
[00:25:49]
When we think about culture, we have to recognize that there are
three different layers of culture. There are common things and
themes that separate the LGBTQ community or distinguish us from
others. Are there differences based on the subgroups?
I'm not trying to say that everybody's the same, but there are
values, and the values would tie us together, and that's what helps
us to build community. There's a qualitative difference in terms of
how people socialize. The work, of course, there's more work to be
done
[00:33:32]
In every culture, every group that's been oppressed, there's some
parts of culture that are as a result of the oppression. But
there's also some parts that are just like part of the culture.
It's hard to separate a culture from a system because this is the
system as we know it.
[00:43:41]
Leadership is not just about leading the organization, leading the
workforce or leading the team. It's about leading yourself. The
queer community has insight and wisdom that can help people to
figure out how to reclaim their voice, to be resilient and to be
adaptive.
[00:49:03]
Joel's playlist: "I'm listening to a lot of Afrobeats. Also listening to music from Belgium, particularly Brussels. A lot of the hot Hip Hop and R&B in Europe are coming from there."
[00:56:17]
Joel Anthony Davis Brown talks about his new book, "The Souls of
Queer folk" How understanding LGBTQ culture can transform your
leadership practice.
Guest Bio
Dr. Joel A. Davis Brown is the Chief Visionary Officer of Pneumos LLC, a
management consulting company based in San Francisco, California,
and Nairobi, Kenya, specializing in cultural intelligence,
leadership development, organizational strategy and change
management, and strategic storytelling. Joel is also the co-owner
of the Global Inclusion Certification Program, a training and
certification company that trains practitioners to support equity
work and systems change on a global scale. for As a change agent,
Joel works strategically with organizational leaders and
professionals to cultivate innovative, creative, and adaptive
environments where the cultural genius of everyone can be harnessed
and leveraged successfully. In particular, Joel works with
organizational clients to foster psychological safety, healing,
belonging, and transformation. His work spans 5 continents.
His mission is to facilitate liberation for every global
citizen.
Connect with me:
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
LinkedIn
Website
Previous
Episodes:
From Harlem to Harvard: How Dorien Nuñez Tackled the Racial Wealth
Disparity
Unraveling Racial History: Benjamin Jealous’s Quest for
Freedom
Navigating Racism and Inclusion with Greg Jenkins, Nirupa Netram,
and Elinor Stutz
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Black
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