EP1: If Not Now Then When?

“Community isn’t always synonymous with warmth and harmony. Politeness is often a veneer for understanding when in reality it masks uncovered territory, the unspeakable pit that we turn from because we know the pain and anger that can dwell there. It is important to remind ourselves that real community is forged out of struggle. This is the crucible from which a real community grows.” Linda Christensen

 

Welcome to the first episode of Two Wives and A SPARK! In today’s episode, you will meet us, Rachel and Lia Rosen, founders of S.P.A.R.K. We are in an interracial lesbian marriage and are very aware of how much race influences everything, so we’re excited to share who we are, how we met, and also share our story and “why” for this work. 

We’re bringing two racial lenses to this conversation: Rachel as a white woman and Lia as a Black woman. Professionally we have been working in education for over a decade, and we actually met working at the same middle school tens years ago. Now we both facilitate conversations about racial equity, inclusion, and antiracism all the time. Lia is a school leader in Austin, Texas, and Rachel is a DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) Strategist and Facilitator. 

We’re sharing some of the conversations we have daily in hopes that it sparks a more nuanced conversation with others.

One of the things we talk about is the S.P.A.R.K. acronym, which reminds us to show up to these conversations with intentionality:

• Show up authentically 
• Pause and listen
• Ask; do not assume
• Respect diversity
• Kindly expect messiness 

If you’re curious, here’s more information on S.P.A.R.K. products and services. 

 

We’d love to hear from you! Let’s connect on Instagram or you can email [email protected]