Hello, and welcome to a real conversation between two native English speakers.
I'm Adam Navis, and with me today is Liz Wade.
Hello, Liz.
Hi, Adam.
As always with you.
As always, yes.
As always.
Today we're going to talk about a program called 10 Ways to Fight Hate, Pressure Leaders.
This is part of a series.
I'm trying to remember what number in the series it is.
This is number seven.
Number seven.
If you have not checked out that program, make sure you do.
Click the link in the description and you can check out the full series.
We have a playlist on YouTube.
Yeah.
So you could listen to programs one through seven.
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Check out the advanced playlist as well.
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You just get the script in your email and then there's a link to the audio right there.
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Liz.
Yes.
10 Ways to Fight Hate.
Why don't you talk about the overall series, and then we'll talk briefly about that.
Why we love this series, and then what this program is about.
Okay, so I will say, we have been running this series almost all year, I think.
When you think about 10 Ways to Fight Hate.
I've always said this about this program and, Is you know?
You think well, I'm just going to do this in my life and it will be a way to fight against hate I meet in my everyday life or like people who are around me.
I can stand up against hate.
But what I really love about this series is that it does break it down, so it makes it smaller parts into ten different ways that, like people can take steps to stop hate either in their own lives, in their own minds, in their own communities or in the world.
And you can.
You can kind of pick and choose right.
So some of us are better at other things and and Like, even if you're not good at everything, I think these programs are really great at giving concrete steps like actual steps you can use in your life.
So, for example, in the I think it's number three or four, which is 10 ways to fight hate, speak up.
Right.
You.
We go through some situations you might be in and some ways that if somebody says a racist joke or something racist, that there are scripts.
There are things that you can practice to say to yourself, to the other person.
You can prepare yourself.
Yeah, exactly.
You prepare yourself to stop hate.
And so this program is about pressuring your leaders.
And it talks about how important it is for community leaders, world leaders, any sort of leaders, to community leaders, leaders in your family or whatever that those leaders have a stronger voice than maybe others, right?
So those people really need to be a, all I can think of is like beacon of light, right?
They need to be leading people away from hate and against hate and speaking against hate.
And as a person, Who that leader represents?
You have a voice to that leader to pressure them into making better choices, into speaking against hate, into acting against hate, And so that's what this program goes into like why it's important for you to do that and how you can do that in your community.
Yeah, I really, when I was reading, rereading this program in order to talk about it with you.
I really thought about the different um, kinds of leaders and the different you know, people watching this are going to be from all around the world, so you might have different types of government leaders um, different systems uh, locally.
You might even be a leader in your community and be watching this, So I think it's interesting.
It will be interesting.
And if you can, let us know in the comments below about when you listen to this program.
If you thought oh, this one, Because we give several things people can do.
There might be one that you think that doesn't work because maybe you're in a different system of government.
You might live under a king or a queen and they don't care about you or some kind of dictatorship.
So I have to recognize that there are different systems at play and different leaders are going to be more or less responsive.
But let's just assume moving forward that you feel like you can do something.
Well, yeah, I think you can do something.
I mean, it depends on what level of leadership you're talking about, right?
Like, if we're talking about maybe a family leader or a community leader, you might have a say in that.
If we're talking about like what can I do to pressure the president or my governor of my state to?
I feel like I have different levels of influence there.
But if I can make a difference on my local leadership level and then many people are also making differences on their local leadership level those local leaders can pressure higher up leaders and those higher up leaders can pressure leaders that are at the top.
And I think...
In that way, you can still have a little bit of a... Yeah.
I think that's a good point, Liz.
I think that you can't not do anything because you can't do everything, right?
Right.
Maybe you won't be able to influence the top leader of your country, But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to influence or help support.
There might be leaders who want to speak out against hate.
But like the program says, it's sometimes hard.
If they're an elected official, they're worried about keeping their job.
And they need to know that they're supported by the people they're serving.
Right.
Right.
And another thing about those kind of leaders, like elected leaders, I thought was really interesting in the program is that and we don't often think about this is that when a leader doesn't say something about hate, they're actually still sending a message.
Right.
So if there are a group of hate incidents in a community and a community leader says something against hate, like we need this hate to stop and stuff like that, they're speaking a message against hate.
But if there is the same group of incidents happening and people are saying, why aren't you speaking out about this?
And your community leader never says anything about it, that's still sending a message.
And that message could be that those hate incidents don't matter to that leader or that they approve of those hate incidents.
So just being quiet, just not saying anything as a leader, is also sending a message, Just the same as saying something.
Which is why we've made this series, right?
What?
Which is why we've made this series.
Yes, exactly.
For everybody who's watching this, we have an opportunity.
You have given us a few minutes of your time to hear what we have to say.
And yes, you want to learn English and practice your English.
But we also said, you know what, there's a lot of hate in the world.
We are going to do a whole series about it, because here at Spotlight we are going to fight hate in the small way or big way, whatever way we can.
And so maybe somebody watching this will say, well, I don't have a YouTube channel.
I'm not the president of a country.
But you're going to have some way in which you're a leader, even if it's to one person.
Oh, go ahead.
I was just saying, even if it's influencing one person.
Right.
Well, I was going to say that I think this is a good, a good time to talk about the example in this program, actually that that it it begins with.
And it's these students and former students of a school in Texas and Alabama as well, where the school was named after a US
Civil War general.
Right who led the South in a basically I mean, as every war is.
It is more complicated than this, but essentially the South wanted to keep slaves and the North wanted to stop slavery.
So the general Robert E Lee is often portrayed as a hero in the South, even though the South lost, and things like that.
But so many schools are named after him.
And these students and former students got together and they decided to ask about changing their changing the name of their school.
They asked the school board to do this.
These are local school leaders who make decisions about the school.
And I think that's great for a couple of reasons.
Right.
You think, first of all, it's these students, these young people who are, you know.
You might think oh, they're young, they don't have a lot of experience or they don't have a voice.
No, they do have a voice like, and especially when they work together to make sure this voice is heard.
Um, they made a difference there.
Yeah uh spoiler, they did change the name of the school.
Um, The other thing is that you can make a difference, even if it's just as simple as a name change, not honoring that person who actually maybe isn't worthy of honor.
Right.
Well, and I think I mean I don't know everything that the students had to do, but one of the things I think this program does really well is talks about.
One of the tasks is educating leaders.
Like just because someone's in a position of leadership does not mean they know everything, that they even know enough to make a decision.
If you assume that people are trying to do the best job they can, but maybe don't know the history or the full impact of their decision.
Or how someone else thinks about it.
How someone else thinks about it.
Like to go into that situation, not being argumentative and angry, but saying hey, Let me talk to you.
I want to educate you on my perspective and being respectful.
I think that's actually a more effective approach.
And it was a good, in our world, you don't want to fight hate with more hate, right?
If you go in saying, oh, this person's a bad leader.
Yeah, you're wrong because blah, blah, blah.
Exactly.
And so I really liked that part of this program saying, Oh, it's about educating.
And I think that's true, not just with leaders, but with everybody we encounter.
And it's hard to do because not everybody wants to learn more or grow more.
We're all ready to listen.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So one of the things I also love about this story is that one of the people, one of the former students involved in changing this name of the school is a woman named Marshae Johnson.
And she participated in this campaign to change the name of the school.
But also then I mean I don't know what order, but then decided that she wanted to be a local leader.
Like so she began a campaign to I think it was just a local sort of community leader.
But then she became elected to that position.
And so now she is able to influence higher up leaders.
Right.
I think that's just so cool.
Like that.
You can start at this point and then feel that change and then be encouraged to go and do more change.
Yeah, I think that's great.
And I would love to hear if anyone watching this is inspired or desires to be a leader in their community.
Yeah, or if you say you know what, i'm disillusioned.
I don't think i think everyone's corrupt, and if you're, if you have a bad attitude towards the leaders in your community, let us know in the comments below say you know what i want?
To be a leader and uh, And a good example.
A good leader, right?
I hope that's what you want to do.
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That's great.
And I feel like there's something else, but...
I don't think there is.
I don't think there is.
So, until next time, until we can talk to you again, just remember to listen watch, practice and learn.
Spotlight out.
