Hey there More Devotedly listeners,⁠
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I’ve let the podcast go silent for a while as the urgent conversation around police brutality against Black Americans has gone on, and I’ve been taking time to think about what my place in that conversation should be. Before I restart this podcast, I wanted you to hear from me.⁠
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I want to say first that I believe that Black lives matter, and I will do what I can to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement with this podcast and in other ways. I want to see an American future where white supremacy in policing and in all other forms is a relic of the past.⁠
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I’ll continue to present a diverse range of artists and to promote progressive values on this podcast, but I’ll also be taking steps to educate myself about anti-racism, and apply those lessons to the show. I hope you’ll see and hear the results of that process. ⁠
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Soon, I’ll be wrapping up Volume III with two last episodes. Then after a short break, I’ll be launching volume IV, “Where We Are.” I’ll be looking deeply at how artists stimulate progressive change in their communities starting where I am, in Portland, Oregon, as well as talking to other artists working at the local level in other places.⁠
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Massive shifts in consciousness, a widespread change in the story we tell ourselves about who we are, is what leads to change in how political power is held and how it is used. We’re living through one of those shifts right now, and that change starts on the local level, where we are right now. I want to help a wide audience to see that shift through the eyes of the artists in their community, so they can understand it and be better equipped to participate in it. I hope you’ll join me in that journey.⁠
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Thank you for your trust, and your support.⁠
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@douglasdetrick⁠