#75 Hajar Yazdiha on the politics of togetherness and imagining collective futures
“The power structures from above are telling us that we are less than, they are telling us that we are subordinate, but what we find within our shared history community is strength, we find the spirit of our ancestors, and we carry it forward. I think that’s where the the real value lies in thinking about identity politics, not as a matter of division, but really as a way that we can build bridges between our groups. That’s one of the most powerful ways of thinking about non-white identity politics, it’s always been a means of building alliances and coalitions, of imagining linked fate between groups that are similarly affected by these systems. ”
In a world of co-optation, violent othering and systemic oppression, how can tracing the histories of resistance and collective resilience of communities (that we are, and are not, a part of) liberate and expand imaginations beyond the confines of sociopolitical structures? What can life look like if we as humans abide again by nature’s laws of interconnectedness, cyclical healing and symbiotic living?
In this month’s episode, we are joined by Hajar Yazdiha, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California and faculty affiliate of the USC Equity Research Institute. Hajar researches the politics of inclusion and exclusion, examining the forces that bring us together and keep us apart as we work to forge collective futures. She is author of the book, The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement with Princeton University Press. She is also a public scholar whose writing and research has been featured in outlets including The New York Times, Time Magazine, LA Times, ABC News, The Hill, and The Grio.
In this wonderfully inspiring conversation, Hajar dismantles the politics of togetherness and othering by interweaving her lived experiences, the collective memory of the Civil Rights Movement and the innate creative abilities of the human being to illustrate how systems have historically oppressed and violated certain groups, but also how these groups have resisted and transformed these systems of harm. It is in these stories of struggle and resilience that hope emerges, a sense of shared hope and relief that we can remake the liberation created and experienced by generations before us.
What will be included:
How Hajar’s personal experiences as a daughter of Iranian political refugees in the US has informed her work in equity and inclusion research
Retaining the multidimensionality of our world by tapping into the macro-, meso- and micro-levels of society for radical changemaking
Understanding our systems and structures as socially constructed to liberate imaginations at the grassroots
Reclaiming identity politics, particularly non-white identity politics, as a tool for unification rather than a weapon for “divide and conquer” political strategy
Building connections to the liberatory praxes and stories of resistance of communities other than our own, with the extended example of the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) as discussed in Hajar’s book
Co-optation of larger memories like CRM by rights groups and the perpetuation of the ‘anti-Black’ narrative
The unnatural nature of pitting groups against each other and how collective memory can help situate ourselves again within the ecosystem as interconnected, social beings
Somatic work as central to liberation and justice movements
Holding space for the pain and joy in remembering the struggles and resistance of historically oppressed communities
Emulating cyclical patterns and processes in nature in ways in which we heal and grieve, grow and rest, tell stories and remember, relearn and unlearn
Extending imaginations beyond the voting booth and into our innate creativity and capacities to regenerate
Resources:
Hajar’s website
Hajar’s book The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement
Connect with Hajar on Instagram (@profhajaryazdiha)
Mind Full of Everything is a podcast calling for the radical healing of the self and community to outgrow the broken dominant culture of radical individualism and disconnection from our place as interdependent beings, so that we can collectively re-envision a safer, healthier and equitable world. Each episode takes a healing-centric approach to explore the embodied ways in which we can collectively restore and transform our journeys as stewards of community and earth through conversations with writers, researchers, coaches and educators, as well as reflection episodes with the host Agrita Dandriyal on her journey navigating the world as a deeply conscious, culturally-rooted and relational being. Learn more here.
