Unlearning Book Club: Unrig The Game With Vanessa Priya Daniel

Did I ever tell you that one of my top five favorite movies of all time is When Harry Met Sally? If you've been in one of my classes you've definitely heard me drop quotes from this movie at seemingly random moments. One of my all time favorite lines, though, is this:

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

We can chat later about why Nora Ephron is one of the greatest character writers of my lifetime, but for now I just want to hone in on the simple, yet powerful, reminder hiding within these words: 

Tomorrow is not promised.

Start living and loving today.

Recently I sat down with the incomparable, Vanessa Priya Daniels, to discuss her book, Unrig The Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning. I was eager to share my frustrations with Vanessa about the inaction and fear-based indecision that I was seeing both in my intimate circle and from self-labeled "liberal leaders" in our communities. I needed counsel about what to do with the increasingly loud and snarky voice within me that wants to leave white America to fight it out amongst themselves.

And counsel she did give...

Vanessa, reminded me that (unfortunately/fortunately) Black women have been leading liberation movements and working to heal and unite our communities since the beginning of time. That Black women are in fact the MVPs of most liberation movements, but are also the most persecuted and overlooked for their efforts.

This fiercely wise, and loving, community organizer reminded me that Black women often out of necessity live, fight, and love as if tomorrow is not promised.

Watch our communion below >

Unrig the Game

by Vanessa Priya Daniel 

Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning by Vanessa Priya Daniel draws on interviews with 45 of the most powerful women of color movement leaders of our time, as well as her own experience as a leader, organizer, and funder. It offers effective women of color leaders and everyone who supports them a playbook for unrigging the game so we can all win.