Dr. Dave:                      Hello, and welcome to the KnolShare with Dr. Dave podcast. I am Dr. Dave, your host. My conversation today is with April Jefferson, the Soul Crafts Woman, and we're going to discuss growing equity in Black lives and the agile community and beyond.
Dr. Dave:                      I met April a few years ago at the Agile Alliance conference. What I can remember is that she walked up to me and a few African-American men and called us endangered species. Endangered species. And we're like, "Wow." I believe it was right after the death of Trayvon Martin or one of those other senseless death of Black men in the United States. We laughed about it at the time, but it sent a shock to my soul that I could be part of that statistics and it would be a reality. I just want to say that I'm super excited for this conversation today with April, and really look forward to the work we will be doing together, now and into the future. This is an important conversation for us to have, and I am just so grateful that we have the opportunity to do so.
Dr. Dave:                      Let me start off with a ... I'm being very festive for you today. I want you to notice that I'm wearing a Hawaiian shirt because it's you, April Jefferson, the Soul Crafts Woman. How are you today?
April:                            Oh, beautiful. Oh, I already know it's going to be fun. We're beginning right, with laughter
Dr. Dave:                      You have to begin with some laughter and some fun, right? Well, that's what we're about, right? We're happy people, I would think.
April:                            Yeah.
Dr. Dave:                      So, hey, let's just jump into some questions. I have a few questions, and I know you're going to have great responses. I know you are. I don't have to worry about that. So I know you're leading this Growing Equity in the Agile Community for Black Lives initiative. What has surprised you most about the response and the participation by people?
April:                            That people have put their guard down and stepped into vulnerability. And something that's quite polarizing, globally, that this is a global conversation, and that what I would I say, that the global Black community, we have been silent for a long time. And that there was no psychological safety to be completely forthright with what's going on within us. I felt that other people had the freedom to do so and that people gave space to listen. To listen to us. That we had a platform. Because oftentimes, that it involves us always listening first and not having the space or not it being reciprocal, right? To listen, and get curious. And that is about us accommodating versus people figuring out that taking time to be uncomfortable, and that's a big thing, is that it's a lot of work to be uncomfortable and say, "I'm going to sit here and figure out some tough things in that uncomfortability." The fact that people did that authentically.
April:                            And what I've been hearing out of it, which is probably one of the most important things, is that authentic relationships have been formed from it. Some people have honestly articulated like, "Yeah, I don't have Black people in my life, any people of color in my life, personally." People have shared that. And it's not that there was any hate there. Just, "I've never had that." Maybe they're from communities where there's not a lot of diversity.
Dr. Dave:                      Yeah.
April:                            And to seek that out.