S2E15: The Power of Storytelling - Exploring Race and Identity with Marcie Alvis Walker

Jul 25 2023 • 59 mins

For today's episode of Pain to Passion Live, I had an incredibly insightful conversation with Marcie Alvis Walker, an amazing writer who shares her personal experiences as a Black woman in this world. Marcie's journey as a storyteller is truly inspiring, and you can feel her passion for storytelling in every word she shares.

We dived deep into her book, Everybody Come Alive, where she poignantly describes growing up between two different worlds, with her grandparents on one side (who presented a more assimilated image to the world) and her mother on the other (who embraced her Black identity with pride). This contrasting environment exposed her to the complexity of racial dynamics from an early age.

We discussed how race is often more about people's feelings and perceptions than actual facts. It's something Marcie experienced as a child when she watched "Roots" with the rest of the world. The show brought the subject of race to the forefront, but back then, there was little language or understanding to discuss it openly. This lack of language and education about racism only perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misconceptions.

Marcie also touched on the impact of systemic racism and how it affects children, especially in their early developmental years. It's essential for parents to acknowledge the larger public conversation about race and engage with their kids to create a more inclusive and empathetic world.

We talked about the power of storytelling in shaping perspectives and changing lives. Stories have the ability to transform our views of the world and build bridges of understanding between people from different backgrounds.

Throughout the podcast, Marcie's insights are truly eye-opening, and her personal experiences shed light on the importance of having open conversations about race and its impact on all of us. I'm grateful to Marcie for sharing her story and inspiring us all to create a more compassionate and inclusive world.

This is a conversation you won't want to miss!

As always, please rate and review this podcast, and share with a friend! Let's get these empowering and encouraging episodes out to as many people as we can. Thank you, friends!

More about Marcie: Marcie Alvis-Walker is a writer and the creator of the blog and Instagram feed, Black Coffee with White Friends and the author of EVERYBODY COME ALIVE: A MEMOIR IN ESSAYS.She is passionate about what it means to embrace intersectionality, diversity and inclusion in our spiritual lives.She recently moved to Chicago, Illinois with her husband, daughter, and their dog Evie where she reads a lot of books, watches a lot of movies, and drinks a lot of tea and coffee.

Connect with Marcie:

Buy the book!! - ⁠Everybody Come Alive⁠

Instagram - ⁠@blackcoffeewithwhitefriends⁠

Website - ⁠marciealviswalker.com⁠

Newsletter - ⁠blackeyedstories.substack.com⁠

Connect with Gabi:

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paintopassionlive/message