What the Hulk has to do with being an Anti-Racist with Victoria Alexander

Soon-to-be Doctor, Victoria Alexander, jumped into the diner and dropped a whole bunch of knowledge about identity work and being anti-racist. This one got delightfully academic, but before we dove into all that we talked about Victoria’s preference of eating baklava and challah bread French toast at New York diners. Victoria told me about growing up with 7 siblings and what it feels like to to be the oldest. Her father told her at an early age “Success is what happens at the end of the race and either you get it or you don’t.” Naturally, we then had to talk about carrying the pressure of never being satisfied. I then asked about Victoria’s journey to learning, owning, and loving her racial identity. We discussed what being an ally actually means and what’s the difference between advocates and allies. I asked her about what anti-racism means and what it looks like on a daily basis. I loved how she spoke about trying to balance self-care and burnout in her social justice work. Then we ended our discussion by talking about how we can do the work and learn more about our own identity and why that is important.

About the Guest: 

Victoria Lynn Alexander is a Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland College of Education, studying Higher Education. Her research interests include anti-racist pedagogy, critical consciousness building, and experiences of Black students in predominately white institutions. She enjoys running and spin classed though recently she has been enjoying naps and Netflix more.

​The aim of Victoria’s work is to conduct critical research with which to challenge myths regarding the historical and present-day distributions of power, investigate the role of racism and anti-racism in social, professional, and educational spaces, and empower people to analyze and leverage their own social identities and positions within systems of power.

Connect with Victoria Alexander and learn more:

Website: victorialynnalexander.com

Twitter: @victoriaalxndr

Instagram: @victoriaalxndr

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/victorialynnalexander/

About the Host: 

Friends! Here's a somewhat stuffy bio of me:  

I am an author, professional speaker, coach, host, and entrepreneur. My first book, Leading Imperfectly: The value of being authentic for leaders, professionals, and human beings, is available wherever people buy books. I speak internationally to willing and unwilling attendees about authenticity, vulnerability, and leadership. My clients include American Express, General Electric (GE), Accenture, Yale University, The Ohio State University, and many others. As a speaker, I am doing the two things I loves the most: making people think and making people laugh! 

I host my own events multiple times a year. They are 2-day events called Living Imperfectly Live (and sometimes they are 1-day virtual events). They are a space where humans from every walk of life can come together to be part of a community on the pursuit of badassery. The goal is to help attendees start living the life we say we want to live.

Alas, you're here because of an idea I had a number of years ago and didn't think I was good enough to pull it off. I finally acted on it and alas Diner Talks with James was born! As you can see from what I do in my professional life, Diner Talks is alligned with everything I believe in and teach. If this wasn't dry enough, and you would like to know more info about my speaking, events, or coaching feel free to check out my website: JamesTRobo.com.

Let’s Be Friends on Social Media!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamestrobo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamestrobo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesrobilotta/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/JamesRobilottaCSP

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/JamesTRobo

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

Ratings and reviews from the listeners are extremely valuable to me and greatly appreciated. They help Diner Talks podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, it would mean the world if you couple leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.