Today’s guest is Alberta Muembo, here to share her perspectives on race and reconciliation both globally, and in Canada. Alberta was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) but spent most of her life in Sierra Leone and Kenya before relocating to Canada through the refugee program, with her family seven years ago. One of the things that shook Alberta after the move to Canada, was the amount of inequality she experienced within society, which was a much different reality than she was previously led to believe. As a refugee, the issue of reconciliation is extremely important and close to her heart, so she decided to make a concerted effort to understand the history of colonization in Canada as a way of understanding the true reasons behind the racial tensions she witnessed. We hear how Alberta learned about the dispossession ofIndigenousPeople of Canadathrough colonization, and her decision to get involved in activism for the rights of indigenous Canadian women. Alberta also started a YouTube channel called Heart2Heart in which she explores the complexities of race and culture, and she shares her thoughts on the themes discussed in her videos. We explore the problem of stereotyping and Alberta shares some personal experiences of the negative stereotypes and the effects it has had on both herself and those she is close with. Alberta also shares her thoughts on the divisions between left and right-winged politics and the contradictions to be found within each ideology. For nuanced insights from Alberta on navigating the relationship between race and culture, tune in today.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing Alberta Muembo, her activism, and the trajectory of her life as a refugee.
• Why Alberta is interested in working on the issue of reconciliation in Canada.
• Differences between the image of Canada as an equal society and reality.
• Why Alberta became interested in the history of indigenous people from Canada.
• Alberta's focus on activism for the rights of indigenous Canadian women.
• Discovering the real reasons behind the negative stereotypes First People in Canada face.
• Issues of race and discrimination that Alberta explores in her YouTube channel.
• Alberta’s thoughts on the inferiority complex that groups who have been colonized develop.
• Differences in how Black versus white people get treated when they are minorities.
• Alberta’s opinion on how best to approach conversations around the sensitive topic of race.
• The illusion of racial categories and how culture has come to exaggerate them.
• Alberta’s experiences with people who behaved in ways that defied negative stereotypes.
• The importance of letting go of negative stereotypes to the project of living harmoniously.
• The issue of privileged people feeling oppressed when oppressed groups speak up.
• Marianne Williamson’s comments about hypocrisy in left-wing politics and Alberta’s views on this.
• Why Alberta loves to listen to South African music.

Tweetables:

“If you take a DNA test you are going to be surprised to find out that you have some white in you or Asian in you. Pretty much the whole world is interconnected through stories and DNA.” — Alberta Muembo [0:23:36]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Sienna Waskewitch on Twitter

Dany Muembo on Twitter

University of Saskatchewan

Heart2Heart

Marianne Williamson