Addiction is a mental health issue – but only if you fit a certain profile. In this episode, Callie reflects on how the racism they faced growing up as a Black person in a white space contributed to years of substance abuse.
Growing up around all white people messes my mind up. I have a sense of self-hate that’s hard to overcome. There’s massive pressure to be what the white world expects of me, fit in with people who don’t look like me, fit their standards of perfection.
Episode Notes:
This is Episode 8, Season 2 of The TMI Project Story Hour: Black Stories Matter featuring TMI Project storyteller Callie Jayne. This episode was produced by Hayley Downs and mixed by Marlan Barry. It was co-produced by Radio Kingston. Special thanks to Ida Hakkila, Nate Brogan, Kale Kaposhilin, Jimmy Buff, and North Guild Productions.
Callie Jayne grew up in a white world. Faced with mental illness and addiction, Callie had to learn how to overcome all of the pressures of a white-driven, racist world, but those struggles, piece by piece, brought them to a different perception of their own expectations.
This story was presented as part of TMI Project’s Black Stories Matter true storytelling performance Truth to Power, which was presented at Pointe of Praise Church in Kingston, NY on June 21, 2019.
Callie Jayne is the Founder & Executive Director of Rise Up Kingston.
Resources/Links:
Rise Up Kingston: https://riseupkingston.org
Episode Contributors:
Eva Tenuto
Micah
Hayley Downs
Blake Pfeil
Sara DeRose
Edison Woods
Dara Lurie
Marlan Barry
Lauren Gill
Shantae Howell
Clarissa Marie Ligon
Callie Jayne
Photos:
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