Please note: This is another replay to help with my mental health break. A new episode is coming on Tuesday, March 26th. Thanks for your continued patience and understanding. 💜 This episode is from Season 2, so you'll hear my previous name.

Content warning for mentions of George Floyd's murder and generally sensitive topics without details.

This episode is sponsored by a private donor. Thank you!!!

Listen to minorities and thank them. In this week’s episode, Ra Ra Rollins (he/him) shares why he claims “queer” and “gay” and the difference in meaning for him between the two terms. He ponders if he’s Black first or gay, queer first, especially since not all spaces see him as a whole person with various, complex identities. Learn about how his work can be triggering as a Black therapist and what it means for him to hold space for clients at some of his same intersections. We also discuss how he pushed back in his grad school program because he learned from white professors who talked about white theorists and had white supervisors while seeing white clients. Despite that, he did gain two incredible mentors and friends for life. Ra Ra reclaims his energy by practicing boundaries, which did not come naturally to him, including by shutting down nearly all of his social media. There's also some discussion around rules and how he liberates himself from rules that don’t work or honor him.

Resources, references, and full transcripts are available at ⁠www.allyshipisaverb.com/episode/ra-ra-rollins⁠

Host Charlie Ocean, MSW (they/them), has a background in LGBTQ+ training, community organizing, and technology. Guest episodes feature an allyship tip, including tailored questions based on the guests' unique intersecting identities. You can follow Charlie on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠.