A fter long marches and visceral articles, Dr. Cadet took the inequities displayed during the pandemic and turned it into a lightning rod of power, casting her opinions about white supremacy into the ether to not just ask for change, but to demand it. Reckoning with her own experiences of discrimination in the workplace, Dr. Cadet creates solutions that demand change for all the unheard voices, the ones standing in the back with no feet to land on in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Dr. Cadet understands that pandering to the comforts white supremacy provides will never lead to change. Ladders to success stay unattainably narrow if the oppressors never realize the things they’ve done to stamp out the light of our diverse nation. Our harrowing past, our African roots, can’t stop us from rising toward our inherent greatness. That’s the reason powerhouses like Dr. Cadet exist. Like haunting ghosts, the enslaved, abused pasts of people of color will never disappear. They linger in the air of our society, but that doesn’t mean the stifling air of oppression should stick around forever. The excellence of Dr. Cadet comes from the fact that she riots and romps in the discomfort most people cringe away from. She’s here to tell it to us straight, intelligently meeting people at their level to allow them to understand all the ways they’ve gone wrong and—most importantly—how to make their wrongs right. When asked about her vision of a world without such glaring inequities, Dr. Cadet admitted, “For someone like me, it is not being a strong Black woman… I don’t want to be strong. I want to be the soft black woman… I want to be believed. I want to feel supported… I would like to not have to solve anyone’s problems… And so, the softness would be the outcome of these system’s changes, and so that difference is celebrated and not
“… I don’t want to be strong. I want to be the soft black woman… I want to be believed. “ I want to feel supported… “
- DR. AKILAH CADET
that comes with no longer having to live in frustration or fear all because of human attributes we can’t control. We’d all be privileged then, able to live in harmony with our present minds and bodies, healed of decades of trauma and hurt. Realizing the privileges we individuals do and don’t have will always require massive amounts of work. It takes constant thought, continuous effort, and never-ending patience to create a more equitable world for us all. But when you’re
othered, right? And that would be the goal.” Indeed, that is the healthiest goal we could possibly have. As the exhaustion piles upon our shoulders from constantly fighting for our right to be alive, being believed and supported is the only time that the overlooked get the opportunity to fill their lungs with fresh air—no longer choking on the hold oppression has on us marginalized groups. As a result, we’d gain a chance at true wellness, receiving the freedom
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