Episode 45: Kemy Joseph - Pursuing Authentic Action

Teaching Artistry with Courtney J. Boddie

We're back with a brand new episode and we can't wait for you to hear it. In Episode 45: "Pursuing Authentic Action," Courtney sits down with Kemy Joseph, CEO and Co-Founder of F.E.A.R.S. Advantage, who aims to help purpose-driven business executives leverage equity as a pathway to prosperity to effectively lead their diverse teams through conflicts involving race, politics, and privilege. Together, Courtney and Kemy navigate a thoughtful conversation around the collective traumas of the past year and a half, how that trauma affects the brain's development and the overall effects of the shared experience of being retraumatized (almost daily) without a chance to process and move forward. The conversation settles into one about how we as artists can help create environments in which people can slow down, calm down and allow themselves to reset. In this discussion, Kemy notes that, as our anxiety increases, our empathy decreases. Thus, when it comes to creating the right environment(s) needed for DEI work, we must create more empathy and reduce anxiety so that we can better connect with one another. The second half of their conversation takes a dive into Kemy's inciting incident—the moment of rejection and failure that set his journey on its track from conflicted youth to where and who he is now. This portion of the episode asks, "What if rejection is an invitation to love yourself more and a moment to separate your true self from the things you produce and offer to the world?" Well, what if...? Listen to hear all of this fascinating conversation!