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Episode #3

Toxic Individualism Ain’t It

Michael Tubbs joins the show to talk about why we need to fix systems, not people.

Episode 3: Toxic Individualism Ain’t It

On this episode of Raci$m Is Profitable, we’re talking about personal responsibility. You know, the idea that if you’re not right in the economy it’s because you’re doing something wrong. Endless political and policy decisions are rooted in this toxic assumption, driven by the flawed belief that people’s behavior and choices are in their way. “Just pick yourself up by your bootstraps already.” We know it’s really the systemic barriers — and the blatant racism that built them — that let policymakers minimize our deservedness and ultimately deny Black and brown folks access to economic opportunity and government support. Hear this: The struggles that people of color endure are not the consequences of our own actions or inactions. Michael Tubbs of End Poverty in California (EPIC) joins us to say it straight.

References and resources

ORGANIZATIONS TO FOLLOW: Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, Ending Poverty in California (EPIC), Magnolia Mother’s Trust, Insight Center