Should Black women challenge ‘excellence’ and embrace ‘mediocrity’ to reclaim power?

Guest: Kathleen Newman-Bremang, deputy director at Unbothered, Refinery29’s sub-brand made for and by Black women

Black women are exhausted. Two years into a pandemic that includes the bitter taste of racial inequities, reckonings and the brutalization of Black bodies, the pursuit of societally imposed standards of “excellence” is losing its appeal. Not only are Black women dropping out of the workforce in staggering numbers, many are asking themselves when does attempting to attain an ambiguous definition of exceptionalism become a descent into harm. In her latest article, editorial director and writer Kathleen Newman-Bremang challenges the notion and pursuit of Black exceptionalism as defined by society, and asks if embracing radical “mediocrity” is another way of reclaiming your power.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Julia De Laurentiis Johnston and Matthew Hearn.