What happens when the Black girl who learned to survive through silence finally decides to speak?
My guest this week has spent her whole career on that. Dr. Ayana Tyler Hardaway is a sociologist and the author of From Crack Mother to Wildflower, and in her book she calls codeswitching "shape-shifting." She says it's our superpower, a gift that got passed down so we could survive.
We did it because we had to, and nobody's wrong for that.
But a lot of us left corporate, started our own thing, and brought all that behavior right into our businesses. You do it long enough and you don't even have words for it anymore. It's just how you move.
So is it really a superpower?
We got a scholar in the house for this one, OK? She went back through her own story, then her mother's, and built a 5-step writing method to help us rewrite our truths and get back to the root of who we really are.
I ain't gonna hold you, it is not sexi work. But if you keep saying you want to show up as yourself and you don't know where to start, start here.
Ugh...this conversation came at the perfect time for me, and you'll hear why.
Take the drab gray blazer off, boo.
About Ayana
Dr. Ayana Tyler Hardaway is an award-winning author, sociologist, educator, and founder of Wildflowers and Co. Her memoir, From Crack Mother to Wildflower: Writing to Transgress, introduces the Sankofa Writing Method.
Connect with Dr. Ayana Tyler Hardaway
Website: https://ayanathardaway.com
The book: https://www.amazon.com/Crack-Mother-Wildflower-Writing-Transgress-ebook/dp/B0DD5HKJK9
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayanathardaway/
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Ready to stop shape-shifting?
Start With SELF is a self-guided identity process. Six modules, one weekend. Get clear on who you are before you decide how to show up. Introductory rate: $97 → https://mellynated.com/self
Come talk to me on Substack. What gift did you put a blazer on? Tell me in the comments. → https://substack.com/@mellynated
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp4tHH05phcnjPgkXdhP1uDtcFaydNPbz
codeswitchrebellion.com
Your identity is the strategy.
