THENMOZHI SOUNDARARAJAN on Annihilating Caste Systems /314
High contrast image of tree roots isolated on black background by Vera Kuttelvaserova.
This week Ayana is joined by Dalit American civil rights activist, Thenmozi Soundararajan in a profound conversation detailing the wounds of caste within the United States and across the world. Thenmozhi brings just conviction and soul-filled commitment to the fight to annihilate caste-based supremacy.
Caste-based discrimination affects millions. An Equality Labs survey found that in the United States, “25% of Dalits who responded said they had faced verbal or physical assault based on their Caste. One in three Dalit students report being discriminated against during their education. Two out of three Dalits surveyed reported being treated unfairly at their workplace. And 60% of Dalits report experiencing Caste-based derogatory jokes or comments.”
The very involvement within systems of punishment, carcerality, and discrimination deepens a wound that separates us from each other and from the broad web of life. Speaking to the ways that carrying the trauma of caste manifests within the body, Thenmozhi emphasizes the importance of slowing down to process the grief and pain caused by mindless oppression. She also offers important context to the conversation about caste, emphasizing the ways caste discrimination manifests within global schemes of technology and power distribution. Thenmozhi calls for a better informed understanding of oppression in the United states as, “Our definitions for race are not the only definitions for exclusion.”
Solidarity offers a vital glimmer of hope. Finding reassurance and deep partnership with activists fighting for justice on many lines continues to provide solace and support. The commitment to caste annihilation comes with commitments to decolonize, to abolish systems of carcerality, and to reimagine our world. As Thenmozhi states, “We cannot afford a vision of justice that ends at our borders.”
“Systems of exclusion are not permanent, they are only as lasting as long as we hold on and have attachment to that suffering.”
Photo of Thenmozhi Soundararajan
Thenmozhi Soundararajan is a Dalit American Civil rights artist, organizer, and theorist who has worked with organizations around the world to address the urgent issues of racial, caste, and gender equity. Her intersectional, cross-pollinating work helps to create a more generous, global, expansive, and inclusive definition of South Asian identity, along with safe spaces from which to honor the stories of these communities. She was also an inaugural fellow of the Robert Rauschenberg Artist as Activist, Atlantic Foundation for Racial Equity, and is a current fellow at Stanford Center for South Asian Studies. She is also the author of the newly released book The Trauma of Caste by North Atlantic Books.
♫ Music in this episode is “Two Moons and Stars” by Justin Crawmer, “No Words to Say” by June West, and “Sister” by Te Martin.
Episode References
The Trauma of Caste by Thenmozhi Soundararajan
”It’s Time to Dismantle Caste in the U.S.” by Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Yes Magazine
”Silicon Valley Has a Caste Problem” Thenmozhi Soundararajan interviewed by Lizzie O’Leary
”Google canceled a talk on caste bias by Thenmozhi Soundararajan after some employees revolted” by Nitasha Tiku, The Washington Post
B. R. Ambedkar
GUEST Recommendations
1) Purchase the book
2) Join Equality Labs’ mailing list
3) Sign up for our Unlearning Caste Supremacy Workshop
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