Episode 8: Who Are We and Who Can We Be With Rev. Tina Harris

About This Episode

Host Connor Kenaston interviews Rev. Tina Harris who served as a human resource professional, later as an attorney and diversity expert for several law firms in Kansas City. Later, Harris followed God’s call into ministry and became Grand Avenue Temple’s first African American pastor in its 150 year history.

“[Race] is not something I can sort of take off and look at from a different perspective because this is who I am. In the same way, I think that who we are has shaped all of our perspectives. Somebody who did not grow up in America is going to have a different perspective of things that we wouldn’t pay any attention to and they will just look at things differently. One thing it does make me very aware of is that when I’m in a majority/minority situation, there are different ways we can act whether you are in the majority or not. For instance,  I think everyone should have the experience of being a minority in a majority situation regardless. A man should be around in a room full of women, a Christian should be in a room of those who proclaim something else. I think it helps us because 1) sort of understand a little more of who we are, but also it makes us come head-to-head with our stereotypes or bias or misunderstandings or just our flat our perception that maybe we have been carrying and didn’t even realize it.”

2:08 The First Interaction with the “N-Word”
6:30 Identity and Race
8:00 Surrounding Ourselves with Diversity
11:29 Having the Conversations