Part 3 of Whiteness as Shape-Shifter, The Shape-Shift of Good Intentions: Still White at the Core

Eyes On Whiteness

Mini-series Part 3: The Shape-Shift of Good Intentions
Still White at the Core

In this episode, Maureen moves the lens from pointing the finger outward to turning it inward, tracing how whiteness shape-shifts inside us, softening edges, pleasing, and protecting the status quo even when wrapped in the language of justice.

Drawing from Angela Davis, bell hooks, James Baldwin, Stokely Carmichael, and Ibram X. Kendi, Maureen examines the ways “good intentions” can mask white supremacist logic, and how liberalism often trades transformation for comfort.

With help from Diedra Barber’s insights on how patriarchy and white supremacy have co-opted the sacred, feminist, and ancestral art of shapeshifting, Maureen challenges listeners to reclaim that power, not for compliance but for connection, accountability, and liberation. The film Sinners returns as a metaphor for assimilation’s hidden cost: the invitation that drains your soul while appearing generous.

This episode is a call to notice where you have adapted yourself to fit systems, and to choose shapeshifting as a tool for survival, integrity, and transformation instead.

This week’s reflection:

• Where do I shape-shift to maintain comfort rather than create change?
• What have I been taught by white supremacy and patriarchy that I am ready to transmute?
• How can I use the power to shift as a practice of accountability, care, and liberation?

Support the show

This episode was created with deep love, and deep thanks to the frameworks and tools within Cultivating Intersectional Leadership, a course I co-created with Diedra Barber.

CIL isn’t just a training. It’s a transformative journey—one that supports individuals and organizations in making the systemic, strategic, and spiritual shifts needed to build something different.
Something rooted in justice. Something aligned with who we say we want to be.

You're invited to learn more or inquire about participation at:
🌐 www.cultivatingintersectionalleadership.com
Or visit our podcast site at:
🎧 www.eyesonwhiteness.com

If this episode stirred something in you, share it.
If you’re holding big questions, write them down.
And if you’re tired—rest. But don’t quit.