Carolyn Su of @DiverseWeRun on representation, inclusion, and the burden of showing up as a BIPOC runner

Social Sport

August 24, 2020

Carolyn Su is a native Texan, the daughter of Taiwanese-immigrant parents. She formerly practiced as a Registered Dietitian, and she and her family currently live in the Boston-area, where she is on staff as the Women’s Ministry Coordinator at her church. Carolyn advocates for racial representation and equity in running, through writing weekly story features of BIPOC runners on the IG account she created, @DiverseWeRun. Carolyn says, “I view my life as a platform for advocacy, whether it’s for people groups, women, or those who have historically been marginalized. We all have a responsibility to use our voice for the voiceless, and to leave the world a better place than when we entered it.”

Discussed in this episode:

  • Cultural context in understanding disorder discussions
  • The myth of colorblindness
  • Code-switching
  • Jumping into anti-racism work (sprint versus doing this work for the long-haul)
  • @DiverseWeRun Panel: Inclusion and Safety as a BIPOC
  • Cancel culture (canceling someones personhood versus holding hope that people can change)
  • Ali on the Run Show
  • Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon (note: Carolyn’s sound cut out when she was talking about this book, so she gave a longer, even more glowing description than what was caught on the recording):
  • Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong:

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Quote:
“𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱…𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆’𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄.”