Guru Please

Accepting Yourself No Matter What with Kevin Hofmann

Episode Summary

Diversity consultant and biracial adoptee Kevin Hofmann discusses race, identity, moving past anger and unfairness, and how to accept yourself no matter what.

Episode Notes

Kevin is a writer, speaker, and consultant on diversity and adoption. His memoir Growing up black in white recounts his story of being adopted by a white family as a child of a white mother and a black father in Detroit. He writes about his struggles to define and embrace his own identity as he grew up. Through a lifetime of contemplation and self-analysis, he has come to recognize that we can define ourselves not through the racism and judgments of a challenging society, but through our own sense of self-respect and personal identity.

Quotes to remember:

“I went through all of this for a reason. A reason that’s so much bigger than me.”

“Vulnerability is necessary.”

Takeaways:

Your identity shifts over time, and that’s a good thing
Race is something to discuss with people you have a relationship with
You can make your own boundaries clear very simply; everyone has the right to be who they are
We need to recognize our talents as gifts

What you’ll learn:

How to identify your tribe
What it means to accept the past and even the unfairness, and use the scars to benefit yourself and others
Kevin’s thoughtful response to those who say “I don’t see race”
The biggest lesson we can learn from discussing race, no matter what color
How the process of writing his memoir brought healing to Kevin, plus a personal story about his grandmother who had difficulty accepting his skin color

Mentioned on the podcast:

Links: