The Money Isn't Mine: Questioning Inheritance - Morgan Curtis, Solidaire Network

<p>This podcast is part of a new series called <a href="https://medium.com/@juliash/confronting-complicity-in-capitalism-dfa0a303a9f9" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Confronting Complicity in Capitalism</a>. </p><p>I cannot think of a better first special guest on this series as we confront our privilege: Morgan Curtis, who supports people with wealth and class privilege toward redistribution and repair, starting with herself.</p><p>THE IMPACT. <a href="https://www.morganhcurtis.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Morgan Curtis</a>:</p><ul><li><p>Supports people with wealth and class privilege toward redistribution, atonement, and repair. </p></li><li><p>Does this herself: <a href="https://www.morganhcurtis.com/giving" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">redistributing</a> 100% of her inherited wealth to Black- and Indigenous-led movements and land projects, and 50% of her coaching income.</p></li><li><p>And supports others: as a facilitator, money coach, organizer and ritualist, both with individuals and with collectives like <a href="https://solidairenetwork.org/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Solidaire Network</a> and <a href="http://resourcegeneration.org/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Resource Generation</a>. </p></li><li><p>Lives in a multi-racial, cross-class, intergenerational intentional community: <a href="http://canticlefarmoakland.org/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Canticle Farm</a>. </p></li><li><p>Holds a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, where she focused on the spiritual dimension of reparations work for white descendants of colonizers and enslavers.</p></li></ul><p>Mentioned resources:</p><ul><li><p>Article by Iris Brilliant: <a href="https://medium.com/@iris_brilliant/how-to-create-safety-and-security-without-accumulating-wealth-54c4b71b71d3" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How to create safety and security without accumulating wealth</a></p></li><li><p>The <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2021/10/14/no-more-money-please" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NPR podcast</a> with Morgan challenging her dad and generations of inherited family wealth.</p></li><li><p>The <a href="https://trainings.350.org/resource/spectrum-of-allies/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spectrum of allies</a>. </p></li><li><p>Morgan’s extensive <a href="https://www.morganhcurtis.com/resource-library" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resource library</a> on ancestors, money and redistribution.</p></li></ul><p>THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, highlights that stand out from Morgan:</p><ul><li><strong>Seeing complicity. </strong>"Capitalism: both my grandfathers worked on Wall Street. White supremacy: no one has ever taught me about race, but I'm coming to see that I am white. Colonialism: that's those creepy ancestors on the wall. I see that the pain I felt from what was happening on our planet this time couldn't be separated from the family history that I was born into, and the choices my ancestors made to extract so much from people and the planet."</li><li><strong>Capitalism and privilege. </strong> "What capitalism conditions us to do, those of us that have privilege, access, wealth, is to replace relationships with transactions. This vicious cycle: we need help, we turn to money. We use money to buy a good or a service that we think is gonna help us meet our needs, then it doesn't. And we feel alone again. And we think we need more money to get a different strategy to meet that need. We are stuck thinking that we need more. The way our bodies know, our ancestors know, is that we meet needs through relationship with one another, with the earth, with place, with ancestors, with intergenerational community.”</li><li><strong>On finding her role</strong>. “People started finding me and whispering in the hallway ‘I secretly have a trust fund and I've never tol