Embracing Body Positivity, Queerness, and Disability: A Conversation with Author Clarkisha Kent

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Hey hey, hey podcast Nation. It is your girl, Kandidly, Kristin, and this is The Kandid Shop, your number one destination for Kandid conversation. If you're new here, welcome. If you're a regular listener, thank you for your support and welcome back. So I'm super duper excited because today I'm having a very special author, spotlight Chat with author of the critically acclaimed memoir "Fat On, Fat Off: A Big Bitch Manifesto , Ms. Clarkisha Kent . Welcome, welcome, welcome Clarkisha to the Kandid Shop.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Thank you so much Kristin. I am so happy to be here and thank you so much for inviting me on.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Oh, it is absolutely my pleasure. So, I got a, a copy of your book in the mail when we booked the check and I'm so busy, right, that I don't often have time to like sit down and read a book. So when I found out there was an audio version, I downloaded the audio version and listened to it and listening.

I know that there are people out there wondering I'm that shit crazy because I would be laughing, walking down the street, walking my dog and with the earbud and you can't, looks like I'm just talking to myself, but. Your book was, it was so authentic and real, and it hits home for me personally in some places.

So it really is my pleasure to have a chat to you today about the book and about you and introduce you to my listenership.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah. No. Recording the audio books definitely experience. So I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: I did. And I love that you didn't use a narrator, that you narrated it yourself. That just made it more real and authentic to me. So kudos to you. So now let them my, you know, my first question just has to be why Clarkisha Kent as your pseudonym.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Yes. So way when we were back in college, actually it started off a joke that I just kept it right, so, so what happened was when I left my parents' house, my vision started to deteriorate.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Okay.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: And I actually wish that a lot of us who are abuse survivors would discuss this. Right? Right. Because you know, when we're in situations like that, our body is like in fight or flight, right? Mm-hmm. Constantly. Every day, every second, every minute, 24 7. So obviously your body will do it's best hold itself together.

Yes. But what do you react to? A place where now you have peace. Get, what do I do? She might to fall apart real quick. Right, right. My, my sister experience this with the fact that like, you know, once she, she removed herself from her toxic environment, like a whole side of her pass her head and just turned grey..

Just like that overnight. Right. So for me it was a situation where when I got to college, my vision, which had been fine right prior, just. She just almost deteriorated, like 25%. I'm zaine a little bit, but like he just overnight only couldn't see things like I've seen the name before so, you know, I started sphere me to look glasses and stuff and you know, I am very much into superheroes.

Mm-hmm. Sphere fiction and you know, I was joker one of my college friends, a lotti, you know, wearing the glasses and they'd call me Clark Kent. And I, I cooked though. I was like, no, it's Clarkisha, you know? Yes. Like not Clark .

Host, Kandidly Kristin: I love it.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Me and my womanhood rights. So, you know, that's what it started out as and then it just kind of stuck. So I kept it and I really liked it. Yeah. And I love it. Thank you. Encapsulates who I am as a person who, who I've become as well. .

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Your book is a really frank and deeply personal exploration of your experience with, and I'm doing air quote, "fatness" I really hate that word. I hate that. But not just that, your other intersecting identities.

So when you were writing it, how did you kind of navigate the transparency and vulnerability of sharing your story with the world?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: So, all right. So it's really interesting cause I chose to do this with the genre of the memoir. Mm-hmm. And you know, if you don't, I, I'm blind, you know that I think memoirs are inherently narcissictic , yes. Why? It's one of those things where, you know, it's, it's, it's slightly different and get the kind of different edge in a regular biography because the subject of. This memoir, kids Feet themselves. Right. So you're supposed to get somewhat like, like closer, more vulnerable picture, what's going on?

Right. So one things were like, when I was writing mud, I didn't want to phone it in, you know? Got it. I wanted to actually use the genre to its full potential. So I came into the experi experience being like, okay, I can't half-ass this like, Am I going tell y'all? Right? You're right. So much more like what I told that book.

Honestly, if I'm being a hundred percent with your Kandid, it's like percent okay. Of my, like we didn't even, the service tbh like was like the, the spark, the right.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Right. The Cliffs nose version,

Author, Clarkisha Kent: right. If I had jumped on the way to percent, I don't even know if they would've published it. Andd be like, girl, we can't.

That's that's too much. It's too much. So that being said, though, I didn't want to put as much as I could in there. Right. Award. How much did I, I felt like the audio could actually digest, you know, without knocking on my door. Like, girl, are you okay? Right. Yeah, I, I really just didn't want to invest experi experiment, experience, excuse me, and also was doing this for myself, but also other people out there who may have gone through these things and didn't have the language for them.

That's always been important for me. You know, I was a English major, I was blank. There's something I can't name that needs to be able to snap. That was kind of my goal when I set out to.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: So how do you think that this book is going to help shift the narrative around body shaming, body positivity, and the intersection of, of queerness being big and beautiful, disabled, and all the other things that kind of encompass your lived experience? How would you not, how do you think, how would you hope that this memoir helped shift that conversation or narrative?

Author, Clarkisha Kent:  I'd say firstly, I would hope that, you know, we start having more discussions on this from, you know, a black perspective. A lot of these fact positive circles. Are very white. Yes, very white. Yep. And therefore, they really just don't have brain to discuss a lot of these things because then a lot of us either know or have learned over the course of a couple years anti-fat.

Mm-hmm. Cannot be separated on anti-blackness. Right. They, they're Muslim and budgets that is the, or that's the ordinance story of phobia and anti-blackness. Like it literally a merge as a line of demarcation between Europeans activists. That's, that's like literal, like the original starting point. Right?

Right. So I would hopefully get now just conversations that don't like in center likeness, you know? Right, right. The other thing for me that I'm hoping this does, In mind discussing with, especially like other historian, but also like nutritionist, right? Like mm-hmm. You know, health professionals. Right. I'm hoping that this pushes forward or helps, right?

In pushing forward specifically research on eating disorders where black women are concerned. Mm-hmm. Um, because I had talked to. Dr. Sat Williams who wrote Eating While Black, and then also Jessica Wilson, who wrote, it's All, even Ours, and both of them touch on the subject of being black and the politics and eating while you're black.

Right, right, right. People think a, you're apparently too unintelligent to feed yourself correctly. Right, right, right. Who does? That's both of the sac bent. You know, Darren's like next to zero research on black people or specifically black women eating disorders. Jessica Wilson was talking about how like you can randomly Google, I don't know, let's where you go to like a medical journal website and put in black women eating disorders.

You'll be lucky to get two patients of research on day. Wow. You are the research on, you know it white women, particularly in their eating disorders, just the pay is endless. Endless, right? Mm-hmm. So when you don't have that type of research, then guess what? You dying. You can't treat, you can't treat it.

Right? So they don't how manifest in us. Right? So that was my secondary goal to definitely at least like be a launching flight for this kind of discussion. Mm-hmm. Because, you know, disorder enable American for on us. And we're also not allowed to express that really because of, you know, a whole slew of anti-black.

Right. Especially the strong black woman. Yes. But yeah, that was starting with my thought process. Right.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: This, okay. Awesome. So I'm just gonna touch on this really briefly, but probably my favorite chapter in the book is My Shitty Family. And I say that because. And I don't, I think that us as black women, black families tend to lean into this notion of family over everything no matter what.

That's your family. Mm-hmm. And everybody doesn't have a great family. And even if you do have members of your family that aren't fucked up, there's still, you know, in every single black household, I can almost. Guarantee that there's been some trauma, some molestation, some, some jealousy between moms and daughters, those kinds of things.

So when you wrote that chapter, what were your feelings around it? Like, I cuz you, you gotta know that your family's gonna know that this you're talking about, you know what I mean?

Author, Clarkisha Kent:  So, you know, so I was estranged from all of them. So I really didn't, didn't give a shit about writing it down, but I, I set out to write it though, because when we discussed things, especially like eating disorder, they, um, eating disorder is color is a, ful cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Yeah. They didn't come out nowhere. Mm-hmm. Like a child doesn't come out the womb, with  racism and, and got black. Right. Someone, somebody talk them and back. Yes. You knowbody slammed them down and they're like, Hey, this braces, people's inferior, this, that, like somebody taught them and back. Yes. So in my case, you know, I had people who I was born to who were supposed to protect me and love me, etc.

X and, you know, tried really hard to make me hit myself, which again says a lot about them. Right. Um, but you know, I thought it would be, I put Sarah. Quotation as long as they fair, fair to, you know, draw a more holistic picture of things before I really went in, you know? Right. So I'm like, lemme tell you so I could understand that, you know, immigrating here is very, very, very just spiritually training.

Mm-hmm. And probably did kill your spirit. I can understand that. I understand how being the victim of a very heinous. They're hanging central. This could, you know, really do something to your right, right? But also understand that is not my cross the mayor. It's just not right. It's just not, I didn't do these things to any of you.

Right? So, making me the target or the primary target. Cause there are other targets, right? The primary target, uh, you are about the savior of your life is just unacceptable to me, right? So I. Definitely wanted to put that in the book to kind of show people that, you know, all these things that are discussed in a book didn't come outta nowhere.

We had a starting point and the starting point is always family. Yeah, yeah. Always family guys always a source. That's why when you really start discussing these things, people get really comfortable. Um, cause guess what? There's probably a self family. They, they should have been stopped fucking with for a long time.

A long time. Yeah. You and you speaking your truth is now roaming him the wrong way. Cause now they have asked themselves some very hard questions about why this person is still in their life. You know, whether it is, I don't know, your cousin Will was expecting you. Oh, what is your mama? Cool. Stop saying wild shit to you, you know?

Yeah. So, I just wanted to put that on paper to let people know that if you've experienced these situations, they're not okay. Like, if no one tells you, then they're not okay. Let me meet or water tell you, hey, they're not okay. And, and adjust for, you know, you, there are some choices that you have here. Now, you may not like them.

They're great. We're there after choices. You know, I didn't wake up being like, oh, the one telling y'all today, you know, it was a very slow, rapidly process. Right? Because at a certain point, you know, I really discovered that they didn't watch the change. And they were like, I don't change. And I was like, cool, but I also don't have to be here.

I don't have to fuck with you. Now, they didn't like that part, right? They didn't like that part. But guess what? They made their choice. I made mine, so,

Host, Kandidly Kristin: yep. Got you. So how, how do you see your book sitting into your broader body of work and the things that you do?

Author, Clarkisha Kent:  Excellent question. So I think right now, as you know, in this kind of point of time, I feel like it's definitely like a summation of my work.

Mm-hmm. Like I feel like if you had never read anything written by me before and then read this mm-hmm. Both first and then read all my work, it would definitely make sense. Right. You know, I was talking to Mutual a couple months ago and they were like, you know, I read the book. It's amazing. But then it's also eye opening because I like went back to like, look at some of your stuff after.

And they're like, wow. Like she said about family and about dealing with like emotionally abusive slash narcissistic parenting, all that stuff. Like it now makes sense. Like it, it ties it all together. So yeah, I gets the pencil, my birthday tie everything together mean obviously I will have. More work in the future.

Um, some that I'm working on right now and you know, I just feel like if the good jumping off point, if you're not really familiar with the rest of my work,

Host, Kandidly Kristin: right, it will absolutely make you want to go run and read some more what you've done for sure. If it's, cuz it was my first experience of you and I was, was like, oh, I need to read some more stuff.

What else is she written? So it will absolutely do that. And those who already know about you. This is going to just be like the icing on the cake you already know about. And that's been baking for a minute, so, right? Yep, yep, yep.

So listen, what in your opinion, are some of the most pressing issues facing big black women?

Be they cis, bi, lesbian? What are some of the, the most pressing issues and. How can we as a a community, and I'm talking about black people and then society as a whole Yeah. Work to start to address these issues. I know you mentioned there's no research on eating disorders amongst black women, but are there any others that you would say, yeah, this is, we need to start working on this?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Yeah, so I would, start by saying that, We all know how terrible the medical industry treats black women, period. Yes. Right. And does not care for us. Every time we go to hospital, we are a American large chance. You know, not returning unless we have somewhere near to properly advocate for us. And I'm always so very serious about that.

Like if one of my girlfriends like, oh, you'all go to the hospital, death. What? I'm put on my drawers in my pads and my shoes, I'm going with you and I'm coming. Yeah. But, and I'm don't play about you and none. These doctors can play in either of our faces. Like, I don't care. Or to turn all the way up. I will.

I will definitely turn on. So-called black, strong black woman, and we gonna have some problems if you're not treated well. Right? But you know, they don't treat us well and I need people to understand that. That kind of worse sense, depending on each additional ization, right? So if you're queer, that's gonna be a whole other can of worms of it, right?

But if you are fat slash disabled, Always thought it bad for you. Yeah, because even like whatever shardi quality of healthcare they already give us, it drops into, like drops to the earth course. You know when you, you know, when they see that your family, they just say, well, they really just think that they can do or say whatever.

They really think that at that point you see, you come in as fat prison, they don't have to do their job. Right. Right. All they have to be like, oh yeah, go lose some weight and then we'll talk about it. Right. Meanwhile, in your head, or like, I'm serious, they're talking about, oh, lose don't weight. Right? And then, you know, and then the thing day.

Thin black women don't understand about this. Cause you know, some of them will retain Right. Superiority complexes because of this. Right. One thing that thin black women don't understand is that when doctors pull this shit with that black women, it also dementias the quality of your healthcare.

Absolutely. They wanna think of like the singular thing. I'm like, no. If they're not doing their job with me, they're definitely not gonna care to do it with you. Yes. They're just gonna be more aggressively open about it to me. Right, right. Yes to you. They may say, oh, the sweetest sac, most saccharin things in the world and still not treat you right.

Cause they just don't think that we are worth that treatment to begin with. Yeah. So changing this narrative, changing this way of life for these people, Is going to happen to start with all of us collectively calling out these professionals in these industries On their fat phobia. Yeah, on their ableism.

When you go to your doctor's office and they say some out of pocket, you need to shoot them up. Yeah. And then if you can afford to. You need to change doctors. Yeah. Because that's the only way that people will understand this, that you have to speak their language. They're being disrespected right back and they leave.

Yeah. Like they don't have to be your doctor. And the more people do this to them, right, the more either they're gonna get it by, I guess by mental aosis more, they will probably really find themselves addressing the right way one day. Or the wrong one depend upon, right, right, right. And now they're appearing in front of somebody at the board.

Right. So, but none of that, it's a

Host, Kandidly Kristin: cultural sensitivity training

Author, Clarkisha Kent: or something. Exactly. But that doesn't happen is we are essentially complicity in each other's suffering. Yes. Um, so that's what I would say is one of those things where you just, you have to challenge it. Continuously and proactively, you know, I feel like I'll give a sign example.

You know, we and the collective are always kind of on white people's necks about making sure they intact racism wherever they need it. Even if Day's Mamas and Daddy's house over the thing, we're always very adamant that Daddy is the exact place and you should be challenging it because that is the matter.

People think it's outside, in the outside of the world. No. It that, that, yes. What you mean? Fuck this shit right there? Because if you call sister right there, then we don't have to see that fucking ass shit on Twitter or Facebook or whatever. Right? Yep. Get. That's how I feel about fatphobia, how colorism, et cetera, et cetera.

You didn't just watch that shit as soon as it arises in your interpersonal circles, right? Yeah. Because you can be the difference. Bring someone, again, going out into the world and unleashing that abusive behavior onto others, right? Yes. So I think that's what I would say in addition to the research part that I mentioned, people have to step up in terms of identifying these things.

But also checking them being sort of a personal checks and balances in their communities lights. So,

Host, Kandidly Kristin: and why do you think it is that we as black women, fat or thin, have an issue advocating for ourselves and speaking truth to, you know, doctors, nurses, when they try to tell you, That you're not in as much pain or whatever the case may be.

What, where do you think that comes?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Um, I feel like it's twofold in that, you know, when people keep projecting angry black woman on you, strong black woman, sometimes you think should like instinctively try to run away from that. So you're like, okay, well, I'm not gonna be angry. I'm not gonna raise my voice.

I'm not gonna, you know, I'm just gonna be chillers and or whatever. And I'm like, Mary, don't lie. Invented from that. You just some point. At that point, you know, it's not the right to be. Called all these things and to be assaulted, to be these things. But you know, me personally and I'm knocking on dirty the door, I don't care anymore.

Right. Angry black woman named that mean that you get your fucking job, not I'm okay. Right. Um, boy number two, I think it comes a community thing that we have to take response and collective. There are so many things that are done and said to black women within the community. Yeah. And make it so that they feel uncomfortable amputating for you know, themselves.

Ourselves. Right. You know, if you're, I don't know, let's say your mom, are you a dad? You know, hell's you enough time that you're too loud, you're too this, you're too that. Right? Guess what? Let it happen. You're going to shrink back from those. Qualities. Yeah. And that unfortunately then translates to your adult life.

Cause if, if you're mother, while people, father, while people hold you, that you speak enough for yourself is, is stupid or, or unintelligible or too loud to this or too that, then yes, unfortunately you will resist advocate for yourself in a public space. Like, yeah. So I feel like it's one of those things where like, not only is it like outside of pressing systems doing this to us, But it is also interpersonal, our personal, that put us in that bind.

Yes. So I feel like as a community, we really would have to take responsibility for how we treat black women and make them feel like, you know, we, we have to turn down our voices or silence them completely, or someone else. That's it. You know?

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Yes, yes. I agree. I agree. So who is Clarkisha Kent at the end of the day and what's on the horizon for her? Like, what you got going on?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: So I would say me, at the end of the day, I, you know, always call myself an internet shit talker because black me just internet shit. Um, but I mean, other than that, I would say that, you know, first and foremost always going to be a writer. I, I, that's how I process whenever I've put pen, paper, or, you know, metaphorically, you know, putting hands to keyboard.

Right, right. Um, there, there are things in my brain that I have not connected previously that suddenly become connected. Mm-hmm. So that's what I am first, foremost, I am, you know, a writer. Um, I am black, a black writer, fat Grind, queer rider, disabled rider. Like all of these things. And how I present my own self to the world and also on the page.

So I would say that's first and foremost who I am and you know who I'll be and hopefully continue to be, you know, and I also, you know, also I would say I'm a nerd learning about games, nerd about field tv. I'm always going to be paying special attention to those two because critiquing those to me are an extension.

Pointing out these societal ills that I talk about in my book, right? All these attitudes don't happen, the vacuum. Cause this one seems like even if you are the best parents in the world, because that do right, they love you. Yep. The best parents, the will. They can't show me everything. And sometimes this really twisted BMS that I talk about in a book can reach you.

Through that TV screen or through that movie screen is, they're unfortunate, but the only way we can minimize stuff like that. And, you know, I tried to do my part is by you calling it out. So I would say that, you know, international talker, writer, but also, you know, a critic, uh, the critic for the purposes of helping people identify the kind of things that would.

Essentially inject these toxic points in them. Yes, there will. Right. Got it. So that's kind of what I would say. Information myself. In terms of product, product, products, projects on the horizon, I would say that I'm definitely working on my web done. I've been working on it until 2015, but life happened, so it's been a on and off thing.

I wanna write a western about black female outlaw because not enough laws are in the genre, and also white men love to inject themselves in other people's narratives. There are like entire groups of people that have gotten erased by existing westerns. Yeah, there's people. Massa again, who text the NA back again the text like, and there's so much history within Erased Black Cowboys.

You know what happened Preconstruction period. People think it was just har Civil War, Jim Crow, the entire period of history that people ignore on purpose. So I watched the disgusting things like that. I'm also working on a boje course related project. I cannot share the details of it right now, but it is definitely cooking.

I'm very excited for it because I really do love that show.  I personally consider the show to be perceived television. I think people would think I'm doing too much, and I'm like, no, not doing enough. Because the only reason people can't have that conversation is because it's animated. So, you know, we, yeah, we know the Western attitude surrounding animation, so people kind of dismiss it at their juvenile.

Right? And I'm like, no, if this show had been, you know, using live action people, I promise you, you would felt differently. Yeah. There's a way that BoJack Horseman addresses things like say addiction, right? Dealing with emotionally, you know. Manipulative people or emotion, immature people or people with narcist, the tendencies, right?

Like she gives their nuanced portrait and it really, it really do, it really doesn't bind by the whole, like, Hey, you know, what happened to you was not your fucking ball, right? What you do there after is if exactly your block. It feel like it, it really holds in on there and it never wave bursts. And I'm really appreciative of the show cause it went to places that other pieces of media would not even dare.

Right. Great. Um, and ironically it was able to do that because of Yes. So I have a great respect for that show. A great respect for creator, um, Raphael about Westberg. Essentially everyone who worked on the show period, I had a great respect for them. So I'm excited about this project. And other than that, you know, I think at some point I would like to adapt the memoir.

I'm actually working on something concerning that with my really good friend and Kelly Terrell. And obviously it's caused because of the rider strike, you know? Cause I.

Um, yeah, I would say those are the three things I'm working on.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Now. You said adapting the memoir like for TV or movie?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Yes, for  tv.,

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Oh  yes. I would love to do that

Author, Clarkisha Kent:. Yeah. I believe that television on top of animation, cause I believe first and foremost the animation is the superior media period. People will find me up and down.

I don't care. Master animation for me is tv because you can tell those whole story. Movies are nice, but to me, I've always thought about movies as snapshots in time where unless they're like telling a story over like, let's say different time periods within the mo Right. But with, you know, TV show, they're just, to me, much more creative freedom about how you can tell a story, how you are presented, how it's gonna be structured, like it is just, to me, a more larger slate.

So that's kind of, that's, that's definitely the medium I would go for. Okay.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Got it. I, I'm looking forward to that. So keep me

Author, Clarkisha Kent: posted. Yes ma'am. Thank you. Our Cheryl. Oh,

Host, Kandidly Kristin: you're welcome. And thank you. This has been an amazing chat. The time is flying by. So that's the end of our formal chat and now we get to the fun stuff.

We get to play 10 Kandid Questions

Author, Clarkisha Kent: I'm ready.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: All right. So just some random questions. Only rule is you have to answer Kandidly, which I know you will. Yes.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: You ready? Yes, I'm ready. All

Host, Kandidly Kristin: right. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Oh God. Oh shit. Oh my God. Okay. I'm thinking, cause I, I, I, many, I'm not gonna lie. Um, my lu, I would say more recently, dogs in public faces.

I think that the, the part that people don't lie in here, I mean, first and foremost, it's very much of it's Caucasian thing to do. Bringing your dog another, it's like, for me, it's another formal conversation. Personally, I know people, oh my God, Clarkisha, why aren't you say that? That it's true. You goddamn damn well that Seora and his employees don't want bark me, your dog in the fucking store.

They don't sing because people don't train their dogs. They don't. And it makes me sad cause I'm like, I don't really dislike the dog, but I dislike you to be here a piece of shit and leaving your dog in a very normal social situation. Cause you, you literally refuse to socialize it. Right? Yeah. The other thing that people don't wanna hear, but I'm gonna say anyway, is that this is a very both millennial centered issue.

We did not have, for the most part, where I acted where I am, at least we did not have. This aggressive issue of dogs being in public spaces, also misbehaving in public spaces. Right. Until a lot of millennials came h Yeah. So I feel like that's a competition people don't want to have yet. And okay. But please understand that if you're with me in the public space and your daughter doing too much, we probably get into, because I don't think it's fair.

For you to bring this untrained animal here and put them in a vulnerable situation and also put everyone else in a situation as well. Yeah. Right. So I really don't like that I, you know, I'm started to say something online. Well, I'm like, I don't care at a certain point because you're not, I don't even wanna say inconvenience.

Cause I feel like that doesn't even get to the heart of the issue. No, I just feel like, you know, you have disturbing opinion. You are peace and you are, you are letting your pet down. Yeah. Because you're also putting them in a situation where, hey, they don't know let, and you're supposed to train them.

You're supposed to look at for them, you're supposed to take care of them, and you're just chucking them into the world. Untrained, they don't know when they're supposed to go to the bathroom. They don't know that they're not supposed to jump on that person. The kids, right. You, you know, you just, you start there and now you know, God forbid again, read the line on one.

Now something happened to them. Yep. Because you didn't wanna train your dog, you didn't wanna look up your dog. So that would be my most recent pet peeve. Like I really do not like it. I don't like it.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Neither. Neither do I. It's not my biggest pet peeve, but it's definitely on the list. Like, why is this dog in this restaurant big? Are they blind? I mean, it's not a service dog. Yeah. All right.

Question number two, introvert or extrovert?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Would it  be annoying to say Omni vert

Host, Kandidly Kristin: you’re  the second  person? To answer that with omni Vert, I'm gonna have to add that answer Choice

Author, Clarkisha Kent:. Yeah. The reason I'd say that if I, if I were to be more accurate, I would probably say extroverted in introvert.

I know that sound weird, but I definitely have a majority of inver like introverted qualities. That's, especially when I'm younger, I'll get with the introvert now that I'm older and have to go into certain spaces to mingle and socialize of people. I. Really have the luxury of being like, oh, I'm just an introvert.

I'm doing things, please. My professor requires me to do some socializing and own that. So yeah, so I have then also adopted some extroverted qualities to make sure that I just succeed in these same spaces. Right. So yeah, while I leave introvert again, I had to adapt to be in a slightly more extroverted than I'm used to.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Okay. All  right. Question three. What do people misunderstand most about you?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: What people misunderstand most?

That's a great question. I don't know the, everything but power. Sorry to pick one thing, I would definitely say I feel like people sometimes, you know, Go out their way to misunderstand blind anger about certain issues. That's the preg. Cause if they're in in denial about it, of course they're not gonna acknowledge what's going on.

Right. Um, and I admit that sometimes I could be out of pocket. I feel like I'll remi leave that part out. I can be out, I can be wrong. Well, you know, it's what it is, right. But. You know, I feel like for tho certain issues, people assume they, they assume that I'm being OBD about it, and no, I'm not. I feel like I'm not being angry enough.

Right. I'll give you a recent example. I wanna say like many years, two, a week and a half, two or three weeks ago, it's like, it was recent discussion online Twitter particular about who should play Viton, the DC character, and. They put up this image of, didn't I ta I don't remember her like actual name, but basically it was the black actress from Sabrina, who would be the name, who would be more famous by the Sabrina SE series.

Right, right. And, and special. No, she is light-skinned and she's also a biracial. Mm-hmm. That matters, right, Ms. Von? Wass. Mm-hmm. African and Capital Eight. Heritage. And I took great offense to this suggestion because people were, I did, I took great offense to this suggestion and a lot of people were being very slim with.

They're like, oh, you know, it's not too serious. You know, we're just playing around, goofing around, da da. And then I took a picture. Because he, I still wanting to see it. Sometimes people aren't visual. Right. I can tweet all day, but, and they don't see that picture. It might not slip. So I took a picture from the live action version.

Oh. Mix Sam and compare the comic version. We all know. Right. And the live action version had, looks look very, very dusty. And she too had not been dark skin. You right. Not dark-skinned. She didn't have sore hair. She had long trusts. She was given like, Bust down. Like it will not, it did not look right. And I was like, when y'all have these conversations and think that no one is watching, you are doing great.

Hard. Somebody casting this person. Mm-hmm. Somebody professional casted this person. Right. When we've learned and year after year after year on these apps that these industry people, they do be on this app and they do be. So when you say it, she, it is not happening. No. Somebody office taking over. Oh, she would be Fri Even though she's not Fri choice and it's not back to the actress, but it is what it is, you know, so, right.

Yeah. Some people see me get angry about those sing. They're like, oh, you got that serious. No, it is in it. Once again, like I keep saying, it starts within the community. We have a whole bunch of white people, um, multiple shades, right? Mm-hmm. Saying this is the choice. If you're a non-black, if you're a white person, you're gonna be like, okay.

They, they're, they, they find off on it, right? We mad at them because y'all did. It's true. Duff at, yeah, y'all sent me that. So, yeah, people definitely go on their way to like, Misunderstand my anger or, or actually try to use it against me that year. The second one usually doesn't work because you know the way the home bringing I'm from, I'm very used to that.

Right? So what you is me ignore outta you, right? But doesn't change the fact. Like I said, people will definitely try to use that anger discredit what is being said. Right. So, all

Host, Kandidly Kristin: right. Questions four. Coffee or tea?

Author, Clarkisha Kent Tea.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Well, that was  easy!

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Okay. Yeah. For the. Oh my God. As you know, you know, as, as someone who mingles with Southern Asians in particular, we are a tea drinking people of, and I love letting about us.

Cause Let's, coffee is great, especially any coffee from Latin America. Why like, yeah, fifth. Coffee fucks me up. I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's aal present of caffeine that doing it, whenever I drink coffee, I'm getting the bathroom, girl. Yeah. I'll be like, oh my God, why'd I do this? Yep. I could still get that, you know, shot of caffeine.

Mm-hmm. But it doesn't immediately send me in a frenzy during deep panic to the back. Trying to make it a book. Trying to make it like what? So yeah, I love tea and there's all sorts of different tea. Yes. You got sleepy tar tea. You gotta like relax the tea. You got like, I don't know, pop uses tea. Yeah, you got like, it's so many teas and I, you know, try 'em all.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: okay,  question five. If you had the entire world's undivided attention for five minutes, what would you say?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Probably give my Ted talk on colorism in particular. Definitely sliding, you know, the opposite. Blind sat over in there. But just the way colorism, cuz you know, we never talk about the real shit.

Wedding calls it college as long of the folks are like not. Just inter relations, but there's always a focusing the romantic quota aspect of it. Mm. And, and Kristin to me Yeah. Is the fact that, you know, this happens in families, right? Yes. Like there's favoritism that occurs on, also you, sta occurs literally on the back of colorism, right?

On top of that. We people literally get higher present sentences because of color in though like we are lighter skin individual, you'll get less of a sentence. There are less years on your little time in comparison to a darkery person that commits that same crime. Life research. I jaice. No, I'm not even making it though.

Like this. Test and study it affect your housing. God prospects, like people will pass up on promotions for you if you are dark skin and someone who helps with lighter skinned and vy for destiny. Like those are some things, everything. So I definitely will talk about that. And you know, obviously talk about his origins.

You know, um, people remember like all the other words, like let's say colored Shrek, right? Mm-hmm. Really? Well try to distance themselves from that history. And I'm like, no. And luckily at the end it is some wolf art history. Yeah. You know, there's only so much you can blame on, you know, colonialism and like Anthem point.

You have to look at how you've painted and embedded this system within your all community. So that's what I was talking.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Got it.  I like that though. We need to have more of that conversation and I probably will on the show one day and have you back.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Oh, I love that.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Question number six morning person or night owl?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Definitely night owl. As I gotten older, I've, you know, sometimes I will have parents like where I am, just up in the morning.

It's not bad. I'm not angry. You know, I have my cup of tea and then I'll be fine. Right. But I definitely prefer nights. So I think something about it just like energizes me, you know, if people are into strongly, I'm a cancer moon, so I'm feeling like that's probably part Okay. You know, cancer, they're home and in the moon position, you know, the moon place van and.

Yeah, I just, I love looking at her. She snap shit, like, look at all the little faces and faces that she got. She is definitely not okay, but I'm not okay either. Right, right. I, I love, you know, being open at night, you know, and that's also for me, when I find myself being most creative as well. I feel like if also send to my D h G, but Danny for another.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Okay. All right. Question number seven. What was one major turning point in your life?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Major turning point? Uh, definitely when I made the decision to, to leave the church and, you know, it wasn't really decisions I took lightly cuz you know, at that point you just, all of that I knew, but at the same time the experiences of my friends, my community, even myself.

And growing and learning more about the oxid world just made it so that this particular base, especially how it manifests in this country, was incompatible with the values that I held very dear. Correct. So I'm left and once I left and you know, neared off into spirituality, right. I felt at peace, you know, I feel like could really be myself and also come into my own.

Mm-hmm. So I would say that's probably the biggest turning point. Cause I feel like, you know, the practition that everyone knows and loves or fears or whatever brains. Right. Right. Be this person without her walking away from the church. Cause in my case it was there much folding me back. Yeah. And you know, and just inject me all sorts of like bringing opinions that I would like.

Fighting against, you know some. Yeah.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: All right. That's the major one. Number eight, what is your favorite curse word?

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Oh, okay. So it's definitely fuck!. It's definitely fuck! Like man, it's such a seasoned word. I consider it like the, what is that tool that people carry around? They have like stick different heads.

Oh my god.

I can't remember what it's called.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Like the little knife that's got a knife and a..

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Yes. A knife. Knife. And then like a, a bottle open bottle opener. Yes. Yes. It's that thing like there's, it's a multipurpose cuss word. Yes, you could, you can let it call someone that like you feel like it, call one. That as a noun rack.

Why you that? You can use it as an adjective. Yes. As as punctuation you. It's all kind carpet. I love it. The same other one. So if I were to do a second one right. That isn't fuck. Cause I'm sure, I'm sure people tell you fuck all time. Right. If I were to say a second one, I would definitely say shit. Mm-hmm.

I think it's the very hilarious word. And a fun back for me when I've grown up. You know, again, I'm not near parents, so, you know, some other ways gonna be a little bit mysterious, you know, compared to the other parents, right? Mm-hmm. Um, but my parents, and I'm sure in their upbringing too, shit was not a cuss word.

Yeah. Right. It was not a cuss word. We did not, there was no stigma when there were in the house. Hmm. Like I was young. I, I was like six, seven talking about some shit. Like I had to go. And it was totally okay with my parents. Now when I get up to school like, and what it weird like how, you know? And I'm like, yeah, my parents say all kind like that's what we do. Right? It's literally a bodily question, you know? Yeah. Well, you know, they spice some stuff when they are cusing, but then like, you know, It's like, you know, you know a dog he's at, right? It's right.

Just a thing that, you know, certain sex of people in this country decide to humanize. So that's my other thing. Word. Because it's humorous. Humorous,

Host, Kandidly Kristin: and it is a bodily function. So I mean, yes. You know. All right. Ninth question. What's one question you wished I'd ask you during our chat and how would you have answered.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: I, I would've liked to touch more on maybe the faith aspects in the book. Okay. Like I mentioned, you know, people really don't think about the church first when they start talking about phobia color itself. Mm-hmm. I feel like people think it laugh limits and it's not, it's not. I'm like, you shouldn't be critical of any institution.

Even ones that you love, let's talk about it. That to be contributing to this issue, I have a lot of problems with churches in this country. The way that people run churches in this country, there's no way that there should be like four churches on this one corner and the people here. Right. And people here don't have no food.

There's no way. There's no way if this, get that right Now, a lot of people get smarted and they don't want it hear that, but a lot of people get smarted. Cause ain't no way. There's five, both six churches on the corner and the neighborhood don't got no food. They ain't got no grocery striped. They don't have Right, they don't have no books.

Like there's no way. So I, I wouldn't like to touch on them. And then my answer to it would've definitely been the fact that. No matter how peop, how much people feel about the religion, no matter how connected they felt to it, this or that, it was always used as an depressive tool towards the majority of us.

And no matter how you feel, even if you're calling yourself a good Christian, which personally I don't think they exist, but let's. You're calling to a good Christian, I still wouldn't really send that from you because you still benefit from the person way that is used in this country. Yes. It's same thing we say about white people, like I'm a good white person.

Oh.

Question that don't mean nothing to me. I feel the same way. Like, yeah, good Christian, this, that, whatever, but are you going up the side of the head of your uncles and your aunts this, these people that people, when they say this oppressive shit that we tell you about, no. Right. But you wanna call it gonna do Christian.

I'm not gonna call you that. I'm not gonna give you the piece that she was bought for me. No. Right. No. So that's what I would say. Well, interesting.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Thank you. I, I, I always ask that question because it helps me build better interview questions, you know what I mean? So when somebody says, I wish we could have talked about that more, I'm like, dang, it definitely should have, so that helps me. So thank you.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: And the 10th and final question, which by the way is the same for everybody. How can my listeners connect with you? Get your books, check out some of your other work? What's all your, your, your contact info.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Thank you so much. So as a professional rank, you can find me on, um, my website, www.clarkishakent.com/

All the links to my work Is there. All the links to my book. Is there all the links to, you know, contact me Like if you, you know anything about mileage socials, you can still find 'em there like they're listed there. If you are, support me, you're always listed there. Like every single thing that is of link for is listed there, including, um, the can't test the cat and kill the, that's saw that, yep.

That's, that's all there. It's now on my socials. Um, so I'm actually primarily on sign social now. I really like that app. It's much calmer. Much slower, you know, you know, I tell Bill I'm no, I'm bipolar two disorder. The only thing that is going to disturb me less is great. So, um, love, hi socialist. So let's put in right now, um, my A is at Clarkk.

Um, I'm also on IG at, at Clark and I am still on Twitter until the app collapses. IWriteAllDay_ So those are be places that you can find. Gotcha.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Thank you so much. I I really do appreciate this chat. I wish that, since you mentioned it, I wish that we had spent a little time talking about the church, cuz it is one of my, my favorite topics to talk about cuz I walked away from Christianity as well.

So, but just understanding how it impacts so many other things in the lives of black folk particularly And in society as a whole before us particularly. So I really do appreciate your time, Clarkisha, and I am for real gonna have you back when I do the chat about colorism for sure.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Perfect. I, I'm definitely ready. If you need any names, other recs who would love to talk about it, let me know. I can get those names for you too.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Oh, please, yes. I'm always, I love, like, I love one-on-ones, but I, I also like having multiple voices in a conversation cuz it, you know, just can broaden the, the scope of what we're talking about and see different perspectives.

So absolutely. I am gonna be working on that for the fall. So. Thank you again for your time, for your authenticity, for your amazing book. You listen, y'all get the book. Just all I gotta say get it. In audio form. Print form. I have both. Get it, read it. Enjoy it. It's awesome.

Author, Clarkisha Kent: Thank you so much, Kristin.

Host, Kandidly Kristin: Oh, you know, problem.

And listen guys. I want y'all not to forget to visit my website at www.theKandidshop.com. Kandid with a K. Listen to an episode, share the show with your friends. Get Clarkisha’s book, all her contact info. Her website will be in the show notes. And until we meet again, I want everybody out there to keep it safe, keep it healthy.

And keep it Kandid.