Anti-racism educator and author Monique Melton joins us to discuss why doing anti-racism work is a prerequisite to dismantling diet culture and other systems of oppression, the difficulty of raising Black children in our white-supremacist culture, how to move beyond performative activism and allyship, why anti-racism work is never-ending, and so much more.

Monique Melton is an anti-racism educator, published author, international speaker, and host of the Shine Brighter Together podcast. She is also the founder of Shine Brighter Together, which is a community dedicated to healthy relationships & diverse unity.

She travels the world speaking at conferences and events on topics related to anti-racism, personal growth, diversity, and relationships. She’s been published in magazines, featured in blogs and podcasts, and has touched the lives of people all over the world.

She is a natural big-bold dreamer and a deeply rooted woman of faith.

She is a proud Navy wife to her high-school sweetheart, and she is a loving mother to two little ones.

She has a BA in social science with an emphasis in sociology & psychology and two years of graduate school education in Clinical Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.

She believes it's not all about your comfort, but it's about your growth. Find her online at MoniqueMelton.com.

We Discuss:

• Food as a source of celebration for Monique and her family growing up, and how diet culture messaging started to creep in over time

• Subtle sources of internalized fatphobia

• Food and being present as sources of joy

• The space that dieting takes up

• Monique’s experiences with diets and disordered eating

• How learning about the racist roots of diet culture motivated her to start rejecting it

• How Monique’s husband has supported her while entrenched in and moving away from diet culture

• Language and actions that reinforce diet culture

• Trying to raise children away from diet culture, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Encouraging critical thinking skills in children

• The challenge of raising Black children in our white-supremacist culture

• Why Monique became an anti-racism educator

• The backlash she initially received for her anti-racism work, and why she continued to do it

• The similarities and differences between anti-racism and anti-diet work

• Why anti-racism work needs to come before dismantling other systems of oppression

• What people can do to contribute to anti-racism

• Moving beyond performative activism and allyship

• Why anti-racism work is never-ending

• Building a community as a bulwark against systems of oppression

Resources Mentioned

Some of the links below are affiliate links. Affiliates or not, we only recommend products and services that align with our values.

• Submit your questions for a chance to have them answered on the podcast!

• My book, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating

• Rachel Cargle’s work

• Layla F. Saad’s work

• Catrice Jackson’s work

• Monique’s website and Instagram