Urvashi Vaid: The Relay Race to Liberation

Dreaming in Color

Show description

Welcome to Dreaming in Color, a show hosted by Darren Isom, a partner with The Bridgespan Group, that provides a space for BIPOC social change leaders to candidly share how their life experiences (personal and professional) have prepared them to lead and drive the impact we all seek.

In this episode, we welcome Urvashi Vaid, an Indian-American LGBTQ rights activist, lawyer, and writer. She talks about her roots as a student activist and organizer, her early days in the ACLU and the National LGTBQ Task Force, and her stints at the Ford and Arcus Foundations. Forged in the fire of the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war era, the motivation Urvashi carried with her to turn the system on its head was nothing short of relentless. Her work in advocacy, policy, and philanthropy has shaped the bedrock that many of our efforts now rest on. This episode was recorded a few months before Urvashi’s passing. Join us in celebrating her life and genius by listening to her reflections on the triumphs and roadblocks that have led to our present and where we can go from here.

Jump straight into:

(01:58) - Introducing Urvashi Vaid, President of The Vaid Group

(03:22) - What does it mean when the tools of a racist patriarchy are used to examine the fruits of that same patriarchy? Words from Audre Lorde.

(05:21) - Stoking the fire: Her sense of belonging, tenacity, and passion from a young age as a young lesbian child of immigrants.

(11:18) - On her foundation: Urvashi’s experience as a student activist and organizer in nontraditional spaces before law school

(18:20) - Entering the philanthropic space: Pragmatism, people, and power

(23:24) - On the skills, mentors, and tactics that community engagement created for her professional trajectory

(30:52) - A space in formation: The efforts toward creating solidarity in and success for the LGBTQ movement

(35:32) - What is to come: The future fights of social movements, words of hope, and the victories to be achieved

Episode resources

Follow Urvashi's work through LinkedIn

Learn more about Urvashi's impact through her homepage

Learn more about The Vaid Group

Discover Records from the Bromfield Street Educational Foundation (formerly Gay Community News)

Read Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, assorted pieces by Audre Lorde

Read Home Girls: a Black Feminist Anthology, a compilation by Barbara Smith

Listen to the Music of Patti Smith on Spotify

Learn more about the National LGBTQ Task Force (formerly National Gay and Lesbian Task Force)

Learn more about the Arcus Foundation

Learn more about the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Learn more about the Ford Foundation

Thank you for listening to Dreaming in Color a Bridgespan supported StudioPod production. Nicole Genova is the Show Coordinator and Teresa Buchanan is the Show Producer. The production team from The Bridgespan Group includes Cora Daniels, Michael Borger, Christina Pistorius, and Britt Savage. Additional music and editing provided by nodalab.