159: Unabridged Interview: John Blake

Episode • Jun 11, 2024 • 1h 0m

What has the power to change our minds about the world? In John Blake’s case, it was a surprise encounter.

“I knew I had a white mother,” says award-winning journalist John Blake. “Her name is Shirley, and her family hates black people… that's all I knew.”

At age 17, John Blake’s father casually asked him if he’d like to meet his mother for the first time. Three days later, he found himself in the waiting room of a hospital. “The meeting is nothing that I expected,” he recalls. “It's incredibly shocking.”

Today, Blake tells the story of his childhood, born in the sixties as the son of an interracial couple in Baltimore. His story sheds light on the history of racial prejudice in the United States, and offers wisdom about the ways in which we might find hope and healing in the midst of all kinds of struggle and hostility.

Show Notes:

Resources mentioned this episode

More Than I Imagined by John Blake

PDF of Lee’s Interview Notes

Transcript for Abridged Episode

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