Now that white America is waking up to the scourge of systemic racism and the injustices and injuries it causes, how can white coaches be effective in working with clients of color?

I (Howard) have noticed many assumptions that I've made over the years that I now recognize as outgrowths of racist beliefs that I had never examined. And now that I'm beginning to immerse myself in the study of our racist society, I can see myself coaching my clients of color not from a place of ignorant privilege, but rather from the energy of "I'm so sorry" and "wow, your life must be hard." And neither feels genuine or helpful. So I convinced my friend and fellow health coach Vince Rountree to help me think through the issue.

Vince is the founder of Chronic Wellness Coaching. He left a successful corporate career to pursue life as a health coach after turning around his own health destiny through a plant-based diet in 2011. He has earned an E-Cornell certificate in Plant Based Nutrition, as well as a health coaching certification from Emory University in Atlanta. He's a PCRM Food for Life instructor, and to round things out, also earned a Certification in Nutritional Strategy for Coronary Artery Disease from the Cleveland Clinic. As you'll see, Vince is passionate, thoughtful, fierce, and loving. I so appreciate his candor and gentleness as he guided me to deeper understandings of my own blind spots and how I can become a trustworthy ally.

Vince and I explored the history and nature of racism in America, how it's eerily similar to undiagnosed hypertension, and what white coaches can do to confront and transcend this condition in the service of our clients. Find Vince at

http://www.loseweighteatingmore.com/

============================================= This episode, like every HCP podcast, is sponsored by http://WellStartCoach.com. If you're a health coach wanting a more reliable process for helping clients change; if you're a lifestyle medicine practitioner needing to generate more "compliance" with diet and lifestyle prescriptions, or you'd like to help the people in your life overcome negative health habits and live their best lives, check out the WellStart Health Coaching Academy.