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The Importance of Intrapersonal Empowerment in Bettering Civil Discourse

Part of the ProHuman Foundation Board of Advisors Series...
learn more about the Prohuman Foundation at ProHumanFoundation.org

Today, I’m excited to introduce Erec Smith, another fellow member of the board of advisors at the ProHuman Foundation and a powerful voice for true empowerment and personal accountability, especially in today’s social climate. Erec is a research fellow at the Cato Institute and a former Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania. His work explores how rhetoric influences our perspectives on anti-racism, activism, and the foundations of a free, pluralistic, and civil society.

But Erec’s reach goes beyond the classroom. He’s a co-founder of Free Black Thought, a nonprofit that’s challenging the status quo by celebrating viewpoint diversity within Black communities. Through their Journal of Free Black Thought, they share everything from poetry to scholarly work—bringing out the voices of artists, writers, academics, and public intellectuals often overlooked by mainstream media.

In today’s conversation, Erec and I dig into some critical ideas about personal empowerment and the dangers of a victim narrative. One of Erec’s key messages is the importance of choosing to be a “victor” in our own lives, rather than seeing ourselves as victims. He’s observed that the victim narrative, while powerful, often breeds resentment rather than resilience, which ultimately disempowers us.

We also explore some big questions: What does real equity look like, and can some equity efforts inadvertently lead to more division? Erec shares how outreach programs, when done right, prepare young people to navigate and thrive in college—not just to check boxes but to actually feel empowered.

Erec’s insights on intrapersonal empowerment really hit home. He believes that the path to civil discourse—and to bridging divides—is through strengthening the individual first. It’s only when we have strong, accountable individuals that we can come together with others to reach common goals and view no group as a monolith. At the heart of Erec’s message is this: through personal accountability and a commitment to working together, we can overcome almost anything.

Takeaways

• Being a victor means having a positive outlook and self-regard.
• The victim narrative can be powerful but often leads to resentment.
• Equity and inclusion can sometimes promote division rather than unity.
• Outreach programs can effectively prepare students for college.
• Intrapersonal empowerment is crucial for civil discourse.
• Common goals can unite disparate groups.
• Civil discourse should be made appealing again.
• No group should be viewed as a monolith.
• Personal accountability is essential for empowerment.
• We can achieve incredible things when we work together.

Who is Erec Smith?

Erec Smith is a research fellow at the Cato Institute and former Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania. Although he has eclectic scholarly interests, his primary work focuses on the rhetorics of anti‐​racist activism, theory, and pedagogy as well as the role of rhetoric in a free, pluralistic, and civil society. He is a co‐​founder of Free Black Thought, a nonprofit dedicated to highlighting viewpoint diversity within the black communities. Free Black Thought includes a compendium of black artists, writers, academics, and public intellectuals not discussed in mainstream media. The organization also has a Journal of Free Black Thought, that publishes anything–from poetry to scholarly work—that discusses or displays a variety of viewpoints within the black diaspora. Smith is the author of A Critique of Anti‐​Racism in Rhetoric and Composition: The Semblance of Empowerment (2020), a book in which he scrutinizes contemporary modes of anti‐​racism in his field. The book was conceived after Smith's observations of his field led him to conclude that anti‐​racist initiatives did more to disempower students and faculty than empower them.

Learn more about and connect with Erec Smith online:

website: https://www.cato.org/people/erec-smith

Free Black Thought:  https://freeblackthought.com/

Erec on X: @Rhetors_of_York

LinkedIn: @erec-smith-1b8b291b

What have you done today to make your life a better life? What have you done today to make the world a better place? The world is a better place if we are better people. That begins with each of us as individuals. Be kind to one another. Be grateful for everything you’ve got. Make each and every day the day that you want it to be!

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