Recently, we had the privilege of hanging with Alexis & Chante—sisters, mothers, friends, business partners and founders of Let's Talk Sis—at an event in Utah, and ever since we've literally been talking about their incredible energy to anyone that would listen!
Today, we want to share about their mission to bring their community together to learn about race, diversity and inclusion with a focus on human connection. Read on to learn more about these incredible women.
"We want to see people as people, we want to hear their stories, and learn from their reality."
Q: Tell us about yourselves. Sisters, mothers, friends, business partners...whoa!
A: We really are sisters AND best friends! We both feel so incredibly lucky to be able to say that. We are very different yet we compliment each other beautifully. Alexis is the free spirited, energetic, trailblazer, while Chante is the organized, nurturing, and detailed sister.
We joke that our dynamics are like Lucy and Ethel! Alexis has the wild ideas and she pulls Chanté, (who is a plan ahead kinda gal) on many spontaneous and unforgettable adventures!
Mommy life is at the center of our world. Alexis is a busy mother of four energetic, dynamic children and Chanté is the mother of two fun-loving and beautiful little boys. Our husbands are supportive of all that we do and didn’t even blink an eye when we picked out houses 8 blocks from each other! Our kids have grown up together and are more like siblings than cousins!
We love to travel with our combined families, create fun traditions and activities for our kids, and ultimately make life long memories!
As business partners, we get to experience what we like to call fun chaos! It’s been a wild ride starting a business together in the midst of a pandemic and racial tension. We’ve learned to support each other through the highs and lows of motherhood, business, and life! We are thankful to have each other and experience so much of life together.
We both try to live without regret, learning lessons as we go, and trying to become more loving and connected individuals along the way. We are dreamers, doers and builders; committing ourselves every day to making our homes, schools, and communities a safer and more accepting place.
Q: What is your mission with Let's Talk Sis? What is your dream for it?
A: We are so passionate about helping others see and embrace the beauty of diversity. We want to share tools with families to help them build bridges of connection through understanding! We believe when you can learn someone’s story it helps create more understanding and less judgment. We all have biased thoughts and beliefs, it’s human nature, and can actually be a defense mechanism to keep us safe. But some of those biased thoughts and beliefs keep us from connecting to each other and can turn into judgmental and prejudiced thoughts that can impact how we treat each other. We want to give families the tools and resources to have these important conversations surrounding race, diversity, and human connection in their own homes.
Our dream? We would love to have a talk show! Maybe it would be more of a healing circle and a celebration of culture. We would bring in different experiences, perspectives, stories, cultures and celebrations. We believe in the power of storytelling in helping to create more connection and understanding!
Let’s be honest, we both have the gift of gab and we think it would be an amazing experience to be able to have the conversations that we are so deeply committed to having on an actual show.
Q: You talk about human connection as the foundation of your teaching. What have you found is the best way to tap into that core connection when having these often tricky to navigate discussions?
A: Connection, humanity, and relationships have to be at the center of this work, otherwise it can be damaging and harmful to individuals often creating disconnect and objectification.
We want to see people as people, we want to hear their stories, and learn from their reality.
In order to have a meaningful conversation, even when we disagree with someone, we have to both have the same goal of connection and understanding. If your goal is to prove your point or argue it’s really hard to connect. We believe that true connection takes intentional work. We have to be willing to listen and learn from other’s perspectives and experiences.
Q: How has your relationship grown through the experience of motherhood and raising diverse families?
A: We feel so blessed to be able to embark on the journey of motherhood side-by-side.
We have always been close and have found ways to support each other through the many stages of our lives. We can honestly say that being mothers and experiencing the highs and lows of motherhood has been one of our greatest lessons and blessings! We have called each other when discouraged or seeking advice countless times. We’ve given each other pep talks, cried with each other, and supported each other through it all!
Unfortunately, there are challenges that come along with raising multiracial families. As our children have grown up, the reality of racial bullying has made its way into their lives. This has given us many opportunities to support each other as mothers and as advocates for our kids. We know we have each other in this work and that makes all the difference.
Q: What is your dream for your children? How is the goal of Let's Talk Sis a part of that?
A: Our dream is for our children to grow up in a community where they feel a sense of belonging and safety with the ability and desire to embrace the beautiful rich diversity of the world. We want to model for our children how to create healthy boundaries, deep human connection, and understanding beyond differences. We want them to see that there is beauty in diversity and love who they are while respecting others' differences and cultures. We want them to love who they are and feel a deep connection to their ancestors and not be bullied or teased about their skin color or heritage. We all have culture to be celebrated and should love who we are! We want to help raise really good humans with a deep love for themselves and others who want to make a difference. The opportunities we’ve had with Let’s Talk Sis has allowed us to include more people in this conversation and bring our families along for the ride!!
Q: And because we can't let you go without mentioning skincare...what's the Tubby Todd item you can't live without ;)
A: We can’t live without All Over Ointment and Dream Cream!! Our skin loves it so much!!
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Check out other Day with the Basics features to meet more mamas (like Hannah Carpenter and Annie Warren)!