Between Us: A Psychotherapy Podcast Episode 61: Fifty Miles of Elbow Room
Feb 25, 2026
Dorothy Holmes, renowned psychoanalyst who led the Holmes Commission on racism, reflects on her Chicago upbringing and ministerial family roots. She recounts institutional racial enactments, the Commission’s turbulent work, and the practice of disciplined, invitational confrontation. She also shares the story behind her grandfather’s song 'Fifty Miles of Elbow Room' and its vision of inclusive transformation.
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Grandfather's Song Shaped Her Inclusivity
- Dorothy Holmes grew up in a large Chicago family with an influential minister grandfather who sang 50 Miles of Elbow Room and modeled an inclusive, invitational vision beyond injustice.
- The song and her family's emphasis on education, music, and resilience seeded her psychoanalytic desire to help people move "to the other side" of pain and racism.
Confronting a Department Chair Over Racist Language
- Dorothy recounts confronting John Romano, a revered chair, after he used the disparaging term "Negress" in case formulation and minimized the racial language.
- She prepared respectfully, raised the issue directly, and was later offered a job, illustrating power dynamics and the cost of confronting institutional racism.
Call It Blindness Not A Blind Spot
- Holmes reframes "blind spots" as systemic blindness to emphasize the broad, deep nature of racism within institutions rather than isolated omissions.
- She argues that individual prejudice matters less than how racism is embedded in institutional practices and hierarchies.