Article

May 31, 2020

Racism Does Not Belong

It never belonged within us or around us. We must do the work to actively dismantle it now together.

hands holding eachother

Dear Community,

Rallies and protests across the country are raising awareness of racism and institutionalized injustice in the wake of police brutality against the Black community. The injustice that we are reckoning with must be ended. But where do we begin?

Let’s draw our awareness back to our lives. When we witness a loved one experiencing and expressing big emotions, what do we do?

In our yoga and mindfulness practice, we take a moment to breathe and check-in silently with ourselves. And with our breath, we drop into the moment to deeply listen to our loved one. To see. To hold space. To reflect. And then to move forward with our loved one, together.

It’s an act of courage and compassion to stay present and listen without condition. 

As an organization, we recognize one of the most powerful things we can do at this time is to deeply listen to the Black community. We are holding space. We are reflecting. And we are standing with the Black community to move forward in action together.

We ask now that you take the time to join us in listening, holding space, reflecting, and acting.

Black Lives Matter. Racism never belonged within us or around us. We must do the work to actively dismantle it now together.

We recommend beginning with the resources below, made and shared by BIPOC.

To our Black community members: Our hearts are heavy and we are committed to dismantling and rebuilding with you. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your voice, perspective and experience for our community to learn from.

 

For Children and Teens

It’s never too early to start having open conversations about race (Talk Race with Young Children, 2019).

We suggest starting with the valuable resources shared by Teaching Tolerance: Teaching About Race, Racism, and Police Violence, including articles, stories, and professional development opportunities.

To Read

 

For Educators

We recommend exploring the following thoughtful and impactful resources to support your inner work, and to better support the children in your life.

To Listen

You see the light that comes inside of people to other communities that are like, ‘I’m going to stand on the side of black lives.’ You see people literally transforming.

Patrisse Cullors

We’re so busy saying, “I’m not that; I’m not that; I’m not that thing I don’t want to be” that it becomes very hard to engage in correctives of our behavior.

Imani Perry

Trauma decontextualized in a person looks like personality. Trauma decontextualized in a family looks like family traits. Trauma in a people looks like culture.

Resmaa Menakem

More Podcasts:

 

To Read

To Learn

Teaching Tolerance

Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners—who work with children from kindergarten through high school.

Britt Hawthorne, Educator

Britt Hawthorne offers educators anti-bias and antiracism workshops that are open to all. Her work seeks to move justice from being an idea to the authentic culture.

In addition to speaking at workshops and conferences, Britt is the co-creator of the Instagram #antiracistbookclub, where all are welcome to seek answers and unpack together.

Facing History and Ourselves

No matter where teachers, students, and communities are located, Facing History is here to help through online professional development, international events, and its free library of classroom resources.

To Give

If you have the resources to give financially at this time, we encourage you to consider giving to:

  • NAACP – secures the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons

  • Black Visions Collective – a black, trans, and queer-led social justice organization and legal fund based in Minneapolis-St. Paul

  • The Bail Project – nonprofit aiming to mitigate incarceration rates through bail reform

  • The National Bail Fund Network – a directory of community bail funds

  • Communities United Against Police Brutality – offering a crisis hotline where people can report abuse, legal, medical, and psychological resource referrals, and engages in political action against police brutality

Did you know?

Research suggests as little as 5 minutes of Yoga Ed. daily can improve mental health.

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