Racism Does Not Belong

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

More Podcasts:

• Code Switch (NPR)

• Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw

• Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

• Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)

• Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)

• Seeing White

 

To Read

To Learn

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