WHY?
Allies on the Journey recognizes that most of our current Allies are white. With this new learning group, our intention is for white Allies to come together to learn about systemic racism and to discern which actions we each can take to dismantle white supremacy. Both systemic racism and white supremacy are firmly rooted in and buttressed by the story of separation, and we must commit to changing that story.
We want to be able to offer a safe space for our black, indigenous and people of color friends and allies to engage fully, all of us walking together. We realize, though, that we need to do our own work before we can make that invitation.
Further, we envision having similar conversations related to all societal structures based on separation, including sexual orientation and gender identity. We are committed to being allies to all. For now, we begin with this journey for white people, for we, collectively, have a lot of work to do.
Allies on the Journey recognizes that most of our current Allies are white. With this new learning group, our intention is for white Allies to come together to learn about systemic racism and to discern which actions we each can take to dismantle white supremacy. Both systemic racism and white supremacy are firmly rooted in and buttressed by the story of separation, and we must commit to changing that story.
We want to be able to offer a safe space for our black, indigenous and people of color friends and allies to engage fully, all of us walking together. We realize, though, that we need to do our own work before we can make that invitation.
Further, we envision having similar conversations related to all societal structures based on separation, including sexual orientation and gender identity. We are committed to being allies to all. For now, we begin with this journey for white people, for we, collectively, have a lot of work to do.
Unless our spirituality, our practice, our contemplation contributes to action it will regress into insipid moralizing or, perhaps worse, reactive fundamentalism that only serves to fule the cycle of reactivity and violence.
And unless our action, our activism, is rooted and anchored in contemplation — opening to love — it will likewise regress into another version of ineffective-arrogant-dualistic-fundamentalism again eventually contributing to the cycle of violence. — Terry
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. — Arthur Ashe
Meeting the first Wednesday of each month 8:00 - 9:30 PM (U.S. Eastern Time, U.S.) on Zoom
Terry Chapman and Tom McSteen will co-convene this group.
Who do we need around us so that we can boldly bring our gifts and insights into the world without judgement and with deep respect?
The challenges we are facing in the world can seem quite dark today. The negative forces are very strong, and the progressive development of consciousness and love sometimes feels very weak. But there is also a great evolution of love and light. Sometimes referred to as "The Great Turning" an evolution is indeed happening, as people like you and I join hands with others on this journey of awakening.
Though the story of separation is strong, the reality of connection is stronger. In so many places, there are signs of the Love working at all levels of society, almost in tandem with the emergence of unbelievable violence, fear and hatred all over the world.
As C. G. Jung said, “Where we stumble and fall is where we find pure gold,” the gold of the Journey, the hidden gold of our own souls, and then the beautiful unfolding of the whole creation.
The challenges we are facing in the world can seem quite dark today. The negative forces are very strong, and the progressive development of consciousness and love sometimes feels very weak. But there is also a great evolution of love and light. Sometimes referred to as "The Great Turning" an evolution is indeed happening, as people like you and I join hands with others on this journey of awakening.
Though the story of separation is strong, the reality of connection is stronger. In so many places, there are signs of the Love working at all levels of society, almost in tandem with the emergence of unbelievable violence, fear and hatred all over the world.
As C. G. Jung said, “Where we stumble and fall is where we find pure gold,” the gold of the Journey, the hidden gold of our own souls, and then the beautiful unfolding of the whole creation.
Beginning July 1 with
White Fragility (free readers guide)
we will be discussing a new book each month.
But we cannot stop with just reading.
We will discern, together, what is the next right thing to do?
Allies will be invited to share inspirations and resources in between monthly gatherings on Sutra.
White Fragility (free readers guide)
we will be discussing a new book each month.
But we cannot stop with just reading.
We will discern, together, what is the next right thing to do?
Allies will be invited to share inspirations and resources in between monthly gatherings on Sutra.
Ideas are the seedbed for action...
hopefully good information will propel us into good action.
If not then it is likely another regressive denial of what Love demands.
Read this 1st.
What Is an Anti-Racist Reading List For?
TransformHarm.org
This site is a wealth of resources that can inspire us and prepare us for action.
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Vertical Divider
What we will do:
To interrupt white fragility, we need to build our capacity to sustain the discomfort of not knowing, the discomfort of being racially unmoored, the discomfort of racial humility.—Robin J.DiAngelo. White Fragility (p. 14). |
If you never searched for truth, come with us
And you will become a seeker. If you were never a musician, come with us And you will find your music. You may posses immense wealth, come with us And you will become a beggar of love. You may think yourself a master, come with us And love will turn you in to a servant. If you have lost your spirit, come with us Take off your silk dress, put on our rough cloak, and we will bring you back to life. In our gathering, one candle lights hundreds We will light your path and give you courage, so you will open like a flower and join in our joyous laughter. Plant the seed of truth, and watch it grow and when it spreads it's branches,come with us, and sit under the blossoms. There, your eyes will open to the secret of truth. ~ Rumi |
Resources Compiled by Gratefulness.org
How Race Was Made
For much of human history, people viewed themselves as members of tribes or nations but had no notion of “race.” Today, science deems race biologically meaningless. Who invented race as we know it, and why? By John Biewen, with guest Chenjerai Kumanyika.
Black Lives Matter
A global organization that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people.
What Black Lives Matter Means (and Why It’s Problematic to Say “All Lives Matter”)
(Good Housekeeping) Why saying that black lives matter doesn’t mean that other lives do not.
Free Racialized Trauma 5-Day eCourse
“Moving from race to culture is important, transformative, and takes work. A lot of work. I help people, communities, and organizations find strength in healing that is holistic and resilient. Together let’s set a course for healing historical and racialized trauma carried in the body and the soul. I am a healer. I help people rise through the suffering’s edge. I am a cultural trauma navigator. I am a communal provocateur and coach. I consider it my job in this moment to make the invisible visible.” – Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP.
Our Mental Health Minute
A video series created by psychologists Riana Anderson and Shawn Jones to provide mental health resources for the Black community.
Fearless Dialogues
Fearless Dialogues is a grassroots organization committed to creating unique spaces for unlikely partners to engage in hard heartfelt conversations that see gifts in others, hear value in stories, and work for change and positive transformation in self and other.
Anti-Racist Resources from Greater Good
The Greater Good, a magazine that turns scientific research into stories, tips, and tools for a happier life and a more compassionate society, have gathered here pieces that explore our potential to reduce prejudice in society and in ourselves. You can read their latest coverage on racism, diversity, and bridging differences along with key articles addressing:
The psychological roots of racism
How to overcome bias in yourself
Confronting racism
Reducing bias in criminal justice
Building bridges
Resources for parents
Resources for educators
Resources from The OnBeing Project
From the May 30 edition of The Pause newsletter, penned by Krista Tippett: “The question of ‘who we will be to each other’ has been surfacing ever more insistently across my conversations for over a decade, and its civilizational implications have now been laid bare in our economies, our politics, and our cultures.” The newsletter shares the following resources:
More Beautiful – James Baldwin said, “American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” Imani Perry embodies that prism. For the past few years, Perry has been pondering the notions of slow work and resistant joy as she writes about what it means to raise her two black sons — as a thinker and writer at the intersection of law, race, culture, and literature. This live conversation was recorded at the Chautauqua Institution.
The Spiritual Work of Black Lives Matter – Black Lives Matter co-founder and artist Patrisse Cullors presents a luminous vision of the spiritual core of Black Lives Matter and a resilient world in the making. She joins Dr. Robert Ross, a physician and philanthropist on the cutting edge of learning how trauma can be healed in bodies and communities. A cross-generational reflection on evolving social change.
A Small Needful Fact – A beautiful poem by Ross Gay honoring Eric Garner and other victims of police brutality.
Let’s Talk About Whiteness – This conversation was inspired by Eula Biss’s stunning New York Times essay “White Debt,” which had this metaphor at its core: ”The state of white life is that we’re living in a house we believe we own but that we’ve never paid off.” She spoke with us in 2016 and we aired this last year, but we might just put this conversation out every year, as we’re all novices on this territory. Eula Biss had been thinking and writing about being white and raising white children in a multi-racial world for a long time. She helpfully opens up words and ideas like “complacence,” “guilt,” and something related to privilege called “opportunity hoarding.” To be in this uncomfortable conversation is to realize how these words alone, taken seriously, can shake us up in necessary ways — and how the limits of words make these conversations at once more messy and more urgent.
Civil Conversations & Social Healing – The Civil Conversations and Social Healing team represents The On Being Project’s presence in the world as they nourish, embolden and accompany the work of social healing. Their organizational capacities to produce audio and digital resources are strengthened by programs and convenings that stitch relationships across rupture and equip for resilience and repair.
Video Recordings: Spirituality and Social Change Symposium
The UMass Amherst Libraries and A Network for Grateful Living presented a dynamic afternoon of conversation, poetry, music, and meditation that explored the landscape of engaged spiritual practice and action for social change on September 27, 2019 at the UMass Fine Arts Center, Amherst, MA.
How Race Was Made
For much of human history, people viewed themselves as members of tribes or nations but had no notion of “race.” Today, science deems race biologically meaningless. Who invented race as we know it, and why? By John Biewen, with guest Chenjerai Kumanyika.
Black Lives Matter
A global organization that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people.
What Black Lives Matter Means (and Why It’s Problematic to Say “All Lives Matter”)
(Good Housekeeping) Why saying that black lives matter doesn’t mean that other lives do not.
Free Racialized Trauma 5-Day eCourse
“Moving from race to culture is important, transformative, and takes work. A lot of work. I help people, communities, and organizations find strength in healing that is holistic and resilient. Together let’s set a course for healing historical and racialized trauma carried in the body and the soul. I am a healer. I help people rise through the suffering’s edge. I am a cultural trauma navigator. I am a communal provocateur and coach. I consider it my job in this moment to make the invisible visible.” – Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP.
Our Mental Health Minute
A video series created by psychologists Riana Anderson and Shawn Jones to provide mental health resources for the Black community.
Fearless Dialogues
Fearless Dialogues is a grassroots organization committed to creating unique spaces for unlikely partners to engage in hard heartfelt conversations that see gifts in others, hear value in stories, and work for change and positive transformation in self and other.
Anti-Racist Resources from Greater Good
The Greater Good, a magazine that turns scientific research into stories, tips, and tools for a happier life and a more compassionate society, have gathered here pieces that explore our potential to reduce prejudice in society and in ourselves. You can read their latest coverage on racism, diversity, and bridging differences along with key articles addressing:
The psychological roots of racism
How to overcome bias in yourself
Confronting racism
Reducing bias in criminal justice
Building bridges
Resources for parents
Resources for educators
Resources from The OnBeing Project
From the May 30 edition of The Pause newsletter, penned by Krista Tippett: “The question of ‘who we will be to each other’ has been surfacing ever more insistently across my conversations for over a decade, and its civilizational implications have now been laid bare in our economies, our politics, and our cultures.” The newsletter shares the following resources:
More Beautiful – James Baldwin said, “American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” Imani Perry embodies that prism. For the past few years, Perry has been pondering the notions of slow work and resistant joy as she writes about what it means to raise her two black sons — as a thinker and writer at the intersection of law, race, culture, and literature. This live conversation was recorded at the Chautauqua Institution.
The Spiritual Work of Black Lives Matter – Black Lives Matter co-founder and artist Patrisse Cullors presents a luminous vision of the spiritual core of Black Lives Matter and a resilient world in the making. She joins Dr. Robert Ross, a physician and philanthropist on the cutting edge of learning how trauma can be healed in bodies and communities. A cross-generational reflection on evolving social change.
A Small Needful Fact – A beautiful poem by Ross Gay honoring Eric Garner and other victims of police brutality.
Let’s Talk About Whiteness – This conversation was inspired by Eula Biss’s stunning New York Times essay “White Debt,” which had this metaphor at its core: ”The state of white life is that we’re living in a house we believe we own but that we’ve never paid off.” She spoke with us in 2016 and we aired this last year, but we might just put this conversation out every year, as we’re all novices on this territory. Eula Biss had been thinking and writing about being white and raising white children in a multi-racial world for a long time. She helpfully opens up words and ideas like “complacence,” “guilt,” and something related to privilege called “opportunity hoarding.” To be in this uncomfortable conversation is to realize how these words alone, taken seriously, can shake us up in necessary ways — and how the limits of words make these conversations at once more messy and more urgent.
Civil Conversations & Social Healing – The Civil Conversations and Social Healing team represents The On Being Project’s presence in the world as they nourish, embolden and accompany the work of social healing. Their organizational capacities to produce audio and digital resources are strengthened by programs and convenings that stitch relationships across rupture and equip for resilience and repair.
Video Recordings: Spirituality and Social Change Symposium
The UMass Amherst Libraries and A Network for Grateful Living presented a dynamic afternoon of conversation, poetry, music, and meditation that explored the landscape of engaged spiritual practice and action for social change on September 27, 2019 at the UMass Fine Arts Center, Amherst, MA.