Learning + unlearning

This year I’ve been picking two words each month to live into. For January, I chose “well” and “being.” For February, I chose “love” and “learn.” As February is Black History Month, I’ve been focusing on learning a little each day about Black culture, art, and unlearning the American history I was taught in school.

I’d love to share some resources I’ve been using over the last year to learn about becoming antiracist. I also share a tool I use to help me be a better listener in difficult conversations. I’ve found that learning about race challenges me to practice mindfulness in a different way, as there’s a lot to unpack in realizing how I have contributed to systemic racism.

Racism is a huge problem in the US; in fact the US was literally built on systemic racism. By participating in and benefitting from this system, I am contributing to racism. As Ibram X Kendi wrote, it’s simply not enough to not be a racist; we need to strive to be anti racist. I acknowledge my privileges that have kept me out of these conversations for far too long. I am woefully inadequate to speak well on racism and becoming antiracist, so I’m simply sharing some helpful resources from my journey of the last year.

resources

The Anti Racism Daily. I’ve been subscribed to this donation-based daily newsletter since its inception last June. Each day, an email on a racism-related topic appears in my inbox with a thorough overview and action items. Written and curated by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), this programming has opened my eyes to many issues. I highly recommend subscribing and donating as you can. They have a special module for February on Black History Month that has been a highlight of my day in discovering art, culture and history each day this month.

How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X Kendi. The first book I read on racism, there was a lot that went over my head. I’m re-reading this book this month, and highly recommend it.

Me and White Supremacy, by Layla F Saad. I read this book last June, and it’s on my list to re-read. What I love most about this book is that it is meant to be done as a workbook, over the course of a month. It helped me to get consistent with the language and thought-provoking work.

You may notice that I’ve included only work written by BIPOC; initially I was recommended several books on racism that were written by white people. While they were helpful resources, I’ve since learned the importance of supporting and paying BIPOC on topics related to race. It’s my opinion that white people shouldn’t monetarily benefit from racism education.

Tools for empathetic listening

Today’s mindful minute is a simple tool to help make difficult conversations a bit easier. I’ve found that I miss the point when I get defensive. It’s common to listen from a place of wanting to respond, convince, or defend oneself.

This tool will help you to monitor self while in a difficult conversation so you can show up as the best version of yourself. You deserve that, and so does the person you’re talking to!

Remember that you can always download the slide and save it to your phone (when we’re stressed, we will not naturally remember to be mindful!).