Anti-Racism

We each have racist conditioning. Being anti-racist means having the courage, honesty, caring and dedication to uproot that conditioning—in ourselves and our world.

Dear White Friends,

The horror and heartbreak of George Floyd’s murder has pierced the armoring of denial of many White people, starting what is a long overdue collective reckoning with our American legacy of slavery, lynching, and systematic violence and oppression of Black bodies, hearts and minds.

For this anti-racism movement to gain critical mass, each of us needs to participate. Now is the time to deepen our attention to this core wound of our society, and to dedicate ourselves to uncovering the conditioning of racism and White supremacy that imprisons and deludes our minds. And now is the time to actively dismantle the multifaceted institutionalized ways that racism continues to violate Black, Indigenous and all People of Color, including Latinx and Asian.

My prayer is that our caring and courage be great and sustained enough that we step forward to do this necessary work – each in our own way. It’s not enough to say “Black Lives Matter.” May our actions show that Black lives truly matter, that they are an honored, respected and cherished part of who we really are.

With loving blessings,

Tara

Dear Friends of Color,

As a White woman, I humbly ask your forgiveness for any and all ways, out of ignorance or inattention, my words or actions have caused you harm. It is not for lack of care…I care deeply that we all be freed from the suffering of White supremacy.

And as a White woman, I sincerely apologize for the immeasurable violence my race has inflicted on Black, Indigenous and all People of Color, including Latinx and Asian. I am committed to processes of truth, reconciliation and reparative measures that can address the trauma and wounds from this violence.

My heart’s intention is to serve the awakening from racism in myself, White people and our larger society.

With loving blessings,

Tara

Below, you will find resources for facing, feeling, understanding and responding to the suffering of racism. Please consider this a living document…one that will keep evolving!

Resources on Anti-Racism – Talks and Interviews

Meditations to Work with Anti-Racism

Articles

For Asian American Women, Misogyny And Racism Are Inseparable, Sociologist Says, Ailsa Chang, March 19, 2021

Swallowing the Bitterness of Asian American Racism, Kathleen Hou, February 19, 2021

Healing Racism and Ways to be of Service to the Black Community In This Time of Need, Deborah Eden Tull, June 15, 2020

America, This Is Your Chance, Michelle Alexander, New York Times, June 8, 2020

Slow Murder, Heather Berthoud, June 2, 2020

How to help your Black friends and your non-Black friends today, Kat Vellos, June 2, 2020

Bryan Stevenson on the Frustration Behind the George Floyd Protests, Isaac Chotine, June 1, 2020

10 Habits of Someone Who Doesn’t Know They’re Anti-Black, Cicely Blain, Strategem blog, May 31, 2020

The Untold, Ruth King, May 29, 2020

Violence Against Asian Americans Is on the Rise—But It’s Part of a Long History, Andrew R. Chow, Time, May 11, 2020

The long history of racism against Asian Americans in the U.S., Adrian De Leon, April 8, 2020

Your Liberation Is on the Line, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Lion’s Roar, February 2, 2020

What’s My Complicity? Talking White Fragility With Robin DiAngelo, Adrienne van der Valk and Anya Malley, Summer 2019

For Our White Friends Desiring to Be Allies, Courtney Ariel, Sojourner’s, August 16, 2017

Facing My White Privilege, Tara Brach, Lion’s Roar, June 21, 2016

Podcasts, Film, Apps

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Words That Don’t Belong To Everyone  ~ November 7, 2017 – YouTube

Featured Documentaries (Available on Netflix):
I am Not your Negro
13th: A Netflix Documentary

Love Is The Motive: OnBeing with Krista Tippett and Bryan Stevenson, Founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

Seeing White – Scene on Radio podcast ~ tells stories exploring human experience and American society.
~ Just what is going on with white people? Police shootings of unarmed African Americans. Acts of domestic terrorism by white supremacists. The renewed embrace of raw, undisguised white-identity politics. Unending racial inequity in schools, housing, criminal justice, and hiring. Some of this feels new, but in truth it’s an old story.
~ Why? Where did the notion of “whiteness” come from? What does it mean? What is whiteness for?
~ Scene on Radio host and producer John Biewen took a deep dive into these questions, along with an array of leading scholars and regular guest Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika, in this brilliant fourteen-part documentary series.

Antiracism Meditation: Created through the lens of a Black and a White teacher, Antiracism Meditation includes an EP and journal questions were designed to support people of all races seeking to be true allies. The EP includes three meditations – allyship, racism and loving kindness. The project is live on Spotify, AppleMusic, Soundcloud and Insight Timer, Iman Gibson and Tori Lund, July 15, 2020.

River City Drumbeat – Movie Screenings: powerful story of music, love, and legacies set in the American South. Questions/Contact: rivercitydrumbeat@obpfilm.com

See Through Unconscious Bias | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie, Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris, June 12, 2020

Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence, Resmaa Menakem, On Being with Krista Tippett, June 4, 2020

How to be an Anti-racist, Ibram X. Kendi, listen to Ibram’s interview with Brené Brown, June 3, 2020

Meditation. For Us, By Us, Liberate Meditation app for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community,

Websites

The BIPOC Project aims to build authentic and lasting solidarity among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), in order to undo Native invisibility, anti-Blackness, dismantle white supremacy and advance racial justice.

White Awake: Waking ourselves for the benefit of all, White Awake combats white supremacy by focusing on educational resources and spiritual practices designed to engage people who’ve been socially categorized as “white” in the creation of a just and sustainable society.

Showing Up for Racial Justice, SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals working to undermine white supremacy and to work for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability.

Education For Racial Equity is a cross-racial and inter-generational non-profit organization committed to illuminating and dismantling the system of white supremacy, globally. Guided by the principles of both Anti-Racism and Anti-Racist activism, we take a multi-faceted approach to systemic change. ERE creates opportunities to develop awareness of the nature and function of whiteness/white supremacy, its impact on all peoples, and how it intersects with other systems of oppression. Our intention is to support integrated and embodied change within ourselves and those who work with us.

Ruth King, insight meditation teacher, emotional wisdom author and life coach – helps thought leaders become more mindful of racism, its impact, and our potential. Website: home of the Mindful of Race Training Program – a call to groups and organizations committed long-term to developing racial self-awareness, mindful leadership, and cultures of belonging.

Milagros Phillips, speaker, author, coach, creator of Race Demystified; Ongoing Workshop: Healing from Racial Trauma

Books and Resources

Alexander, Michelle, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Coates, Ta-Nehisi, Between the World and Me

DiAngelo, Robin, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

Howard, Gary R., We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools (Multicultural Education Series)

Irving, Debby, Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race

Johnson, Kate, Radical Friendship: Seven Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World

Kaur, Valerie, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love

Kendi, Ibram X., How to Be an Antiracist

Kendi, Ibram X., Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

King, Ruth, Mindful of Race – Transforming Racism from the Inside Out

Lama Rod Owens, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger

Manuel, Zenju Earthlyn, The Way of Tenderness: Awakening through Race, Sexuality, and Gender

Menakem, Resmaa, My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies

California Newsreel, “Race: the Power of an Illusion” (film series)

Pax Christi Anti-Racist Team, Building Accountable Relationships with Communities of Color (online resource)

Parker, Rev. Dr. Rebecca, “Not Somewhere Else, But Here” (essay)

Powell, John a, Racing to Justice: Transforming Our Conceptions of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society

Scruggs-Hussein, Tovi C., Racial Healing Allies, a collection of racial autobiographies

Selassie, Sebene, You Belong: A Call for Connection

Stevenson, Bryan, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

Trepagnier, Barbara, Silent Racism: How Well-Meaning White People Perpetuate the Racial Divide

Washam, Spring, A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment

Wilkerson, Isabel, Caste (Oprah’s Book Club): The Origins of Our Discontents

Williams, Rev. angel Kyodo and Lama Rod Owens with Jasmine Syedullah, Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation

Willis, Jan, Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist, and Buddhist ― One Woman’s Spiritual Journey

Yang, Larry, Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community

See also: Books by Buddhists of Color