1. Wisdom from Jena Schwartz: “So much is happening so fast right now. We need to allow ourselves time to process things, to slow down enough to be able to make sure that in our efforts to make things better, we don’t inadvertently reenact harm. A big part of this happens through learning in community, with and from each other, and by being honest about the places where we struggle, question, stumble, and learn to do better.”
2. 20-Minute Active Chair Yoga Practice from Dianne Bondy, (video).”Ready for a seated challenge? This active chair yoga practice is fully supported but offers active movement and more challenging postures like seated hand to big toe pose and wide legged forward fold. This 20-minute yoga practice is perfect for when you’d like a bit more support but still want to move through a full range of motion.”
3. Love & Rage with Lama Rod Owens on The Road Home Podcast with Ethan Nichtern. “How can we find the path of liberation through our anger? Lama Rod Owens speaks with Ethan about ways we can work with anger as a healing energy in our practice.”
7. Good stuff from Lion’s Roar:Open Your Heart Further, “Pema Khandro Rinpoche on cultivating the boundless love of a bodhisattva,” and May Disrupting Anti-Black Racism Never Cease, “‘These are opportune times to transmute the energy of angst into actions that deepen our insight,’ says Dr. Kamilah Majied. She invites us to rest in unrest, staying steady in impermanence,” and Facing My White Privilege, “When Tara Brach came to recognize her own white privilege, it revealed painful blind spots. That changed her as a dharma teacher and leader.”
18. Stop Doing Warrior Pose If You Are Not Going to Fight. “Yoga is more than stretching and tight fitting clothes. If you don’t see yoga as a call to action in this moment, then you’ve missed what you have been preparing for. In this moment in time, every yoga studio, every yoga teacher, and every practitioner of yoga needs to take action for the cause of Black Lives Matter and be actively anti-rascist.”
22. Blessing Manifesting on Etsy, “Self-Care Planners, Self-Love, Mental Health Printables.”
23. Here’s What Companies Are Promising to Do to Fight Racism on The New York Times. “Corporate America has pledged millions to social justice efforts since the killing of George Floyd. But some businesses have gone further, committing to concrete changes in their practices.”
5. hi from Karen Walrond on Chookooloonks. “I am back, wholly and fully. And my brothers and sisters, Chookooloonks is my protest. And I will continue to protest that the beauty of the people of this planet will save us.”
7. Poems from Home with Andrea Gibson, a live poetry performance and Q&A from Andrea’s home in Colorado on June 27th. “This month for Poems From Home, I’ll be reflecting on what Pride month means to me this year, discussing the intersection of art and activism, and working to create a space that is nourishing, loving, and present to this exact moment in time. Bring questions, bring answers, bring your sweet and rowdy selves. I am so very grateful for you all.”
10. Wisdom from Austin Channing Brown: “The work of anti-racism is the work of becoming a better human to other humans.”
11. Unlocking Us, a podcast with Brené Brown, “unpacks and explores the ideas, stories, experiences, books, films, and music that reflect the universal experiences of being human, from the bravest moments to the most brokenhearted…Conversations that unlock the deeply human part of who we are, so that we can live, love, parent, and lead with more courage and heart.”
12. How to Build an Anti-Racist World, a TEDTalk interview with Ibram X. Kendi. “There is no such thing as being ‘not racist,’ says author and historian Ibram X. Kendi. In this vital conversation, he defines the transformative concept of antiracism to help us more clearly recognize, take responsibility for and reject prejudices in our public policies, workplaces and personal beliefs. Learn how you can actively use this awareness to uproot injustice and inequality in the world — and replace it with love.” In related news, Listen to Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi on Spotify. I tried reading the book on my Kindle, but it’s a very dense book that requires more direct attention than I typically have when I read on my Kindle in bed at night. I’m so grateful for the option to listen.
14. Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy from SPLC. “Our public entities should no longer play a role in distorting history by honoring a secessionist government that waged war against the United States to preserve white supremacy and the enslavement of millions of people. It’s past time for the South – and the rest of the nation – to bury the myth of the Lost Cause once and for all.” In related news, 34 Tweets Roasting That Pulled-Down Slave Trader Statue.
16. Wild Writing Family with Laurie Wagner. “a monthly membership which includes three videos a week where I talk about Wild Writing and then give you a poem to write from. Twice a month I gather with students to write live together on Zoom. The community, the writing people have been doing has been life saving for everyone – a way to stay connected to ourselves and to each other.”
Trump’s leadership has been disastrous. But it would be a mistake to place the blame on him alone. In part, we find ourselves here for the same reasons a civil war tore our nation apart more than 100 years ago: Too many citizens prefer to cling to brutal and unjust systems than to give up political power, the perceived benefits of white supremacy and an exploitative economic system. If we do not learn the lessons of history and choose a radically different path forward, we may lose our last chance at creating a truly inclusive, egalitarian democracy.
21. Allies, Don’t Fail Us Again on The New York Times. “Many white people have been moved by the current movement, but how will they respond when true equality threatens their privilege?”
25. Rise Up: A Tribute to Black Lives Matter from The Skate Kid. “A week ago, the D.C.’s Mayor Bowser had the words Black Lives Matter painted on 16th street in front of the White House. She said her hope is that we can all speak up and protect each other. I wanted to share my hope for the future. At 5:30am while the streets were still empty, my parents and I went down to Black Lives Matter Plaza to record this video. I decided to skate to one of my favorite songs, ‘Rise Up’ by Andra Day. I skated to the song based on what I was feeling.”
27. How 2 Lives Collided in Central Park, Rattling the Nation on The New York Times. “The inside story of the black birder and the white woman who called the police on him. Their encounter stirred wrenching conversations about racism and white privilege.”
29. 30 Day Racial Justice Challenge from Kertesha B. Riley on Twitter. “Black America is tired and we’re hurting. If you find yourself asking ‘what can I do,’ start here. I’ve created this challenge and am dedicating the next 30 days to learning about and engaging the work of racial justice.”
31. Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out Podcast. “Comedian Mike Birbiglia welcomes a different comedian or creator each week and together they work out original, untested material. And, occasionally, uncomfortable topics. Join them as they work it out.”
37. Full Episode: Where Do We Go From Here? (Part One). (video) “Oprah Winfrey leads the conversation speaking directly with Black thought leaders, activists and artists about systematic racism and the current state of America.”
Resmaa Menakem is a therapist and trauma specialist who activates the wisdom of elders and a very new science, about how all of us carry the history and traumas behind everything we collapse into the word “race” in our bodies. He helps explain why vulnerabilities and inequities laid bare by the pandemic have fallen hardest on Black bodies. He illuminates why all of the best laws and diversity training have not gotten us anywhere near healing.
42. How We Are. “How We Are was started by Nicole Walker and Matthew Batt. They’re both writers and teachers and, beyond reading and writing, they’re both enthusiastic eaters and listeners and purveyors of art of all stripes.”
How We Are was started by them during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortly after they were among the few who attended the Associated Writing Programs conference in San Antonio. They simply wondered, after seeing so few friends and colleagues at AWP, How is everybody?… It’s a simple, but big, question, and they want to know… The idea was to begin by asking a few people they know how they’re doing, but then, like a benign virus, spread it forward and have people reply not to us, but to other people. Together we hope to post, in a time of crisis, a portrait of people simply thinking about other people.
51. What I Hear When You Say, a video series “that explores how words can both unite and divide us depending on our own perspective, experience, and interpretation. Each episode covers a different phrase or term that challenges what we think we know about race, class, gender, and identity. While these topics may be difficult to discuss, starting with a shared understanding will help us connect with one another.”
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 