In this time of instant local and global video communication, the longstanding racial divide in North America is visible for all to see.

This is an opportunity for myself and other white people to ask ourselves how we passively or actively permit hate-mongering rhetoric, violence and brutality directed at Black people, Muslim people, Latinx people, First Nations people, Asian and Pacific Islander people, immigrants of color, and trans people of color.

If we believe that Black children should be able to play in public parks without being shot down; if we believe that Black women and men should be able to commit minor traffic/vehicle violations without being murdered;

If we believe Black and Brown and Muslim and immigrant and trans folks of color have the right to practice their religion, drive cars, use public restrooms, go to their jobs, raise their children, embody their authentic gender, breathe, and simply exist, then it’s time to do something.

What each of us does will depend on our resources, health, access and skills, but it is time to:

Do some self-education/self-reflection:

http://www.jardanapeacock.com/uploads/1/6/1/9/16192474/practice_showing_up.pdf

and/or

Take action.

We can work with other white folks:

http://collectiveliberation.org/

http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/about

https://www.facebook.com/events/267794383612864/

We can support movements led by people of color:

https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights#act

http://www.narf.org/our-work/promotion-human-rights/

http://mashable.com/2016/06/12/transgender-women-of-color-ally/#2GtVBO22_aqB

As a white person, I believe it’s my job to support other white people to co-create a racially just world with people of color.

One way I do this is by coaching white anti-racist educators and activists, and supporting them to work through the traumas that undermine their effectiveness and joy in life.

I also do this by offering Healing Oppression workshops.

Finally, I support white people to co-create racial justice by sharing my research and writing.

Resources for Challenging and Dismantling Oppression

If you are exploring what it means to be an over-privileged person (ie. a white person or man or able-bodied person or citizen in this racist, sexist, ableist, anti-immigrant culture) then these resources are for you.

If you straddle both privileged and oppressed identities, these resources are also for you.

If you want insight into what stops you from integrating social justice activities into your daily life, if you want to practice new behaviors that support the liberation of oppressed people, then these writings are for you.

Finally, if you want somatic and psychological insight into how folks with privilege “tick,” these writings are for you.

Intro to the Two Lists of Articles

Oppression operates at institutional, cultural and individual levels. Healing oppression involves collective efforts to shift social and institutional structures. It cannot be a solo or merely psychological endeavor.

However, since my area of expertise is helping folks heal their bodies, spirits and psyches, my writings emphasize the somatic, psychological and trauma-informed aspects of healing oppression.

I prepare individuals and groups to access self-love, self-awareness, accountability, and resilience as they engage in collective, cross-difference collaborations to create structural changes (policies, laws, funding, reparations, etc.).

I believe that this approach complements other approaches to dismantling oppression, because we interact with institutions, culture and each other with our bodies and psyches. And it is our collective bodies and psyches that create social change.

Feel free to share this article and these lists with your communities. If you share excerpts of my writing, please credit me as the source. Thank you.