Healing Racial Trauma
An Online Book Study and Anti-Racism Group Open to All
Are you wondering if “racial trauma” applies to you?
It probably does. Check out this excerpt from Resmaa Menakem’s groundbreaking book, My Grandmother’s Hands:
“No matter what we look like, if we were born and raised in America, white-body supremacy and our adaptation to it are in our blood. Our very bodies house the unhealed dissonance and trauma of our ancestors. This is why white-body supremacy continues to persist in America, and why so many African-Americans continue to die from it. We will not change this situation through training, traditional education, or other appeals to the cognitive brain. We need to begin with the body and its relation to trauma.”
Translation: If we want to address systemic racism, we need to address how race shows up in our bodies, not just in our minds. My Grandmother’s Hands was written to walk us through this process. It is a book of healing, and we invite you to join us in healing together.
WHAT DOES THIS SERIES ENTAIL?
In a nutshell, this is an online book club where you actually read the whole book! 🙂
For the next few months, we’ll convene online every two weeks to discuss My Grandmother’s Hands together. In addition to weekly chapter assignments we’ll each read on our own, we’ll be listening to the entire book in real time and diving deep into the content to create sustainable change. By coming together to do this work, we’ll also form an anti-racism group that intersects with The Spring’s community.
Each meeting will take place online on a Thursday evening from 6:30-8:30pm EDT. We'll convene every two weeks until we've finished reading and discussing the book, likely through the remainder of the year.
Here’s what each online session will look like:
6:30-7pm EDT: Settle In and Meditate
7-8:30pm EDT: Listen/Read and Discuss: We’ll listen to a section of the audiobook together and then work through the “body centered practices” in each chapter. Using a protocol for conversations about race that we’ll establish in the first session, we’ll also share and discuss any thoughts, questions, or ideas that arise from the book.
FAQs
Is this group open to everyone?
Yes! No meditation experience or affiliation with The Spring are required to join this group.
What does this work have to do with Vedic Meditation?
Both are founded on the importance of transcending the mind and the intellect to address stress (and trauma) on a physiological level. We believe that this is necessary in order to truly heal and create lasting change.
Do I have to attend every session?
Yes, we ask that you commit to showing up fully and attending every session to the best of your ability.
Is there a fee to join this group?
Nope! The only requirement is that you purchase your own copy of the book (in any format) and email your receipt to arden@thespringmeditation.com.
Why is this series so long?
Sustainable change takes time. In order to dive deep and for our learning to stick, we need time to process and integrate. Anti-racism is a life-long pursuit, so we feel no urgency to “finish” this work (because it will never be finished).
We resonate deeply with Resmaa Menakem’s embodied approach to dismantling racism and are excited to explore it with you. We hope to have you join us on this journey toward healing ourselves and our country.