Examen - 10
November 14, 2024
Examen: Racial Justice
SUMMARY: In this Examen you will hear a story and reflection directly from Rhonda V. Magee’s book titled The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness.
PRESENTER: Rev. Ramona Bamgbose (she/her/ella), Chaplain, Health Sciences Campus Ministry
Transcript
Hello beloveds,
This examen is focused on racial justice, and it comes straight from the pages of Rhonda V. Magee's book The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming our Communities Through Mindfulness. First we will begin with a story and then we'll go into the reflective practice.
"A Race Class"
This is Seth's story.
Seth joined one of my Race and Law classes with a level of enthusiasm that surprised me.
Looking at him, most would identify him as white.
But in his own mind, his background was different. He shared with me that he was part Jewish and part Cuban. He had grown up in a neighborhood in Oakland, California, filled with people from a wide range of backgrounds, including a large percentage of black people. He identified with the views of those he had grown up with, but he didn't look like them. He therefore struggled to fit in.
I liked Seth immediately, because he was earnest and willing to be vulnerable about the things he needed to better understand. He met with me early on in the course, and shared with me his deep desire to learn how racism made people of color more vulnerable to oppression and harm and how best to respond. He cared about doing his part to help make things right.
While I appreciated his concern, I could see that he might gain even more from a closer look at his own experience of race. If he could explore and recognize the role of race in his own life, he might be able to develop sights about race that others might find more compelling.
"What about coming at it from your own lived experience?" I asked.
"My what?" He was surprised and skeptical.
"Your own experience." What has your own life experience taught you about how race matters?"
"Well that's just it," he said. "I don't know. I'm not sure what race I am." He shared that while most people would think of him as white, his background left him feeling otherwise.
"And what does 'looking white' mean? How does it impact your interactions in the world? What does it mean to you, really, to be racialized white? How might it benefit you and the world if you understood this better?"
"I don't know," Seth said. He sat in silence for a moment. "But I like that you're asking me this. No one ever has. I'm excited to be thinking about this."
Seth and I spent many a Friday afternoon that semester pondering questions like this. By the end of the course, he told me something that moved me to deepen my commitment to this work. He said that while he had learned a lot about race and law, he learned even more about himself.
"A class like this should be required for law students!" he said. "And really, it should be available to everyone."
And with this in mind, our reflection is entitled "A Pause for Human Kindness."
Having explored the value of a self-reflected pause in deepening our capacity for racial awareness and justice work, take a moment now to explore a micro practice I call the Pause for Compassion.
We begin, again, by noticing a moment of racial discomfort. We pause. We take a deep and grounding breath. What are the sensations in the body that make this discomfort known to you now? Consider placing one or both hands on the area where you feel discomfort.
Inwardly recite these phrases: "This is a moment of racial discomfort. Such moments are common in a world shaped by racism. I deserve kindness in this moment. And I offer kindness to others impacted by this moment as well."
Now bring kindness to an often underappreciated part of your body. Take a look at your hands, your palms, the outer skin. Notice any reactions you have to the color of your skin. Then, think of all the ways you have put your hands to work, they ways they have supported others, enabled you to feel connected to others along the way. As you breathe in and out, appreciate this part of your body as an immeasurable gift. And offer it love and appreciation. Extend the sense of appreciation from your hands to your arms, chest, heart, neck, head, and back down through your midsection to feel the ground. Breathe in and out with a sense of appreciation, of love for the gift of the body--the earth that walks, the physical manifestation of your unique journey through time, space, and cultures untold--for getting you to this place.
November 14, 2024
Examen: Racial Justice
SUMMARY: In this Examen you will hear a story and reflection directly from Rhonda V. Magee’s book titled The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness.
PRESENTER: Rev. Ramona Bamgbose (she/her/ella), Chaplain, Health Sciences Campus Ministry
Transcript
Hello beloveds,
This examen is focused on racial justice, and it comes straight from the pages of Rhonda V. Magee's book The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming our Communities Through Mindfulness. First we will begin with a story and then we'll go into the reflective practice.
"A Race Class"
This is Seth's story.
Seth joined one of my Race and Law classes with a level of enthusiasm that surprised me.
Looking at him, most would identify him as white.
But in his own mind, his background was different. He shared with me that he was part Jewish and part Cuban. He had grown up in a neighborhood in Oakland, California, filled with people from a wide range of backgrounds, including a large percentage of black people. He identified with the views of those he had grown up with, but he didn't look like them. He therefore struggled to fit in.
I liked Seth immediately, because he was earnest and willing to be vulnerable about the things he needed to better understand. He met with me early on in the course, and shared with me his deep desire to learn how racism made people of color more vulnerable to oppression and harm and how best to respond. He cared about doing his part to help make things right.
While I appreciated his concern, I could see that he might gain even more from a closer look at his own experience of race. If he could explore and recognize the role of race in his own life, he might be able to develop sights about race that others might find more compelling.
"What about coming at it from your own lived experience?" I asked.
"My what?" He was surprised and skeptical.
"Your own experience." What has your own life experience taught you about how race matters?"
"Well that's just it," he said. "I don't know. I'm not sure what race I am." He shared that while most people would think of him as white, his background left him feeling otherwise.
"And what does 'looking white' mean? How does it impact your interactions in the world? What does it mean to you, really, to be racialized white? How might it benefit you and the world if you understood this better?"
"I don't know," Seth said. He sat in silence for a moment. "But I like that you're asking me this. No one ever has. I'm excited to be thinking about this."
Seth and I spent many a Friday afternoon that semester pondering questions like this. By the end of the course, he told me something that moved me to deepen my commitment to this work. He said that while he had learned a lot about race and law, he learned even more about himself.
"A class like this should be required for law students!" he said. "And really, it should be available to everyone."
And with this in mind, our reflection is entitled "A Pause for Human Kindness."
Having explored the value of a self-reflected pause in deepening our capacity for racial awareness and justice work, take a moment now to explore a micro practice I call the Pause for Compassion.
We begin, again, by noticing a moment of racial discomfort. We pause. We take a deep and grounding breath. What are the sensations in the body that make this discomfort known to you now? Consider placing one or both hands on the area where you feel discomfort.
Inwardly recite these phrases: "This is a moment of racial discomfort. Such moments are common in a world shaped by racism. I deserve kindness in this moment. And I offer kindness to others impacted by this moment as well."
Now bring kindness to an often underappreciated part of your body. Take a look at your hands, your palms, the outer skin. Notice any reactions you have to the color of your skin. Then, think of all the ways you have put your hands to work, they ways they have supported others, enabled you to feel connected to others along the way. As you breathe in and out, appreciate this part of your body as an immeasurable gift. And offer it love and appreciation. Extend the sense of appreciation from your hands to your arms, chest, heart, neck, head, and back down through your midsection to feel the ground. Breathe in and out with a sense of appreciation, of love for the gift of the body--the earth that walks, the physical manifestation of your unique journey through time, space, and cultures untold--for getting you to this place.