
How to Become Wiser and More Awake to Making Change
In a world that is currently struggling to fight against viruses, environmental pollution, and economic decline, perhaps the most important struggle we face is how to dismantle the racial divide that is so prevalent in this country (and around the world) and how to best support the BIPOC community of whom it is affecting the most.
At The Shakti School we have always been committed to teaching our students how to grow, heal, and transform any kind generational trauma, negative patterns, or emotional behaviors that may be standing in the way of becoming your most vibrant and alive self. But, what does it mean to be vibrant and alive?
It means having the open heartedness to step into vulnerability, to deeply look at the actions and behaviors that have shaped you despite the discomfort that may and will arise, and it also means taking time to listen. We are still convinced (and always will be) that human beings have the capacity to change. That is at the very core of Ayurvedic and Tantric teachings. We must use the fire that is being generated globally to rebuild a better system, for better communities, and for a better platform of communication and love for the generations to come.
We have compiled together a list of a few women who we are listening to, learning from, and other resources for education on anti-racism, social justice, and how we can really bring about some positive change.
Resources for Workshops, Webinars, or Just Bad-Ass Ladies to Learn From
Austin Channing Brown is a media producer, author, and speaker providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. She is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness and the Executive Producer of The Next Question: A Web Series Imagining How Expansive Racial Justice Can Be.
April Harter is a former medical social worker, where she provided counseling to her patients and their family members to help them cope with the trauma of medical emergencies in the state of Texas. She later moved to Colorado and started her private practice to serve QTPOC patients with a history of racial trauma. After having worked with QTPOC, she decided to help prevent racism in society by working with white clients as a coach using the Racist Signature Theory. Finally, she opened up the Racism Recovery Center to provide psychotherapy for the treatment of racism.
Michelle Johnson. I am social justice warrior, author, dismantling racism trainer, empath, yoga teacher and practitioner, and an intuitive healer. With over 20 years of experience leading dismantling racism work and working with clients as a licensed clinical social worker, I have a deep understanding of how trauma impacts the mind, body, spirit, and heart. My awareness of the world through my own experience as a black woman allows me to know, first-hand, how privilege and power operate.
Layla Saad is an author, speaker & teacher on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation & social change. Layla is the New York Times Best Selling Author of the groundbreaking book Me and White Supremacy, the host of Good Ancestor Podcast, and the founder of Good Ancestor Academy.
Monique Melton is an anti-racism educator, published author, international speaker, and host of the Shine Brighter Together podcast. She is also the founder of Shine Brighter Together, which is a community dedicated to healthy relationships & diverse unity.
Myisha T. is a mental health activist, speaker, and entrepreneur passionate about mental wellness and empowerment for women. Myisha works with organizations and community groups taking white people on a self reflective journey exploring their relationship with power, privilege, and racism.
Books on Racism & Inequality
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- How to be Anti-Racist by Ibram x. Kendi
- The Next Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde and Cheryl Clarke
- I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
- Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
- America’s Original Sin by Jim Wallis
- My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by
Resmaa Menakem - Good Talk by Mira Jacobs
- Mindful of Race by Ruth King
- More Beautiful and More Terrible: The Embrace and Transcendence of Racial Inequality in the United States, by Imani Perry
- Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts
- Letters to the Future: Black Women/Radical Writing by Dawn Lundy Martin and Erica Hunt
- The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
- Killing Rage, Ending Racism, by Bell Hooks (or anything by Bell Hooks)
Podcasts
Our Favorite Black-Owned Business to Support
Fashion & Lifestyle
- Rayo And Honey: https://rayoandhoney.com/
- Dorcas Creates: https://dorcascreates.com/
- Third Crown: https://www.thirdcrown.com/
- Bolé Road Textiles: https://boleroadtextiles.com/
- Shop Yowie: https://www.shopyowie.com/
- Earth Toned Collective: https://earthtonedcollective.com/
- Wildfang Home: https://www.wildfang.com/
- Aff And Jam: https://www.affandjam.com/
Skin, Food, and Ceramics
- Golde Co. (Check out their Turmeric Latte blend!!): https://golde.co/
- Lolly Lolly Ceramics: https://lolly-lolly.com/
- Nur Ceramics: http://www.nurceramics.com/
- Klur Skin Care: https://klur.co/
- Briogeo Hair: https://briogeohair.com/
- Beneath Your Mask (this skincare is amazing): https://beneathyourmask.com/
Places to Consider Donating To
- Loveland Foundation: https://thelovelandfoundation.org/
- Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
- American Civil Liberties Union: https://www.aclu.org/
- Color of Change: https://colorofchange.org/
- Obama Foundation: https://www.obama.org/anguish-and-action/
- Movement for Black Lives: https://m4bl.org/
- Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/
- NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/
- Brooklyn Bail Fund: https://brooklynbailfund.org/
- Campaign zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
- Black Food Sovereignty Coalition: https://blackfoodnw.org/
- Trans Justice Funding Project: https://www.transjusticefundingproject.org/tag/transjusticefp/