With Karla McLaren, M.Ed. and Sheila Diggs, MSOD

Confronting or enduring racism and inequality can bring up powerful emotions—shame, rage, panic, hatred, grief, and despair. It’s not surprising that this emotional cascade can overwhelm us, but these emotions are not our enemy; instead, they’re a vital part of everything we are and the raw material we need to work with. When we know how to work with our emotions, we can face and heal the most pressing problems in our troubled world and build a more just, loving, and inclusive community. Topics covered will include: individual and cultural emotional responses to racism and antiracism; the unequal emotional work we expect from people in non-dominant groups; the unexpected (and crucial) emotional work that people in the dominant group are now having to learn; and specific healing practices that can help us access the genius in our deepest emotions. Join us as we seek to challenge oppression and injustice with a focus on how our emotions can be a catalyst to transform our world.