anti-racism

Understanding Cultural Appropriation

 
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Cultural appropriation has become so widely engrained in modern spiritual culture, it’s often blind to white people. To a white person, teaching yoga, singing mantras, calling upon goddesses and deities of other cultures is often seen as the norm.

Layla Saad defines cultural appropriation as a modern type of colonization that involves taking cultural practices, spiritual traditions and other cultural elements for one’s own use, sometimes for commercial purposes. It happens when there is an imbalance of power and privilege - a dominant or privileged culture appropriates from a non dominant or marginalized culture.

In my last post, Understanding White Privilege I shared about white people’s unconscious tendency to “Take” without asking. This has played out widely in cultural appropriation.

Last year a friend of mine (a person of color) brought up the topic of cultural appropriation, specifically about ways I had been participating in it.

I began to look at my life and see how much of my work involved cultural appropriation:

  • Teaching yoga 

  • Profiting from teaching yoga 

  • Singing Sanskrit mantras 

  • Calling upon goddesses and deities from an ancestral lineage other than my own

  • Teaching about goddesses and deities from outside my ancestral lineage 

  • Leading cacao ceremonies

  • Profiting from leading cacao ceremonies 

  • Profiting at all from sharing rituals and traditions from cultures other than my own 

When a POC (Person of Color) sees a white person doing these things, it can cause harm.

It can be hard to understand at first from a white person’s perspective because these acts are so deeply pervasive in our spiritual communities.

Why have these practices from other cultures become so prevalent in white communities? I understand that many people from European descent have lost touch with their own ancestral rituals and spiritual practices. So much of the magic and traditions of Northern European cultures were lost when ancient libraries were burned and the patriarchy repressed women from practicing rituals that were passed down through their lineage.

Over the last few decades, as more white people have been “waking up” spiritually and looking for deeper meaning in life, they have found deep solace in practices like yoga, cacao, and reclaiming a personal connection to the Goddess.

Which, for some traditions, have been encouraged by spiritual teachers from the Indian lineage. (I think of teachers like Paramhansa Yogananda or Amma selflessly bringing the teachings of yoga, meditation, and Indian philosophy to the West).

But, it is interesting to look at how yoga has become so commodified in the West, with many white teachers earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from sharing these teachings.

When I began to look at my relationship and participation in cultural appropriation, I thought about how:

Not one of the white teachers I had learned from had ever brought up the topic of cultural appropriation, or how to have a conversation about cultural appropriation when a POC approached me about these practices.

I had to do some deep digging in books to even find any mention of cultural appropriation when it came to Priestess traditions and working with Goddesses of other cultures.  I finally did in this book by Ruth Barrett.

Ruth speaks of white people’s expectation to call upon multicultural Goddesses in ritual:

Many women of European descent don’t think twice about invoking goddesses outside their own culture. They don’t stop to consider issues around cultural appropriation. This lack of perspective comes from a position of privilege, however unconscious it may be. Some women seem to have the attitude that they have an inherent right to invoke any goddess from any tradition, lift Her entirely out of Her cultural, ethnic or religious context and ask Her to serve their purposes.

So how can we do better?

Barrett goes on to share:

…Women can learn to be respectful guests around goddesses of cultures other than their own. Just as it is critical for all people to cultivate an awareness of multiculturalism, it is equally important to understand the diversity of female deities of other cultures. There is, however, a line between being a respectful guest who acknowledges other goddess forms and attempting to take over your hostess’s home and asking her to serve you.

Barrett invites us to respectfully form relationships with these Goddesses, to first work with and explore goddesses within our own culture and ethnic heritage, and when we are drawn to Goddesses from other cultures, to be willing to travel to study with teachers of that lineage if it is a living tradition, and if not, to study and learn as much as we can to relate to that Goddess appropriately.

This is an invitation for deep inquiry for people within white spiritual communities.

I can’t say I have all the answers, and I am finding my way within all of this, knowing how deeply the practices of yoga have touched my life, and also feeling called to speak up about the oppression of POC for hundreds of years in our country.

When I brought this topic to one of my mentors a few months ago, I appreciated her response: Cultural appropriation is real and it's happening. Cultural appreciation with deep, true study and genuine growth must lead the way. 

What We Can Do:

  • Approach spiritual practices from cultures other than our own with awareness and deep appreciation 

  • Educate ourselves about racial inequality and cultural appropriation to have meaningful conversations without getting defensive or thrown off guard

  • Pay Black, Indigenous People of Color to learn directly from them

  • Actively donate to causes of cultures you are most drawn to or teach about

  • Make a point to travel to the origin of these practices and where you can, study with BIPOC and directly with lineage holders 

  • Teach your students about cultural appropriation if you train people in spiritual traditions or yoga

  • Connect more deeply with your own ancestry and see if you can discover rituals from your lineage

  • Engage your teachers in conversation about this topic

  • Be in your own inquiry about how to best move forward with sharing or profiting from teachings of cultures other than your own

I know this is a sensitive topic and I honor you for being here, reading this, and being willing to learn and better serve our communities.

We are being called to deepen in study, reverence, and humility to dismantle the systems that have caused oppression for far too long.

With love,
Meredith

Note: I want to emphasize how important it is at this time to learn directly from People of Color (and pay them) as they are the ones who have been living at the effects of systemic racism and oppression their whole lives. This article shares my perspective as a white person, and I encourage my readers to study, pay and learn directly from BIPOC on these topics. I’ve included resources and links below.

Resources For Further Study:

Holistic Resistance - Anti-racism workshops, trainings, coaching, and singing circles

Layla F. Saad - Me and White Supremacy book and workshops

Michelle Johnson - Intersection of Yoga and Social Justice Trainings

Rachel Ricketts - Spiritual Activism Webinars

Lyla June Johnston - Indigenous Rights, Climate Change & Activism

Jedaya Barboza - Divine Feminine Spiritual Guidance & Awakening

 

Understanding White Privilege

 
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The first time I was called out on my white privilege I was a freshman in college arriving at my dorm with three roommates, two were non-black POC (People of Color), and one was white.

I had grown up in the suburbs of a predominantly white privileged town outside New York City. Everything was going great together until I bought cleaning products to put in our shared bathroom, assuming we would take turns cleaning the bathroom throughout the year. When deciding where to place the products, I noticed an empty plastic container, put the products in there and went about my day. 

When I got home, one of my non-white roommates was furious that I would assume I could take her item (this plastic shower carrier I put the cleaning products in) without asking. I apologized but, really I didn’t understand why her reaction was so strong. 

This was the beginning of a split in our friendship. Over the following weeks I heard through my other roommates names she was calling me like “white toast.” I felt hurt. We weren’t able to see eye-to-eye, I didn’t know how to approach her, and didn’t fully understand what was really going on. 

Never having been educated about the true horrors of colonization, present-day racism or oppression, I fell into common white fragility reactions: “This is reverse racism, she’s doing to me exactly what she doesn’t want others to do to her. She’s so angry. I don’t know how to take it in. I don’t know what I did so wrong. I feel like she hates me for being me.” 

White fragility is a phrase coined by Robin DiAngelo, “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.”

I made myself into the victim and sadly, that relationship was never repaired. 

It wasn’t until years later I really understood the dynamics of what was happening. 

White folks think they can take. 

It’s mostly unconscious, but dates back to the colonization of our ancestors. White people came to America and took, and took and took. Whatever concepts of white superiority gave them the idea that this was okay… led to the systems we have today. 

This idea of “Taking” happens all the time unconsciously. Because of our privilege and our blindness, it has continued. White people take the best for themselves and leave whatever’s left for everybody else.  

Look what has happened in towns and neighborhoods. In real estate. In capitalism. Look what happened with the hoarding when COVID-19 began in the US.

If I could go back in time and relive this situation with my college roommate, knowing what i know now, I would say something like:

Your anger is justified. Thank you for pointing out what was blind to me. I have a lot of privilege and was not aware of the damage of my actions. I see that my assumption to take was rooted in very damaging actions of white colonialism.  I’m sorry. I can do better. I’m going to do the inner work. And learn. And change my actions.

I would let her be angry. I would let go of the need for her to like me to feel safe. I would recognize and acknowledge the hurt she has from living in an oppressed society for her entire life. 

I would look at the unfairness of my upbringing compared to hers, what was available to me, my parents, my grandparents and my great-grandparents in this country that were not available to hers, simply because she was not born white.

I would also go to white friends to receive support as I began to unpack my internalized racism and white supremacy, rather than expect any space holding from my roommate, a person of color. It’s too much of an emotional burden to expect the people of color around us to educate us. 

I am where I am today for being called out for my privilege.

And for having white friends that took it upon themselves to educate themselves and have conversations with me about racism.

And for showing up to do the work of reading books, attending anti-racism workshops and having uncomfortable conversations.

I know there’s a lot of fear of attack for speaking up. A lot of fear in making mistakes. But we can no longer stay silent and uphold these systems that cause millions to live in fear for their lives everyday.

Today I invite you to reflect on your privilege. What have you had access to in your life for simply the color of your skin? What about your ancestors? 

In what ways have you acted from white fragility and made yourself the victim when you’re the one being called out? 

And in what ways have you unconsciously or consciously taken from Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)? 

An amazing resource to dive into these questions further is the book, “Me And White Supremacy” by Layla Saad.

 

047 | Yoga & Social Justice with Michelle Johnson

 
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The truth is racism still exists. It exists in our subconscious - as a memory in our bodies from our ancestry. It exists from past traumas of our ancestors still yearning to be healed. It exists in our conditioning, our society and how many of us were raised...

Many people have been in denial of its existence, but with Trump taking office, what has seemed to be under the surface for many has only become more and more real. People of color have seen and experienced it all along, and thankfully, more and more of us have been waking up to this truth.

Not long after I set the intention to further educate myself about white privilege and racism, I received an email out of the blue from a friend I haven't talked to in years ...connecting me to Michelle and her work.

So what can we do? I sat down to talk with Michelle Johnson to learn more about privilege, oppression and racism and her unique approach of integrating the teachings of yoga with social justice. I am so grateful to share her wisdom with you all today.  

“Racism is not just impacting people of color. The system of oppression is not just harming people of color, it's harming all of us because we are connected. We’re just not conditioned to see that connection.”

In this episode we discussed:

  • Michelle's story: What it was like growing up and feeling different and not fitting in
  • Michelle's definitions of privilege and oppression
  • How Michelle integrates healing and embodiment into anti-racism trainings
  • How to approach the discomfort, fear and emotional charge of race conversations
  • About Michelle's new book, Skill in Action
  • Actual steps we can take to create change in our world and way of being
  • The role of speaking up on behalf of everyone even when we ourselves are not the oppressed
  • Michelle's vision of hope and how she stays motivated in a world where there is still so much suffering and injustice

“One must be connected with their breath to feel their body. A connection to the body allows one to feel their heart. A connection with the heart allows one to become clear about their values so that they may connect with their humanity. When one sees their own humanity and realizes that others are suffering around them they have the opportunity to connect with the oneness of all beings and our shared humanity. From the breath, body, heart and awareness of humanity, one must take action. No one can exist without taking action. Skill in Action.”

~ from Michelle's Book, Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World

Links in this episode:


From Michelle:

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I have a deep understanding of how trauma impacts the mind, body, spirit and heart. My awareness of the world through my experience as a black woman allows me to know, first hand how privilege and power operate. I understand the toll that oppression can take on individuals and the collective physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

I am a social justice warrior, empath, yoga teacher and practitioner and an intuitive healer. Whether in an anti-oppression training, yoga space, individual or group intuitive healing session, healing and wholeness are at the center of how I approach all of my work in the world. I've spent many years on the front lines of justice movements craving a space for healing through ritual, ceremony and sacred practice. While working in many non-profits with missions focused on justice I didn't find a space that centered healing as a tool to create justice. So, I created my own space and way of working.

I create healing spaces in many different ways working with individuals and groups. I lead anti-racism trainings, yoga workshops focused on the intersection of justice and yoga and I offer intuitive healing sessions to support social justice workers, healers and activists who are on the front lines and struggling with how to sustain themselves as they do their good work in the world.

I have a background as a licensed clinical social worker and I have been teaching yoga for ten years. I began my own teacher training in 2014 and recently wrote a book about yoga and justice, Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World. I inspire change that allows people to stand in their humanity and wholeness in a world that fragments most of us. There are myriad of ways to work with me. I hope to support you on your healing journey and path towards wholeness in whatever capacity allows you to live your fullest life.