Teaching Mindfulness with Mindfulness of Race and Other Forms of Diversity
Resources for Teaching Mindfulness
Format:
Book Chapter
Publication Date:
Nov 30, 2015
Publisher:
Springer International Publishing
Place of Publication:
Cham
Pages:
225 - 246
Sources ID:
68446
Collection:
Mindfulness, Diversity, and Social Justice
Visibility:
Public (group default)
Abstract:
(Show)
At a recent retreat for mindfulness teachers in Europe, one of my fellow attendees, a man who, if asked, we would identify as “white,” who spoke with a European accent, noted that I was the only “Black woman” in the group of more than 200. “I imagine you’re used to that, though,” he said. I nodded, and we continued on without further reflection on these apparent facts. After all, he was right: in over years of experience within a variety of communities focused on practicing and teaching mindfulness, I have more often than not been one of the few, if not the only Black woman in the room. Within and across a variety of mainstream, Western mindfulness communities, people of color across the spectrum remain significantly underrepresented (Kaleem, 2012).