My Statement of Solidarity
Ballerinas Kennedy George and Ava Holloway via @juliarendleman
Dear Community,
After listening and reflecting for the past 12 days, I'd like to offer my statement of solidarity with the BIPOC community. This has been an intense time, and I trust this experience is emotionally awakening us at the deepest levels in order to call us to action.
The killing of countless Black people at the hands of police is a horrifying symptom of the larger systemic racism that afflicts our country and our world. It must stop. As a white, cis-gendered woman of European descent, who has benefited from great privilege, I feel a tremendous responsibility to help do whatever I can to deconstruct the oppressive systems that are harmful to everyone, POC and BIPOC most of all.
If you've been working with me or following along, you are probably aware of the role that social and healing justice play in my work—and of my belief that they are vital to the cosmic rebalancing that’s underway. While I'm not new here, I don’t claim to be an expert, either. The vision I, and many of us, hold of a more just reality keeps me moving forward. My role is to use my privilege, talents, and training to support the Black people who are at the forefront of Black Lives Matter and the racial justice movement.
When energy gains momentum, potentials are maximized. While I think pure intentions are important, I know true solidarity requires action. So here, I'd like to offer my personal reparations plan for the next year. This plan includes my time, resources, energy, and money. Thank you, Sabia Wade and Kimberly Johnson, for helping me clarify my plan. White followers: if you’d like to learn more about reparations, please read this.
• I will continue to hold myself accountable to my professional code of ethics, which includes my commitment to intersectional BIPOC work.
• I will continue to donate 10% of my earnings to BIWOC-owned businesses in the healing arts. For example, 10% of my pre-order book sales are going to Third Root.
• I will continue to elevate BIPOC and BIWOC individuals and their work by: highlighting their contributions in my classes, in my written work, and on social media—I will do better here specifically; offering information and appropriate resources to clients so they can continue their own racial justice explorations, and investing in BIPOC and BIWOC-owned businesses.
• I will continue to educate myself on how my ancestry has been harmful, and to acknowledge that in my teaching and writing, e.g., when teaching about responsible wildcrafting, I will discuss colonization and appropriation.
• I will continue to assess my own privilege, expand my racial consciousness, and to engage in the ongoing discourse about race and racial injustice.
• I will continue to write about and bring attention to how racism intersects with my fields of specialty, e.g. the overlap of toxic masculinity, narcissism and white supremacy.
White allyship/accompliceship won’t solve structural racism—it’s just one element of many that are needed to create the changes that must be made both individually and systemically. However, as within so without, so let’s get to it.
There are abundant resources available highlighting exemplary individuals and organizations—learn from them, follow them, and donate! Here are a few options to consider:
If you are activated like me, let's use this energy to keep the momentum going. As always, I welcome any constructive feedback. Thank you to everyone who is doing this imperative and empowering work.
Yours in solidarity,
Heidi