Learning Together. Building Community.

Do humans have a natural role on this planet? I recently watched Growing Native: Great Lakes, an American Public Television special about the tribes that live around the Great Lakes, and was fascinated as one of the tribal members talked about the white corn. She explained how the people need the corn, but the corn needs the people too—to separate the kernels and plant them individually. Left to itself, an ear of corn will fall to the ground and all those kernels will sprout

How do we develop a learning mindset? It’s not possible to know everything, so obviously we’re going to have to learn as we go. But how do we get ourselves into a learning mode? So often I get defensive when I run up against my own ignorance. Or when I make a mistake. Or when I inadvertently say or do something that causes pain for someone else. But defensiveness is the antithesis of learning. I can’t actually learn anything when all my energy is marshalled into defense mode.

Black history is not just some polite tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. during February. Black history is our history, American history. Native American history is our history. Our story. We—this generation—we have inherited all of this legacy. We come from enslaved people and we come from those who enslaved them. We are the ones whose land was stolen and we are the ones who stole it. We are the ones who were lynched and we are the ones who lynched them. We are the people wh

As we learn to embrace diversity at all levels of society, it helps to have examples of what inclusion looks like. I recently talked to Ruhiyyih, who shared her story of being accepted and included despite difficulties and differences. Facing Medical Difficulties After a near-death experience in Tibet and an extended hospital stay, Ruhiyyih slipped into a severe depression and decided to return to the U.S. to live. She had been living and teaching in China for nearly 10 years

There’s a group of us who have been meeting regularly to educate ourselves on racism and support another in our efforts to eliminate racial prejudice. The other day, one woman shared this insight: prejudice = “pre judge” respect = “see again” We prejudge all the time, often without being aware of it. Our brains are wired to form habits. And it makes sense — it reduces the energy required to function. You don’t want to have to go through an entire decision-making process for e

I’m part of a group dedicated to educating ourselves on racism and supporting one another in taking action. In each session, we deepen these newly-formed bonds of friendship through a process of story sharing. Last week, one woman shared a story about the power of listening. It was the mid-1990’s and Casey was flying back to Portland from Denver after attending a public health conference. She got settled in her seat and pulled out her voter’s pamphlet to prepare for the upcom

Have you ever been on the fringes? Have you experienced being on the outside looking in? What does it mean to be welcomed into a group? What cues tell you that you’re part of the team? How do you welcome someone else? Feeling Invisible I was talking with someone the other day who was going through a rough time. In all her social spaces, she felt left out and invisible. With one group, there was a scheduling conflict and she had to miss a couple sessions. When she returned, it

This country has been divided for so long that we need to re-learn how to work together. Our labels (right, left, black, white) have become a kind of shortcut to understanding different views. But now this shortcut is preventing understanding. And understanding is what we desperately need as we face the problems confronting us. These problems are so big and intertwined that the only way we’ll solve them is if we work together. And since we don’t yet have the answers, this mea