Do Better

by Rachel Ricketts

  30 J. R. Miller, “Residential Schools in Canada,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, last edited June 25, 2020, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools (accessed July 15, 2020).

  31 “A Brief Definition of Decolonization and Indigenization,” Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., March 29, 2017, https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/a-brief-definition-of-decolonization-and-indigenization (accessed July 15, 2020).

  32 Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang, “Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor,” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society 1, no. 1 (2012): 3, https://www.latrobe.edu.au/staff-profiles/data/docs/fjcollins.pdf.

  33 National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), “Kimberlé Crenshaw: What Is Intersectionality?” YouTube, June 22, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViDtnfQ9FHc.

  34 Chuck Collins et al., Dreams Deferred: How Enriching the 1% Widens the Racial Wealth Divide, Institute for Policy Studies, 2019, https://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IPS_RWD-Report_FINAL-1.15.19.pdf.

  35 Dedrick Asante Muhammed, Rogelio Tec, and Kathy Ramirez, “Racial Wealth Snapshot: American Indians/Native Americans,” National Community Reinvestment Coalition, November 18, 2019, https://ncrc.org/racial-wealth-snapshot-american-indians-native-americans/.

  36 John Paul Tasker, “Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Issues Final Report with Sweeping Calls for Change,” CBC News, June 3, 2019, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mmiwg-inquiry-deliver-final-report-justice-reforms-1.5158223.

  37 Catherine Edwards, “The Little-Known Role Sweden Played in the Colonial Slave Trade,” Local (Sweden), June 15, 2020, https://www.thelocal.se/20200615/how-can-sweden-better-face-up-to-its-colonial-past.

  38 Jo Becker, “The Global Machine behind the Rise of Far-Right Nationalism,” New York Times, August 10, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/10/world/europe/sweden-immigration-nationalism.html.

  39 Mark Townsend, “Black People ‘40 Times More Likely’ to Be Stopped and Searched in UK,” Guardian, May 4, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/may/04/stop-and-search-new-row-racial-bias.

  40 Minda Zetlin, “Racism Helped Drive Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Out of the U.K. and Away from the Royal Family,” Inc., January 11, 2020, https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/prince-harry-meghan-markle-leaving-uk-royal-family-racism-tabloids.html.

  41 “Slavery in Brazil,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Brazil (accessed July 20, 2020).

  42 Maria Laura Canineu and Andrea Carvalho, “Bolsonaro’s Plan to Legalize Crimes against Indigenous Peoples,” Human Rights Watch, March 1, 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/01/bolsonaros-plan-legalize-crimes-against-indigenous-peoples#.

  five—Inheriting Mama Trauma

  1 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay, Netflix, 2016.

  2 “The Effects of Stress on Your Body,” WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/effects-of-stress-on-your-body (accessed July 15, 2020).

  3 Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime: Finding Yourself and the Love That You Want (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998).

  4 Andrew Curry, “Parents’ Emotional Trauma May Change Their Children’s Biology. Studies in Mice Show How,” Science, July 18, 2019, https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07/parents-emotional-trauma-may-change-their-children-s-biology-studies-mice-show-how.

  5 Mary Annette Pember, “Trauma May Be Woven into DNA of Native Americans,” Indian Country Today, October 3, 2017, https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/trauma-may-be-woven-into-dna-of-native-americans-CbiAxpzar0WkMALhjrcGVQ.

  6 “Bonnie Duran, Director of the Center for Indigenous Health Research,” interview, Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence, November 1, 2013, https://iwri.org/bonnie-duran-director-of-the-center-for-indigenous-health-research/.

  7 Joy DeGruy, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing (Portland, OR: Joy DeGruy Publications, 2017).

  8 Cindy George, “Do You Have Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome?,” Ebony, August 26, 2015, https://www.ebony.com/health/do-you-have-post-traumatic-slave-syndrome/.

  9 Ibid.

  10 Tarakali, “Surviving Oppression.”

  11 Maria Popova, “The Science of How Our Minds and Our Bodies Converge in the Healing of Trauma,” Brain Pickings, https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/06/20/the-body-keeps-the-score-van-der-kolk/ (accessed July 15, 2020).

  12 “Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last reviewed April 3, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/fastfact.html.

  13 Aubrey Marcus, “How to Deal with Addiction with Dr. Gabor Maté,” YouTube, September 15, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c59xFqlO2cA.

  14 Jennifer Weinberg, “Mind-Body Connection: Understanding the Psycho-Emotional Roots of Disease,” Chopra, April 26, 2019, https://chopra.com/articles/mind-body-connection-understanding-the-psycho-emotional-roots-of-disease.

  15 Martin Caparrotta, “Dr. Gabor Maté on Childhood Trauma, the Real Cause of Anxiety and Our ‘Insane’ Culture,” Human Window, July 1, 2020, https://humanwindow.com/dr-gabor-mate-interview-childhood-trauma-anxiety-culture/.

  16 “Easing the Dangers of Childbirth for Black Women,” New York Times, April 20, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/opinion/childbirth-black-women-mortality.html.

  17 Jason Silverstein, “I Don’t Feel Your Pain: A Failure of Empathy Perpetuates Racial Disparities,” Slate, June 27, 2013, https://slate.com/technology/2013/06/racial-empathy-gap-people-dont-perceive-pain-in-other-races.html.

  18 Patia Braithwaite, “Biological Weathering and Its Deadly Effect on Black Mothers,” Self, September 30, 2019, https://www.self.com/story/weathering-and-its-deadly-effect-on-black-mothers.

  19 Kwame McKenzie, “Toronto’s Black Community Faces Far Greater Risk of Having Serious Mental Health Problems,” Toronto Star, January 27, 2020, https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/01/27/torontos-black-community-faces-far-greater-risk-of-having-serious-mental-health-problems.html.

  20 State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: Indigenous Peoples’ Access to Health Services, United Nations, https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/2016/Docs-updates/SOWIP_Health.pdf, p. 97.

  21 Tracey Bignall et al., Racial Disparities in Mental Health: Literature and Evidence Review, Race Equality Foundation, 2019, https://raceequalityfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/mental-health-report-v5-2.pdf.

  22 “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Health Equity Considerations and Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last updated July 24, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/racial-ethnic-minorities.html.

  six—Getting Spiritually Activated

  1 Dan Schwabel, “Brené Brown: How Vulnerability Can Make Our Lives Better,” Forbes, April 21, 2013, https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2013/04/21/brene-brown-how-vulnerability-can-make-our-lives-better/#6a4dc60b36c7.

  seven—Unearthing Our Internalized Oppression

  1 Marya Axner, “Section 3. Healing from the Effects of Internalized Oppression,” Community Tool Box, Center for Community Health and Development, University of Kansas, https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/healing-from-interalized-oppression/main.

  2 “Quotes by Steve Biko,” South African History Online, https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/quotes-steve-biko (accessed July 16, 2020).

  3 Adapted from “Internalizations,” Dismantling Racism Works, https://www.dismantlingracism.org/internalizations.html.

  4 Adapted from Tarakali, “Surviving Oppression.”

  5 Lorde, Sister Outsider, p. 41.

  eight—Spiritual Bypassing & Emotional Violence

  1 John Welwood, “Human Nature, Buddha Nature: On Spiritual Bypassing, Relationship, and the Dharma,” interview by Tina Fossella, Tricycle Magazine, Spring 2011, http://www.johnwelwood.com/articles/TRIC_interview_uncut.pdf, p. 1.

  2 Corinna Rosella (riseupgoodwitch), “
Maybe You Manifested It…,” Instagram, November 20, 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqa4oNaHYwb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

  3 “Publications—Books: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Race,” Robin DiAngelo, PhD, https://robindiangelo.com/publications/.

  4 Leesa Renee Hall (leesareneehall), “Weaponized Kindess,” Instagram, November 17, 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/B4-OML0n9Bh.

  5 Soraya Chemaly, Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger (New York: Atria, 2018), p. 18.

  6 Liz Plank, For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2019), p. 106.

  7 Meenadchi, Decolonizing Non-Violent Communication (Los Angeles: CO-Conspirator Press with the Women’s Center for Creative Work, 2019).

  nine—Spirituality, Anger & Activism

  1 Brené Brown, “Defining Spirituality,” Brené Brown.com, March 27, 2018, https://brenebrown.com/blog/2018/03/27/defining-spirituality/.

  2 Jamila Osman, “Colonialism, Explained,” Teen Vogue, November 22, 2017, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/colonialism-explained.

  3 “White Supremacy Culture,” Showing Up for Racial Justice, https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture.html (accessed July 16, 2020).

  4 Mary Hynes, “ ‘It Was Devastating’: Queer Evangelical Survives Gay Conversion Therapy and Helps Others Heal,” Tapestry, CBC Radio, February 14, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/life-changing-moments-1.5464890/it-was-devastating-queer-evangelical-survives-gay-conversion-therapy-and-helps-others-heal-1.5464893.

  5 McKensie Mack (mckensiemack), “That Rage Is Not about Control…” Instagram, June 30, 2020, https://www.instagram.com/p/CCEHIhLjSQe/.

  6 Solange, “Mad,” A Seat at the Table, Saint Records/Columbia Records, 2016.

  ten—Intersectional Spirituality

  1 Brand Minds, “The Health & Wellness Industry Is Now Worth $4.2 Trillion,” Medium, April 25, 2019, https://medium.com/manager-mint/the-health-wellness-industry-is-now-worth-4-2-trillion-866bf4703b3c.

  2 Nicole Cardoza, “From Magazine Controversy to $1M Raise,” Medium, September 12, 2019, https://medium.com/@nicolecardoza/from-magazine-controversy-to-1m-raise-9e57927762da.

  3 Susanna Barkataki, “The Unbearable Whiteness of Being Yoga Journal: Roots, Reverence, Representation and Reparations,” Susanna Barkataki.com, June 26, 2019, https://www.susannabarkataki.com/post/the-unbearable-whiteness-of-being-yoga-journal-roots-reverence-representation-and-reparations.

  4 Gaia Staff, “Kemetic Yoga: Resurrection of an African Legacy,” Gaia, October 26, 2016, https://www.gaia.com/article/kemetic-yoga.

  5 Susanna Barkataki, “What Is the Difference between Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Appreciation?,” Susanna Barkataki.com, August 27, 2019, https://www.susannabarkataki.com/post/what-is-the-difference-between-cultural-appropriation-and-cultural-appreciation.

  6 Brittney C. Cooper, Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018), p. 47.

  7 Susanna Barkataki, “How to Decolonize Your Yoga Practice,” HuffPost, March 2, 2015, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-decolonize-your-yo_b_6776896.

  8 Haley Lewis, “Indigenous People Want Brands to Stop Selling Sage and Smudge Kits,” HuffPost, November 30, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/11/29/indigenous-people-sage-and-smudge-kits_a_23602571/.

  9 Tess McClure, “Dark Crystals: The Brutal Reality behind a Booming Wellness Craze,” Guardian, September 17, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/sep/17/healing-crystals-wellness-mining-madagascar.

  10 Lewis, “Indigenous People Want Brands to Stop Selling Sage and Smudge Kits.”

  11 “New Study Reveals Wellness Tourism Now a $639 Billion Market—to Reach $919 Billion by 2022,” Global Wellness Institute, November 6, 2018, https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/press-room/press-releases/new-study-reveals-wellness-tourism-now-a-639-billion-market/.

  12 Chris Lowe, “The Trouble with Tribe,” Teaching Tolerance, Spring 2001, https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2001/the-trouble-with-tribe.

  13 La Sarmiento, “Forgiveness from the Heart,” Liberate: Black Meditation App (Zen Compass, 2020).

  twelve—Magnifying “Microaggressions”

  1 Derald Wing Sue, “Microaggressions: More Than Just Race,” Psychology Today, November 17, 2010, https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-life/201011/microaggressions-more-just-race.

  2 Ibid.

  3 Alia E. Dastagir, “Microagressions Don’t Just ‘Hurt Your Feelings,’ ” USA Today, February 28, 2018, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/28/what-microaggressions-small-slights-serious-consequences/362754002/.

  4 Cooper, Eloquent Rage, p. 204.

  5 Ericka Hart (ihartericka), “Call Outs Are Love…,” Instagram, June 30, 2020, https://www.instagram.com/p/CCEWUlMgdLV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

  6 Jamie Samhan, “Michelle Obama Talks About Overcoming Being Labelled an ‘Angry Black Woman,’ ” ET Canada, July 7, 2019, https://etcanada.com/news/472066/michelle-obama-talks-about-overcoming-being-labelled-an-angry-black-woman/.

  7 Sydette Harry (@Blackamazon), “Why Do I Have…,” Twitter, June 16, 2017, https://twitter.com/Blackamazon/status/875817415862562816.

  8 Tarana J. Burke (@TaranaBurke), “Apologies Are Not Work…,” Twitter, April 11, 2018, https://twitter.com/TaranaBurke/status/983949780584984576.

  9 Leesa Renee Hall (leesareneehall), “Money Is the Cheapest Investment,” Instagram, December 9, 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/BrLN3vLn-AD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

  10 Ibid.

  11 Robby Soave, “UConn Will Pay White Fragility Author Robin DiAngelo $20,000 to Train School Administrators,” Reason, August 14, 2020, https://reason.com/2020/08/14/uconn-will-pay-white-fragility-author-robin-diangelo-20000-to-train-school-administrators/.

  12 Text message from ShiShi Rose to the author, July 20, 2020.

  13 Glennon Doyle, Untamed (New York: Dial Press, 2020), p. 210.

  14 Ibid., p. 219.

  15 Text conversation between ShiShi Rose and the author, July 20, 2020.

  fourteen—Acting in Allyship

  1 Ericka Hart (ihartericka), Instagram, February 19, 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/BuEgstLgA1K/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

  2 Kénta Xiadani Ch’umil, “Redefining Activism,” Momotaro Apotheca, June 4, 2020, https://momotaroapotheca.com/blogs/vaginal-wellness/redefining-activism.

  3 Jacobs Institute, “Respecting Our Relations: Dori Tunstall on Decolonizing Design,” Medium, January 31, 2019, https://medium.com/@JacobsDesignCal/respecting-our-relations-dori-tunstall-on-decolonizing-design-d894df4c2ed2.

  4 Pro-Intersectional Feminism (iwritefeminism), “As Yourself,” Instagram, April 28, 2020.

  5 Jaya Saxena, “The Safety Pin Symbol for Solidarity Is Being Co-opted by White Supremacists,” Daily Dot, November 14, 2016, https://www.dailydot.com/irl/white-supremacists-safety-pin/.

  6 Florence Given, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty (London: Cassell, 2020), p. 211.

  fifteen—Better Befriending Black Women+?

  1 Cooper, Eloquent Rage, p. 171.

  2 Lorde, Sister Outsider, p. 66.

  3 Destiny Turner-Vanlear (@thadalaimama), “I Don’t Expect…,” Twitter, August 8, 2018, https://twitter.com/ThaDalaiMama/status/1027310259046637568.

  sixteen—What’s Love Got to Do with It?

  1 Ashley Brown, “ ‘Least Desirable’? How Racial Discrimination Plays Out in Online Dating,” NPR, January 9, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/01/09/575352051/least-desirable-how-racial-discrimination-plays-out-in-online-dating.

  2 “Black Women & Domestic Violence,” Blackburn Center, February 25, 2020, https://www.blackburncenter.org/post/2020/02/26/black-women-domestic-violence.

  3 Cooper, Eloquent Rage, p. 195.

  4 “Sexual Racism,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_racism (accessed August 13, 2020).

  5 Marg
aret Goff, “Three Ways Mass Incarceration Affects Women of Color,” Urban Institute, March 30, 2018, https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/three-ways-mass-incarceration-affects-women-color.

  6 “The Problem: DV in LGBTQ Communities & Barriers to Safety,” VAWnet.org, https://vawnet.org/sc/rates-and-prevalence-dv-lgbtq-communities (accessed August 13, 2020).

  7 George Yancey, “Crossracial Differences in the Racial Preferences of Potential Dating Partners: A Test of the Alienation of African Americans and Social Dominance Orientation,” Sociological Quarterly 50, no. 1 (Winter 2009): 121–43, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2008.01135.x.

  8 Jasmine and Mikey (keyztolili and american_mikey), Instagram, June 3, 2020, https://www.instagram.com/p/CA-IipFFB61/.

  9 Shay-Akil McLean, “Patriarchy & Gender,” Decolonize ALL the Things, December 30, 2014, https://decolonizeallthethings.com/learning-tools/patriarchy-gender-lesson-plan/.

  seventeen—Pay Us What You Owe Us

  1 Stephanie Russell-Kraft, “Law Firms Struggle to Hire and Keep Black Women,” Bloomberg Law, January 6, 2017, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/law-firms-struggle-to-hire-and-keep-black-women.

  2 Michelle Cheng, “Why Minority Women Now Control Nearly Half of All Women-Run Businesses,” Inc., November 2018, https://www.inc.com/magazine/201811/michelle-cheng/minority-women-entrepreneur-founder-womenable.html.

  3 Sarah O’Brien, “Here’s How the Wage Gap Affects Black Women,” CNBC, August 22, 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/22/heres-how-the-gender-wage-gap-affects-this-minority-group.html.

  4 Ibid.

  5 John Schneider and David Auten, “Prudential LGBT Survey Reveals Sexual Orientation Pay Gap,” Forbes, November 30, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/debtfreeguys/2017/11/30/prudential-lgbt-survey-reveals-sexual-orientation-pay-gap/#67154c751916.