Ruth King - Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out

About the Author

R uth King is an international insight meditation teacher, life coach, and consultant. She is a guiding teacher at Insight Meditation Community of Washington, on the teachers council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and is the founder of Mindful Members Insight Meditation Community in Charlotte, NC.

In former years, King managed training and organizational development divisions at Levi Strauss and Intel corporations, where she designed diversity awareness programs and consulted to leaders on cultural change initiatives, including the behavioral implications of mergers and acquisitions.

Currently recognized as a teacher of teachers and consultant to consultants, King teaches the Mindful of Race training program, which blends mindfulness meditation principles with an exploration of our racial conditioning, its impact, and our potential.

King has a masters degree in clinical psychology from John F. Kennedy University, Orinda, CA, and is the author of several publications. A native Californian, King currently lives in Charlotte, NC.

For more information, visit RuthKing.net.

Acknowledgments

T his book represents a lifes work inspired by many generations of brave ones who came before me. Deep bows of gratitude to all of my ancestors for their perseverance and love; if not for them, I wouldnt be here with such bravery and hope. I am thankful for my mother, Lodie Mae Cherry, civil rights activist and artist, who spoke the truth with persistence and without apology and who instilled in all of her children a sense of self-pride and faith. I am indebted to social justice activists and artists, past and present, who give light, love, and life in pursuit of freedom for the well-being of humanity. And Im grateful to so many, known and unknown, who have walked beside me, often holding me up, through this books seven-year gestation, which was both a difficult birth and a great teacher.

My understanding of transforming racism was greatly enhanced by the work of Drs. Barbara E. Riley and Delyte D. Frost of the Chambers Group LLC, who have consulted with leaders of Fortune 500 companies for over thirty-five years. Their framework, Integral Matters: Thriving on Difference, reflected in of this book, focuses on systemic -isms, the dynamics of individuals and groups, and dominant and sub-ordinated group behavior at all levels within organizations. I am eternally grateful to my life partner, Barbara Riley, for her wise guidance and generous support over the years, and how her work has enriched both our lives and our service to others.

I have been intravenously inspired by the fine minds and generous service of Jack Kornfield, Angela Davis, Michelle Alexander, Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Van Jones, Catherine McGee, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Belvie Rooks, Bryan Stevenson, Thanissara and Kittisaro, Charles Johnson, Robin DiAngelo, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Ava DuVernay, to name a few. Your strength, wisdom, and lifes work have supported me in speaking freely and fearlessly.

More people than I can name have challenged my thinking and offered suggestions and inspiration along the way, including Sydney Reese, Tara Brach, Jonathan Foust, Sebene Selassie, Gil Fronsdal, Shahara Godfrey, Hugh Byrne, Robin Smith, Lauretta King, Penny Terry, DaRa Willams, Marlena deCarion, La Sarmiento, JoAnna and Andre Hardy, Nancy Ogilvie, Trudy Mitchell-Gilkey, Katie Loncke, Kate Johnson, Cheri Gardner, and Joan Lester.

Im grateful to Barbara Riley, Ernest Cheriokee, Aubrey Pettaway, Ayofemi Oseye, Suzanne Stevens, Leora Fridman, and Shoshana Anderson for reading and providing invaluable input to various stages of the manuscript. Deep bows of gratitude to Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi for generous and vigorous editorial support. I appreciate your wise eyes and willing hearts and that you all so clearly cared.

To those who have participated in the Mindful of Race training program over the years, thank you for showing up, for trusting me, and for teaching me. And especially to the Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesvilleincluding Pat Coffey, Allie Rudolph, Bev Wann, Kristina Nell Weaver, and Phillip DupontI am grateful that you have used the Mindful of Race training to bridge community separation in Charlottesville. Thank you for your wise vision and intentional care. This book is one of many fruits of our shared labor.

A special thanks to my jewel of an agent, Laurie Fox of Linda Chester Literary Agency, for her sharp eyes and caring advocacy. Magic always happens when she is around.

While I was originally hell bent on self-publishing, this book auspiciously found its way into the loving hands of Sounds True. Producer Kriste Peoples first ignited the flame and continued to nudge by encouraging me to share a chapter or two with the Sounds True family. Meanwhile, Laurie Fox, supporting my intention to self-publish, recommended Caroline Pincus as an editor, who happened to work for Sounds True. After a quick review of a very rough draft, Caroline so believed in the book and that Sounds True should be its home that she campaigned for its acquisition and has been an extraordinary editor and passionate guide. Sounds True founder, Tami Simon, extended a warm welcome, and the talented Sounds True team has been a delight to work with. Im in awe and grateful for this unforeseen and auspicious evolution.

Finally, I am grateful to those of you who are reading this book. Im thankful that we are on this path together. May our light of awareness shine bright.

Also by Ruth King

Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible

Embracing the Mad Mind: Cultivating Calm in Chaos

The Emotional Wisdom Cards

Soothing the Inner Flames of Rage: Meditations that Educate the Heart and Transform the Mind

Messy at Best!

There is never time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment; the time is always now.

JAMES BALDWIN, Faulkner and Desegregation

I n this book, I have tried to stay close to the bones of the matterto show the shape of racial oppression and our role in it. This book was not an attempt to resolve the racial injustice that pervades society. No book can do that. Rather it offers a framework for understanding racism and our role in it, as well as mindful strategies that reduce mental distress and increase clarity, stability, and well-being. This, in turn, supports us in responding more wisely to racial injustice, both internally and externally.

As we become more mindful, we wont be able to fit so neatly back into our small boxes. Our hearts will naturally incline toward doing what we can to co-create road maps that shift social systems, institutions, policies, and collective practices toward a more just and equitable society. We wont always know what to do or how to go about it. There is no certainty, no right way; there is only awareness and need and awkwardness. Its messy!

Its messy because too many of us pay attention to racial suffering only when we are uncomfortable, and we stop paying attention when we are comfortable again. And for those of us with good intentions, no matter how well we understand racial conditioning or how hard we try to be aware, we might still feel as if we are in hell. Being mindful of race does not guarantee comfort. It just sheds a light on whats herethis ever-changing moment.

As we bear witness to the harsh reality of race and racism and begin to heal habits of harm, we will initially be more sensitive and less confident. We are learning how to be present and more honest with ourselves, learning how to talk to others without turning away. We will feel appropriately unskilled, as though we are learning a new language. And we will discover that often being present, open to learning, and kindhearted is not only the best we can do but also all that is required in the moment.