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In response to ongoing displays of systemic racism, Shanthi Project acknowledges the trauma, pain and collective grief felt by the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests in our country and worldwide. We recognize the severe mental and physical health impact of oppression, structural racism, and systemic trauma that is epidemic in our communities, and specifically in our communities of color.
As we examine our work at Shanthi Project, we are reminded that mindfulness helps foster kindness, compassion, and empathy for ourselves and others. It allows us the opportunity to examine and make space for uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations that arise. Acknowledging our own implicit biases with curiosity and non-judgment allows us to lean into this discomfort, begin our own inner work and make a commitment to a sustained practice of anti-racism. Teaching and practicing mindfulness helps support the inner work we must all do to start to dismantle social conditioning that keeps communities oppressed.
Our mission is to teach social-emotional resilience through the practice of mindfulness and while we have consistently worked toward serving our students and community with best practices, those practices must include anti-racism and culturally inclusive practices going forward. We are painfully aware of the significant numbers of those we serve that live with systemic and historic trauma and we will strive to make this trauma awareness an active part of the important work we do. To hold us accountable to our goals, we have created action steps to facilitate the change we want to create in our work. These include creating a culturally inclusive curriculum for our classrooms and programs, seeking consultation to ensure best practices, and anti-racism training for our staff.
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