where wellbeing meets politics

DO. THE. WORK.

Hi friends. Lauren, here, coming at you from Indianapolis. I'm covering #WELLread while Kerri facilitates in NYC this week. 

More than anything else since our last presidential election, I've learned that being in the work of justice and liberation as a white person means being in a constant examination of where I need to grow, evolve, unlearn, and repair. For example, I was one of those people who used to share white-washed, feel-good MLK quotes about peace and love at the end of yoga classes I'd teach, not having a fucking clue as to the broader context of who Dr. King was and the radical love he stood for.

Thanks to teachers and mentors like many of the people we feature on CTZN Podcast and in these emails, I now know that taking action grounded in awareness is absolutely essential (and not just on MLK Day). I hope that the practices and actions I've gathered here help us to liberate the spaces we occupy, support each other with more skill and consciousness, and build toward a future where everyone has the freedom and self-determined resources to be well.

Also, if you've been tuned out of politics lately, this is a good week to dive back in. The headlines are only going to get more intense as 2020 continues, but we can navigate all of this together!

Lastly, thank you to everyone who participated in our survey last year to help us evolve WELLread, CTZN Podcast, and all of our work at CTZNWELL. Our team is preparing to share lots of new goodness soon, and we're so grateful to this community for helping us take it to the next level.

x

Lauren (she/her)
CTZNWELL Community Manager

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#DOTHEWORK
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday was a reminder for white folx to #dothework of dismantling white supremacy every day. Instead of liking white-washed Instagram quotes (don’t forget: MLK was radical AF), read his Letter from a Birmingham Jail and Beyond Vietnam speech. Bail someone out of jail. Donate to Black Lives Matter, Equal Justice Initiative, Moms 4 Housing, and other Black-led groups. Dig further into your anti-racism work. Knock doors for a woman of color running for office. Babysit your Black friends' kids (for free). Keep showing up!
SWARM THE SENATE
The Senate began its impeachment trial Tuesday, and the Republican-controlled chamber is unlikely to actually remove the most corrupt and dangerous president in history from office. What’s critical is that Democrats expose as much of Trump’s wrongdoing as possible during this process, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s rules are making an impartial trial impossible. (P.S. Now’s a good time to donate to Amy McGrath, who’s running against him!). Trump’s lawyers tried to argue that because the House hasn't actually voted that he broke the law, he can't be removed. But it's a misunderstood fact that presidents can be impeached even if an abuse of power or violation of the oath of office wasn't illegal. If you live around DC and feel like some good trouble, join By the People to #SwarmTheSenate.
VOTING IS HARM REDUCTION
The Democratic primaries are spiking our anxiety as Iowa prepares to hold its caucuses in less than two weeks. (Deep breaths.) Most of our angst comes from the folx out there saying they won't support the eventual Democratic nominee against Trump if a particular candidate wins (though Hillary backtracked her earlier statement). 🤦 The Democratic Party is not the be-all-end-all, and we're gonna keep calling out corporate Dems and fighting for for a progressive nominee. But any vote for a third party candidate in the general election is mathematically a vote in Trump's pocket... and so is every eligible voter who stays home on Election Day. In 2016, Trump was elected by only a little more than 25% of eligible voters! The stakes are too high. People's lives depend on us voting him out.
GO INWARD, CREATE CHANGE
This week, we're LOVING the special episode of How to Survive the End of the World (hosted by adrienne maree brown and Autumn Brown) featuring two of our favorites: Rev. angel Kyodo williams and Lama Rod Owens. Tune in to hear them discuss how going inward helps us transform the world. And if you want more angel and adrienne in your life, check them out on CTZN Podcast.(We'll be back with new episodes soon!) Also, have you signed up for Michelle Cassandra Johnson's free Healing in Community Online Summit? It starts on 1/25.

Shout-out to our amazing community of Patreon members who make it possible for us to produce WELLread every week.

Join us for a little as $2/month to get behind-the-scenes access to our work and bonus content that we don't share anywhere else. Plus, we share guided meditations, host online meet-ups, and create monthly toolkits for you to take the work to the next level!

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WELLread is produced by CTZNWELL, a collective that's mobilizing the wellness community to take action for the health and justice of all people. Was this email forwarded to you? Find out more about us and subscribe.






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