From the poetry of artists such as Maya Angelou and Amanda Gorman to the rhythms of musical geniuses such as Alice Coltrane and Stevie Wonder, Black creative, cultural, and spiritual wisdom guides us toward justice, freedom, and joy. This workshop, designed for participants from all backgrounds, offers practices from African American wisdom traditions that support growth, healing, and liberation.

Black historical and cultural achievements enrich our lives in countless ways. Yet Black contemplative wisdom as a source of inspiration, creative resistance, and joyful strength remains largely unrecognized and underappreciated. Black contemplative practices are often misunderstood, especially when appropriated, and are frequently underestimated as mere entertainment.

Black cultural practices can open spiritual portals that allow us to experience and articulate insights about our inner lives, relationships, work, social engagement, and planetary citizenship. In this session, we will deepen our understanding of multiple expressions of liberatory contemplative insight by exploring the research, theory, and practices of African American wisdom as we engage with:

• Dialect and language
• Literature and poetry
• Dance and communicative kinesics (gesture and movement)
• Visual arts
• Musical genres such as gospel, hip-hop, and the blues

We will explore Black cultural and spiritual traditions to enrich joy in both the triumphs and sufferings of our lives. Together, we will practice joyfully dismantling injustice by releasing cognitive distortions related to racism and other types of oppression that separate us from our most expansive self, as well as from one another. We will also explore engaging with the natural environment in ways that support joyful mutual sustainability. We will learn how to be just towards ourselves and others through lively contemplative practices that guide us toward wise and courageous living.