[Written by Jenyng Wu; Adopted by the HCN Board of Directors and Executive Director, this June 12, 2020]
While the tragedies of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor happened recently, the systemic racism, discrimination, and oppression of Black people have been part of our social fabric for centuries. It’s time for change.
Black lives matter. The Holistic Centers Network (HCN) stands in solidarity with the international movement Black Lives Matter.
We stand in solidarity with the entire BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community against systems that degrade and harm the innate humanity we all share. Systemic racism, discrimination, and the oppression of any people have no place in the work of holistic education.
HCN is committed to doing the work to examine our own organization. We acknowledge that we are and have been a predominately white space. As an international network of holistic centers, HCN has strived for inclusion and racial diversity amongst its Board of Directors. In January of 2020, we welcomed Ling (Charlene) Lo and Jenyng Wu. Both women are intelligently sharp, experts in their profession, and deeply passionate about people, specifically at the intersection of social justice and holistic movements.
Moving forward we aspire to create a ‘new normal’ in which all voices can be heard and together thrive in a more inclusive and equitable world. We recognize there are still many voices missing at the table. This is the long game. And we, the Board of HCN and the Executive Director are committed for the long haul.
We invite our network members to join us on this difficult but necessary journey.
On April 25, 2020, the HCN Board, including the Executive Director, unanimously approved “1% for Humanity,” a proposal to pledge 1% of all HCN registration fees to support holistic education for the wellbeing of vulnerable communities. With this vote, we seek to amplify the work of centers/organizations who share a commitment to create a generative and resilient future for all. As a result, HCN granted a portion of its registration fees from the May 2020 Virtual Gathering to the Radical Dharma Liberation Movement Project. We invite our members to do the same, either to this project, your local Black Lives Matter organization, or to another Black-led organization in your community.
Additionally, HCN commits to continue and prioritize the work begun by HCN and some of the network centers in the work of JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). This is our work to do. To educate ourselves so that we may be the ally the BIPOC community needs us to be.
Holistic education is grounded in the premise that each person finds identity, meaning and purpose in life through connection to their local community, the natural world, and our shared humanity. HCN believes that every life is sacred and our role is to help people reconnect to their sense of the sacred and our shared humanity. Then can we begin to move towards collective liberation. We believe that wellness, like health and safety, is the right of every human. Ultimately manifestation of human potential must move beyond the ‘wellness of me’ to the ‘wellness of we.’
NOTE: We want to acknowledge our use of the phrasing the ‘Wellness of We’ comes from an 8-day practice offered by Ctznwell, the Big We, and Reclamation Ventures. While the practice has passed, the recordings are still available via their website (hyperlinked above).
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