About Systemic Oppression

Systemic oppression began long ago -- Those of us alive today were born into systems of oppression which historically and currently unjustly benefit some and marginalize others.  Systems of  oppression remain interwoven into all social systems, and tend to be invisible to those who benefit from such systems.

​Systems of oppression span many issues such as racialization, white supremacy, colonialism, genocide, ableism, hetero-normativity, abuse of power, extractive capitalism, and extinction of species. 

At the root, systemic oppression is about disconnection from our essence, our human dignity, and the sacred nature of interconnectedness and kinship with all beings and with our earth.  This fundamental disconnection is harmful for all beings, and is a symptom of trauma.

Each of our well-being is irrevocably connected with the well-being of the whole, and our healing journeys are intertwined.  To quote Reverend angel Kyodo williams, "Love and justice are not two.  Without inner change, there can be no outer change; without collective change, no change matters."   

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi

I receive unearned privilege within systems of oppression and domination related to my identities as white-bodied, gender female, heterosexual, able-bodied.  I carry the complexity of mixed race heritage with ancestors of English, Irish, Scottish, and Chickamauga Cherokee lineages.  

Being the change I wish to see requires:

• continuing to learn to recognize external and internalized systems of oppression
• willingness to learn in public
• willingness to make mistakes
• willingness to receive feedback
• humility, knowing there are things I don't know that I don't know
• regularly advance my learning on this and related subjects
• integrating what I am learning and bringing it into my daily life, relationships, and work
• directing and re-directing myself to embody a trauma healing process - recognition, re-alignment, repair, restoration
• connecting and collaborating within a community movement of of healers, change-makers, activists, leaders, and creators, who share these perceptions and commitments
• continuing to dive into my family's history related to becoming "white," and how the various lineages I carry adapted and survived so I can draw on their strengths and also move into right relation and repair as needed

​My ongoing commitment is to increase my capacity to perceive oppressive systems which shape the spaces I inhabit, speak to what I see, and act in ways that dismantle collective trauma-fueled systems of oppression and contribute energy towards living systems that benefit all beings.

Anti-Racism Resources

"Once upon a time, whiteness protected baby harp seals from predators.  It helped them blend into the snow.  No one could see them.  But hundreds of years ago, whiteness turned against them, when humans gave whiteness another meaning.  Operationalized that whiteness for money and coats.  Maybe they learned something new -- harp seals of that time -- about what a predator would do with the technology of whiteness. 
Thank goodness harp seals know how to let it go.  They stay white for a couple of weeks and then shed all that mess.  Poof.  For a layered existence."
​
-- Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Undrowned:  Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals