"Somatic Abolitionism is a living, embodied Anti-Racism practice and culture building that requires endurance, agility, resource cultivation, stamina, and discernment."

Resmaa Menakem

Anti-Racism in Coaching Statement

Ixchel Lunar strives to dismantle white supremacy in all its forms. We are taking concrete steps to end violence against Black, Brown, Indigenous, Minority Ethnic, and Bodies of Culture (h/t Resmaa Menakem) that have experienced erasure at the hands of those with privilege, power, and wealth, including embodying anti-racism in coaching.

In October 2022 Ixchel received the 8 hour credential in Foundations in Somatic Abolitionism for Bodies of Culture from Center for Racial Equity:

Over centuries of colonialism and imperialism in the Americas, racism turned Black, Brown, Indigenous, Minority Ethnic, and Bodies of Culture into a cheap labor force for white bodies. As a result of this subjugation, theft of land, and the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and the ruin of land they were connected to, many people of culture end up in prisons today. This must stop.

We have witnessed a rise of white supremacist violence over the last decade that has left many Black, Brown, Indigenous, Minority Ethnic, and Bodies of Culture in its wake. From the rise of Donald Trump to the multiple mass shootings at schools across America, to the climate crisis making land untenable, we live in difficult times. But, unfortunately, we are all complicit in this oppressive system because systemic racism operates on an individual level and at our institutions, schools, businesses, and governments.

As a justice-centered business, we can’t be silent about racism, issues of land tenure, or any other kind of oppression. Ixchel Lunar and Ixchel Rainbow Living are committed to dismantling racism in working with individuals or organizations. We will strive for liberation so that everyone can thrive together without fear or oppression.

What we are doing to dismantle racism:

• First, we are dismantling racism in the workplace.

• We are rooting out implicit bias and discrimination in our language.

• We are fighting for liberation and Indigenous land tenure locally.

• We are including anti-racist resources and education in our programs.

• We are supporting Black, Brown, Indigenous, Minority Ethnic, and Bodies of Culture through being intentional about whom we hire and partner with on projects.

• We are providing anti-racist and liberation training for all employees.

• We are continuing to have difficult conversations around power dynamics and white supremacy with friends and family.

• We are listening and understanding how anti-racism impacts everyone.

• We are supporting clients to teach their children about race, racial justice, Indigenous land tenure, and privilege.

• We are continuing to fund programs that support ending racism through legal and educational resources. For example, Ixchel has annually funded Southern Poverty Law Center since it created the Learning for Justice project (formerly Teaching Tolerance) in the early 1990s.

Coaching for Anti-Racism and Land Tenure

Ixchel Lunar is committed to acknowledging, dismantling, and ending all forms of racism and ethnic oppression. We prioritize coaching ways of being that challenge oppression and injustice. We aim to reduce inequity and bias both inside and outside of the coaching profession. Ixchel Lunar works to compost racial and ethnic injustice and support our clients in this collective goal.

We know that we are all at various stages in the anti-racist path regardless of one’s race or ethnicity. We also acknowledge that racial bias can be unintentional or unconscious. Racism is the result of a culmination of systemic social power, as well as institutional power. Identifying these two forms of oppression does not imply that the people involved meant them to happen. But we can and must end the unintended and unconscious consequences of harm done to Black, Brown, Indigenous, Minority Ethnic, and Bodies of Culture. We will meet you where you are on this journey We are all swimming in the waters of racism and injustice.

Ultimately, having these conversations requires courage, respect, compassion, and a willingness to be curiously uncomfortable. As a community doing the collective work to become anti-racist and ethnically unbiased, we purposefully strive to identify, discuss, and challenge biases of race, color, ethnicity in our coaching and the impact(s) they have on clients and their families.

Resources for Anti-racism

Free Cultural Somatics Training

A Google Doc of many resources compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein: http://bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES 

(divorcing) White Supremacy Culture Formerly the PDF on the 12 Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture, now an entire book within a website.

This is a Living Document, last updated 4/5/24.