#157 - Becoming an Embodied Anti-Racist for Collective Trauma Healing with Francesca Marguerite Maximé

Let’s talk trauma and racism. I found today’s guest, Francesca
Marguerite Maximé, from her podcast called Re-Rooted on the Ram
Das Be Here Now network. She interviewed Dick Schwartz, the
creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS) about his “racist parts”
and I was all in on their discussion.


Side note to spell out the Body Kindness connections in case it’s
helpful before I go on:


Connection is one of the three core pillars for practicing Body
Kindness. The book and dominant “anti-diet” / “body positivity”
message mostly centers the idea of connection to one’s own body
-- noticing and sensing what is happening in the present moment,
feeling your “feels” and then thinking about what you need to
care for yourself. This theme plays out in mindfulness,
meditation, intuitive eating, and pretty much anything you do to
care for yourself.


Connection is also about others… being part of something greater
than yourself, forging connections in your community, the power
of belonging to a group (this is all of part 4 of the Body
Kindness book).


Trauma, including historical and racialized trauma,
significantly impacts both of the ways in which we engage in
“connection” in practicing Body Kindness.


Francesca came on the podcast to talk further about trauma and
take me through a guided somatic experiencing exercise, which I
fell in LOVE with after reading Resmaa Menekem’s My Grandmother’s
Hands, which is truly an excellent book. I recommend audiobook!
He reads it and guides you in several meditations.


You could win a FREE 45-min session with Francesca! Don’t
miss the details in the show notes. Plus anyone can learn from
her for FREE in an upcoming video series.


Here’s a few items we cover:


Conversations on historical and racialized trauma.

Being an embodied anti-racist is not something you do, it’s
someone you become.

How to take nervous regulation skills and use it to lean in
and become active allies instead of performative allyship.

Cultural trauma needs to be worked through for collective
healing. That’s why we talk about reparations.

The four core wounds of this country: racism, oppression,
white body supremacy, and capitalism.

Why White people especially struggle to home themselves with
warm positive self-regard. (We are products of the same
oppressive system.) We are more comfortable naming “diet culture”
and “beauty culture.”



Francesca Links and Resources Mentioned:


Showing Up for Racial Justice (I’m a member of the DC metro
area group)

Whiteness on the couch article by Natasha Stovall and her
podcast interview

Inside Out With Natasha and Francesca - weekly TV show

2018 Podcast interview about Adverse Childhood Events
(ACE-scores) study on trauma and attachment, mindfulness, and
more podcast interview with Dr. Vincent Felitti (CW: discusses
“O-word” but acknowledges weight not the problem, but trauma.
Some interesting dialogue about the history behind ACE scores
development. I can see the White Supremacy in medicine power
structure in this conversation.)

Peggy McIntosh The Invisible Knapsack article, original
article and updated article and resources included.



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Learn from Francesca:


Available now! Cultivating a Courageous Heart. Three FREE
30-min embodied antiracism teaching videos. (90-min total on the
themes of shame, empowerment, and mindful approach to
anti-racism) and invitation to join Francesca for a FREE LIVE
video teaching mid-October (after you get the videos.)

5-week embodied anti-racism online course, primarily for
White (or light-skin privileged)  trauma-informed helping
pros in collaboration with The Academy of Therapy Wisdom This new
embodied anti-racism course begins 10/14/2020.

Stay connected with all of Francesa’s work or learn how YOU
can work with her.



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Enter to Win


You could win a free 45-minute embodied anti-racism consultation
or personal session with Francesca Marguerite Maximé.


All are welcome… including White-bodied individuals and
organizational leaders as well as BIPOC individuals seeking
support for racialized trauma.


Leave a comment on the blog post show notes or the Instagram
contest posts. I’ll choose one winner from all the entries on
October 15th and announce on Instagram and on the blog post.


Interested? I would love to read your comment sharing about the
connections you’re noticing between your body kindness practice,
departure from diet culture, and social justice and why you would
love the chance to talk with Francesca.


Contest rules: The winner will coordinate a time with Francesca’s
calendar and have the session in 2020.


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About Francesca
Francesca Marguerite Maximé is a Haitian-Dominican
Italian-American IMTA-accredited certified mindfulness meditation
teacher mentored by Jack Kornfield, Somatic Experiencing Trauma
Healing Practitioner, Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy
practitioner, Relational Life Therapy couples coach, Focusing
Oriented Therapy practitioner, and award-winning poet, author,
and former television news anchor and reporter.


Francesca is based in Brooklyn, New York where she sees adults,
couples and groups in person and online, and teaches therapists
and other trauma specialists about mindfulness, the nervous
system, attachment, embodiment and racialized trauma. Francesca
also hosts the ReRooted Podcast where she explores the
intersection of psychology, neuroscience, spirituality, social
justice, and the creative arts.


Francesca was also the recipient of the 2019 International
Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Student Advocacy and Service
award for her contributions in the field of advocacy, clinical
work and traumatic stress, as well as the 2019 first prize winner
of the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards for her poem, “Pleather,”
recently featured on PBS television. Last year, she was also
featured in the article, Spreading the Word about Racialized
Trauma by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and
Dissociation. More about Francesca can be found on her website
www.maximeclarity.com


Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Podcast


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Nothing in this podcast is meant to provide medical diagnosis,
treatment, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Individuals
should consult a qualified healthcare provider for medical advice
and answers to personal health questions.