Contemplating 400 Years of Inequality
Using a 400-year timeline to deepen understanding of entrenched racial and socioeconomic inequality in the United States.
With a focus on processing our collective past for our present healing, we will use mindful listening and contemplative practices to discuss and think through racial and structural inequality.
Dr. Angel Acosta will discuss the use of a digital timeline as a contemplative learning tool to support participants with deepening their understanding of entrenched racial and socioeconomic inequality in the United States. With the aim of commemorating the year 1619 – marking the arrival of enslaved Africans to U.S. shores – the 400 Years of Inequality National Organizing Committee has created a timeline for all of us to dive into our past. Dr. Acosta will share how combining contemplative-based practices with the exploration of the timeline has helped to guide communities in re-imagining how we can both transcend implicit bias and develop a more compassionate society.
Participants will receive:
- Resources for integrating the timeline into their professional and educational settings
- Insights on integrating contemplative practices with critical and social justice-oriented dialogue
About Our Guest Speaker
Dr. Angel Acosta
For the last decade, Dr. Angel Acosta has worked to bridge the fields of leadership, social justice and mindfulness. He completed his doctorate in curriculum and teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. Angel has supported educational leaders and their students by facilitating leadership trainings, creating pathways to higher education and designing dynamic learning experiences. His dissertation explored healing-centered education as a promising framework for educational leadership development. As a former trustee for the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, he participated as a speaker and discussant at the Asia Pacific Forum on Holistic Education in Kyoto, Japan. He continues to consult for organizations like the NYC Department of Education, UNICEF, Columbia University and others. Over the last couple of years, he has designed the Contemplating 400 Years of Inequality Experience – a contemplative journey to understand structural inequality. He's a proud member of the 400 Years of Inequality Project, based at the New School. He is the Creative Director at the NYC Healing Collective, a community initiative amplifying people and insights at the intersection of healing, wellness and societal transformation. He also serves the Director of the Garrison Institute Fellowship Program.
