For Angela Rose Black, PhD, founder, and
CEO of Mindfulness for the People, her ear-
liest memories of bringing mindful attention
to her life happened in childhood in Indi-
anapolis. She spent time at Flanner House,
a community multipurpose center that
supports, advocates for, and empowers Black
families in Indianapolis, where she met
Frances Malone, the director of the center’s
child development center.
“Among many things, she prioritized
reminding us to pay attention to our sur-
roundings; to walk and sit with dignity; to
savor our food as we nourished our bodies.
I don’t think she called it ‘mindfulness’ but
rather emphasized ‘awareness’ as critical
to our survival as Black children in a racist
society,” Black says.
As Black moved through an academic
career in which she studied health dispari-
ties, with research focused on Black wom-
en’s health and stress, she herself suffered
from stress and sought relief in meditation
and mindfulness. There too, however, she
found stressors. “My very existence in
a given mindfulness space is oftentimes
disruptive. Opening my mouth to ask ‘who
gets to be well’ is resonant for some and
triggering for others. The very breath we are
invited to focus on is valued in some bodies
while not in others.”
Black was compelled to work for change.
“My fatigue with people of color being
underconsidered and undervalued in all
things mindfulness—research, teaching, and
practice—despite our deep historical roots of
engaging in mindful practices—propelled me
to unapologetically create Mindfulness for
the People.”
Mindfulness for the People offers a variety
of courses, including mind–body training for
people of color in search of compassionate
ways to address racial battle fatigue, and for
white people to recognize and respond to
white fragility with compassion.
While the material Mindfulness for the
People teaches may be challenging to some,
Black’s parting words are simple. “To women
of color reading this: I see you. To white
women reading this: Do you see us?”#whogets2bewell
ANGELA ROSE BLACK
“The very breath
we are invited to focus on
is valued in some bodies
while not in others.”ANGELA ROSE BLACK42 mindful August 2019