Are the leaders in higher education truly rooted in a social justice framework? Is racial healing possible without addressing the spiritual aspect of humanity? We investigate these questions and more with our guest, Dr. Michele Chatman, who currently serves as faculty at the University of the District of Columbia and as Board President for the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education. Her respect for African spiritual traditions and feminist anthropology make for an enlightening interview.

“Education and learning is not just about training students to get a job to be another cog in the wheel, to just push the status quo, but education is about serving the human spirit, about living in relationship with the earth, about honoring different ways of knowing” - Dr. Chatman

Show Notes:

• The importance of cultivating gratefulness and positivity on a daily basis
• Dr. Chatman’s findings from studying urban poverty through the lens of Black men in the 1960’s. 
• What is Contemplative Pedagogy?
• Recommended book - Rhonda V. Magee’s “The Inner Work of Racial Justice”
• How are you both perpetuating and disrupting institutionalized racism, classism, and sexism?
• Why grounded feminist anthropology deserves more attention
• How Dr. Chatman became grounded in African indigenous ways of being, including the West African Orisha tradition
• Dr. Chatman’s experience navigating the culture of academia
• Why showing up in a meaningful and authentic way can help you avoid cultural appropriation 
• A dilemma for many in the social justice space - disengage for self protection or continue to challenge the system from the inside?
• The absurdity of trying to tell Black and Brown children to just calm down and behave
• Are the leaders in higher education truly rooted within a social justice framework?
• Why the times are calling for us to get greater clarity on who we are and what we stand for
• The necessity of bringing a social justice framework to all aspects of life
• Why having racial literacy and fluency is important for leadership teams
• What are some key things we can do to bring about structural change?
• Where are institutions investing resources? Are the leaders truly in charge or are they constrained by other factors?
• There’s a lot of talk within social justice spaces - what can we DO?
• What does inclusive teaching mean to Dr. Chatman?
• Why educators need to tend to the whole student, including body, mind, and spirit
• Recommended book - Parker Palmer’s “A Hidden Wholeness”

Connect with Dr. Michelle Chatman:

Websites | Healingjusticejoy.com for Dr. Chatman’s personal site and Contemplativemind.org for the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society

Email | docmchatman@gmail.com

Connect with Amer and The Eclectic Inclusion Podcast:

Website | amerfahmed.com

Instagram | @dramerfahmed

Twitter | @dramerfahmed

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