In a fragmented world that disconnects us from our bodies and ancestral knowledge, Reparations Café offers a radical alternative. Led by Collective Trauma Facilitators Antoinette Cooper and Jaden Ramsey, each session creates an intentional container where participants engage with their embodied wisdom through the lens of "Decolonizing Our Inner Landscape."
Black Exhale proposes hosting three distinct sessions, each exploring how colonial patterns shape our relationships with our bodies, ways of knowing, and sense of community:
For Black participants: Experience deep sanctuary as you explore how colonial patterns have shaped your inner world, while reconnecting with ancestral wisdom and body knowledge that remains unbroken within us.
For BIPOC participants: Discover how shared experiences across different cultural backgrounds can become wellsprings of collective strength, while honoring the unique wisdom traditions that live within your communities.
For white allies: Learn to recognize and transform internalized patterns of separation and dominance, developing capacity to be authentically present in community without centering one’s own comfort.
Each session includes a temporary community love altar installation where participants can bring objects, offerings, or photos of ancestors, loved ones, or younger selves—creating a physical reminder of our interconnection across time and space.
10:30 am-12:30 pm (White communities/allies)
2:00 pm-4:00 pm. (Black-centered space)
5:30 pm-7:30 pm (BIPOC-centered space)
Through this work, participants develop practices they can carry beyond the session—tools for navigating daily challenges while staying connected to their bodies, communities, and ancestral wisdom.