8:46 Labs

Inhale... 

On April 20, 2021, the United States of America and the world waited with bated breath. The decision had arrived. Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer whose knee extinguished the life of George Floyd, would hear what the jury decided. After minutes that felt like hours, the judge read the counts and decision aloud… Guilty... Guilty... Guilty...

Exhale… 

For the 15 to 26 million people who protested last summer, civil rights foreparents, and the Floyd family, the verdict was cathartic. There was finally accountability. Some felt joy, more felt relief. Yet, unbridled happiness was tempered by reality. Racism, like the “insidious plague” Maya Angelou described it to be, ever-creates variants. Even during the trial, more names were added to the grievous registry of hashtags – Daunte Wright and Ma’Khia Bryant among them. Moreover, Asians and Asian-Americans face increased hatred and violence. Black, Latinx and Indigenous communities remain underserved and overrepresented in COVID contraction. April 20 was important - it might be an inflection point in the American story - but it was not the end. Our work as ACPE educators, therapists, and caring people continues.

The 8:46 Webinar series was the joint effort of ACPE Certified Educators to combat anti-Black racism through education in spiritual care. We were hopeful this series would generate change and mobilize our communal gifts of educating and counseling. Thank you to all who have engaged the material. We invite you to continue utilizing the resource with your students/clients and join us at the ACPE Conference to reflect on the practice of freedom through education and action... Our work continues!

The “8:46 Labs” are an opportunity to discuss the process of organizing, disseminating, and teaching the “8:46” webinar series. The series was created by ACPE Certified Educators as an educational resource to address systemic racism on the heels of the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. The May 4 session will feature a discussion on the series’ creation and pedagogical uses. The May 19 session will feature participants taking place in an educational exercise from the series to assist with educational strategies.

Please complete the two question survey at the link here - 8:46 - Your Questions & Thoughts and submit by the start of the conference, May 4.