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Ellen O'Connor Sauer

Blog Connected At Our Cores The Inner Self

Intention: Stay focused. Breathe. Let go of outcome.

October 5, 2016

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A reminder to my white self.

June 5, 2020

The Den

January 18, 2013

A Treatise on Banister Repair

April 15, 2013

ellencsauer

artist ~ writer ~ radical connector
Our week in Madison was deepened by the protests i Our week in Madison was deepened by the protests in honor of Corey Ruiz, the young man murdered by police on July 22, 2026. The organized protest occupied the Willy/Baldwin intersection for a couple of weeks, then moved nearer the capital when the city forcibly cleared the encampment. It felt profound and sacred when we spent time at the encampment on Sunday. It was tense and frustrating when we came back on Tuesday (last video.) Action steps can be found on one of the pics. And a Go Fund Me for Corey's mother can be found at https://gofund.me/e545558e3. ✊
Shout out of gratitude to @eyeseeme_bookstore for Shout out of gratitude to @eyeseeme_bookstore for the old-fashioned phone call to do a double check on my order when something was out of stock. And also for choosing some great subs for us. My grandkids’ Easter baskets will be full of good reads. They’ll love them all! #eyeseemebookstore #saveindiebookstores
This book is billed as a 'remix of Stamped From th This book is billed as a 'remix of Stamped From the Beginning' - written for kids age 12 and up. I started with this one, i.e. I read it before I read Dr. Kendi's Stamped From the Beginning original. This one by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (@jasonreynolds83 + @ibramxk) is fast-paced and written with teenage lingo and just plain, straight talk and I wish I could have read it when I was 12+. But I didn't/couldn't. NOW is the next best time. I also wish I would have read it with my kids when they were teens. It just opens us up to talking about race in clear, honest ways (not whitewashing.) It's won all sorts of awards. And it has an educator's guide so if you're a teacher or a parent or an aunt or uncle or lead a book club, you can download the guide for free and enhance your discussion which is super helpful for us white folks who aren't used to discussing race with the kids in our lives or at all. (Also, Jason Reynolds has a slew of other books that look great, so keep digging into his website and social media, etc.)⁠ ⁠ #tellthetruth #dismantlewhitesupremacy #connectedatourcores #antiracism #letstalkaboutrace
I read this book by Dr. Kendi (@ibramxk) over seve I read this book by Dr. Kendi (@ibramxk) over several weeks as it's a long one and every page is FILLED TO THE BRIM with history - dates, people, events, stories. Now, if you like history, you'll love this book just because of that 'filled to the brim' part. And if you're already overwhelmed reading this, please know that I’m not an official history buff per se, but I am realizing that’s because the versions of history I learned were not accurate or truthful. Thus I loved the truthful connections this book made and the flow of it all. It brought our nation's history together in a unique way - featuring five Americans that we all may know, but delving into them and their influential time periods in more subtle ways, how their views and other events and people surrounding them factored into their influence. I very much appreciated the overflowing presence of Black leaders and people - their influential presence and stories told truthfully rather than as footnotes or erased altogether which is typical of the white history we all learned growing up. I learned the clear as well as nuanced distinctions between segregationist and assimilationist views as well as abolitionist and anti-racist. Valuable because those terms and those views are prevalent today and get all mixed together in confusing ways. I wrote down so many things to remember and look up. I definitely recommend this book. Take your time. Enjoy the nuances. Admire the deeply researched and assembled story (aka brilliant.)⁠ ⁠ #tellthetruth ##connectedatourcores #antiracism #dismantlewhitesupremacy #letstalkaboutrace #dismantlewhitesupremacy #breakthesilence
Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons From Marine Mamm Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons From Marine Mammals by @alexispauline. This book is so beautiful. So meditative. So whole. I felt it deeply in my body as I read. Some of it was for me/us, the whole of humanity, yes, and some allowed me to feel the Black feminist vision and healing and wisdom that the author expresses with creative, flowing eloquence. It felt powerful to be allowed to witness and feel. Her wisdom and insight in linking Black feminism to marine mammals is so deeply connected and just stunning. If you pick up this book to read, remember to do so without focus on cognitive understanding and opt to FEEL your way through. And consider doing the exercises she offers in the back of the book to deepen each chapter. Just. Simply. Beautiful. #undrowned #BlackFeminism #connectedatourcores #blackfeministlessons
Hey friends ~ I’ve read this book by @laylafsaad o Hey friends ~ I’ve read this book by @laylafsaad once and it’s a gem - important foundational work to see white supremacy IN US more clearly. So when @chakitasharnise posted that she was starting a book club with this text as the first book, I jumped in. I met Chakita in Nashville, TN when we took one of her wonderful @unitedstreettours - walking tours (now online) of her city from a Black perspective that is generally glossed over or erased. We learned SO MUCH! To have her willingness to guide us through this necessary book is a gift not to be passed on. You can visit her Patreon page (link in bio) to register for her ‘neighborhood level’ of support or you can click on her Instagram page - @chakitasharnise. All paths point to learning and supporting the wisdom and lived experience of both her and Layla Saad. #meandwhitesupremacy #dismantlewhitesupremacy #dothework #truthteller #radicalconnection
Felt inspired to write a new blog post today - The Felt inspired to write a new blog post today - The Kids Are Listening: Let’s tell them the truth. Some excerpts are below + scroll through images for more + full blog at linkin.bio. “When I was a kid, my family didn’t talk about the important stuff that was going on in the world. The news was on TV of course. And I probably overheard adults talking here in there. But as for dinner table discussions that helped me see the world clearly and allowed me to ask questions that were answered? No.” ... “Which means I came to all sorts of false conclusions on my own. Not the least of which was that stifling silence was normal and the best way to cope. I was taught by example and reprimand that asking, speaking, wondering, clarifying and God forbid, disagreeing, was way more scary than keeping quiet. All of it a screaming testament of the power of oppressive systems rather than an implication of poor parenting.” ... “So here I am as a grown-up trying to find my voice to ask without silencing myself and then listen without silencing others. Here I am a 57-year-old woman still pushing through the false notion that I should be seen and not heard and it feels ridiculous to my brain that this is still a challenge, but damn. Those early messages and actions worked their way deep into my cells and I know that it will take the rest of my days to work them out.” ... “Wouldn’t it be cool if the next generation of grown-ups, the kids right now, weren’t silenced? If the current still-unwinding-the-falsehood adults could somehow turn around, push through the awkwardness and fear to break the long buried agreement not to rock the white-supremacy boat, and just talk with the kids in their lives especially those single-digit ones who are curious and aware and probably a little scared about all the big stuff going on around us. I witness several of my friends and family parenting their kids in this way, with age appropriate openness and honesty, and it’s such a relief. I think it actually heals some of my own silenced anxieties from those early years.” #connectedatourcores #antiracism #dismantlewhitesupremacy #letstalkaboutrace #tellthetruth #breakthesilence
Last summer I heard in person the voices of those Last summer I heard in person the voices of those guiding and joining the movement for Black lives in downtown Fort Wayne. They were profound. Allowing the rage and sadness and fear and hope was (is) crucial. It allows and encourages all of us to do the same. Speak the truth with all of the emotion needed. I’m grateful that @djeclyps with his passion and talent and heart connected so wholly and amplified the voices with his photographs. When I saw them last summer on Instagram, they helped me witness and connect and take it all in. And now I can keep them loud and clear, in my view all the time in this book I can hold and page through - not only to remember, but to feel and truly hear. Please see the link in bio to purchase from @barnesandnoble! @blacklightmediafw #voices #blacklivesmatter #connectedatourcores #blackphotographers #fortwayne
These two young men are such an inspiration and a These two young men are such an inspiration and a gift to our community! Follow ~ share ~ like ~ support. @upgradetheworldinc #fortwayne #kidsthesedaysaregreat
I’ve been processing a few of those insidious tool I’ve been processing a few of those insidious tools of white supremacy that bubble up now and again. Things like ‘normal’ and ‘nice’, ‘order’ and ‘certainty’. So I wrote a blog - A reminder to my white self - to help me resist those deeply held messages. - Be on high alert if you find yourself hoping for a return to ‘normal’. The norm is no longer yours to determine. Release normal. Release. (Truth: The new normal will be better.) . Be cautious with your desire to feel ‘good’ or ‘nice’ right now. With your longing to take a break from witnessing and feeling the intensity of righteous anger and overwhelming sadness. With the inertia and confusion of what to do. Allow your gut to ache and your throat to clench and your sleep to be disrupted for the foreseeable future. Allow discomfort. Allow. (Truth: Sitting in the discomfort causes far less suffering than resisting it.) . If you breathe a sigh of relief seeing police and protesters arm in arm, check yourself. What are you hoping for? Are you more concerned with when this ends than how it ends and what it solves or heals? Be honest. Tell yourself the truth. (Truth: Dissonance, not harmony, always precedes true change.) . If you find yourself wanting to suggest that we ‘just talk about it’ or ‘keep the peace’ or ‘maintain a 6-foot social distance’ or ‘that just worsens the cause’ or any other opinions about how this movement that is not yours to lead moves, ask yourself why. Not why did this or that happen, but why do you feel compelled to dismiss or counter, to speak your thoughts with such knowing right now, shining the light on you and distracting attention from the voices already sharing their reality? Shush. Shhhh. Listen. (Truth: The time to debate is over…and never was.) . Normal and nice, order and certainty are tools of white supremacy. Insidious tools of whiteness. They’re OUR tools. They’re buried so deeply in each of us and are so firmly rooted that we don’t even realize their presence and how they drive our actions and reactions, our beliefs and thoughts. Guiding us to stay quiet and comfortable, seeking agreement and peace. This is not the time to use those tools. Resist. ellensauer.com
I have been familiar with Norma Johnson’s work for I have been familiar with Norma Johnson’s work for a while but it has made its way back into my consciousness these past weeks. This poem ~ I Can’t Believe It ~ reminded me that our shock (our white shock) not only causes pain but it cost lives. Our ability to ‘check out’ between shocking incidents keeps us at the surface and doesn’t allow us to contribute wholly to foundational healing. We need to immerse ourselves in the truth. Feel it. Stay present. Study it for so long and stay so aware that we are no longer surprised or shocked, just ready and able to act from the deeper space of knowing and believing. You can listen to this poem by Ms. Johnson by swiping left as well as by visiting her website, www.allinspirit.com. Her poetry CD ~ Reflections... on Race: Poems for my white friends ~ can be ordered via her website as well. (Link in bio) #whiteness #antiracism #blacklivesmatter #blm #dismantlewhitesupremacy #dothework #truth
Love these beautiful block print cards so much - o Love these beautiful block print cards so much - originals!!! @afroplump is a local art treasure bursting with creative feminine energy. #sacredfeminine #thegoddessisaliveandwell #connectedatourcores #venusofwillendorf #afroplump #supportlocalartists
@lovelucine AND the real Lucine live and in person @lovelucine AND the real Lucine live and in person at the @artthiswayfw Art Crawl last night. Creating beautiful art as usual. Lovely to meet you! ❤️🎨❤️
' We are determined to work and fight until justic ' We are determined to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.' ~Dr. King 1955
Love is in the air! #pridemonth #loveislove #lisa Love is in the air! #pridemonth #loveislove #lisamariestudios #alleyart
"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional lo "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." I do believe in ❤️ and 🤞 this whole statement is true. But the 'unarmed truth' piece is stated first because it must come first. We have to learn, own and tell the truth! #hope #tellthetruth #socialjustice #blacklivesmatter #dismantlewhitesupremacy #letstalkaboutrace #breakthesilence #ownourshit
This testimony, this reasoning, for reparations is This testimony, this reasoning, for reparations is brilliant. Mr. Ta-Nehisi Coates speaks to lawmakers in response to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's dismissal of reparations because 'slavery was something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible.' This is a common argument. Have you ever made it? Have you ever thought reparations were not our current responsibility or even needed at all or too big of a task to sort out? Reading his words may help you clarify some of those arguments in your own mind and/or help you articulate them to others. We so often think of history as in the past and negate not only its affect upon our present, but that history is NOW. It's all of it. As Mr. Coates states: "Because the question really is not whether we’ll be tied to the somethings of our past, but whether we are courageous enough to be tied to the whole of them." You can read the whole transcript of his testimony several places but via www.theAtlantic.com, the title is 'Read Ta-Nehisi Coates's Testimony on Reparations' dated June 19, 2019. If you have never read Mr. Coates's 2014 article, The Case for Reparations, please consider doing so. Here is the link also from The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/ And here is the proposed bill - H.R. 40 - initiating the study of the need for and implementation of reparations. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/40/text #CREWW #whiteness #antiracism #activism #socialjustice #blacklivesmatter #equity #racism #dismantlewhitesupremacy #antiracist #dothework #civilrights #justice #letstalkaboutrace #breakthesilence #truth #tellthetruth #connectedatourcores #history #tanahesicoates #reparations #hr40
#TBT to when we visited Selma, Alabama and had a t #TBT to when we visited Selma, Alabama and had a tour with Thelma Dianne Harris. Ms. Harris was a student activist during the civil rights era. Her sharing of her lived experiences planning for and participating in the 1965 voting rights marches in Selma were eye-opening and powerful. When we met up with her dear lifelong friend, Joyce, at Mother Bethel, the conversation became even more intimate and honest. They spoke from their cores - two teenage girls intentionally choosing to be part of the movement toward justice in their day. Living history.   It reminded me that history is not about words in a textbook (most often misrepresented favoring the oppressor, yes?) It's about real people living their lives with hope and struggle and truth-telling and awareness. Making choices. Risking. Connecting.   And it reminds me to pay attention now. History is in the making NOW and we are part of it. We are all making choices regarding this ongoing movement toward justice...the movements of our day. Telling the truth? Staying aware? Connecting? Willing to risk?   Please consider visiting Selma and Ms. Harris. You can find her via Facebook @TourSelma - Selma Historical Tours by Thelma Dianne Harris. It - she - changed us at our cores.      #CREWW #whiteness #antiracism #activism #socialjustice #blacklivesmatter #equity #racism #dismantlewhitesupremacy #antiracist #dothework #civilrights #justice #letstalkaboutrace #breakthesilence #truth #tellthetruth #selma #connectedatourcores
I had the honor of eating dinner and chatting with I had the honor of eating dinner and chatting with Dr. Peggy McIntosh at the White Privilege Conference earlier this year. Dr. McIntosh is an anti-racist activist, feminist and scholar whom I first 'met' via one of her scholarly works - White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.  If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so. It's a solid look into the everyday privileges we white folks have - some are obvious and some are more hidden.  Dr. McIntosh told me that she created this list one by one, with each one coming into her awareness in the middle of the night for 50 nights in a row. Her husband was curious as to why she was up at all hours frantically writing, but she promised him she'd reveal her full treatise once it was complete. Patient man!  You can read White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack via this link: www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf  If you'd like to read more about Dr. McIntosh, visit the Wikipedia link below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_McIntosh     #CREWW #whiteness #antiracism #activism #socialjustice #blacklivesmatter #equity #WPC20IA #whiteprivilege #peggymcintosh #racism #dismantlewhitesupremacy #antiracist #dothework #civilrights #justice #letstalkaboutrace #breakthesilence #truth #tellthetruth
I'm not sure when I first heard this poem read alo I'm not sure when I first heard this poem read aloud by Ms. Norma Johnson - A Poem For My White Friends: I Didn't Tell You. I've watched it several times. Really listening, each time a little more open to hearing these truths. We can so often want the world to be equitable and at times can even talk ourselves into the belief that it is. Ms. Johnson's words that are her every-day lived experiences as well as that of so many women of color remind me to step back and listen...to see as much as I possibly can...to understand as deeply as I'm able as a white woman. Ms. Johnson also stepped on stage a couple of times at the White Privilege Conference this past March in Cedar Rapids, IA. Beautiful and profound to hear and feel her words live and in person. You can watch and listen to A Poem For My White Friends on You Tube: https://youtu.be/3UVIgjuovt8 And you can learn more about and from Ms. Johnson via her website: www.allinspirit.com.
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Ellen O'Connor Sauer