About Attorney Nicole Gainey

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Seattle, WA, United States
Seattle Attorney, Nicole Gainey, founder of Gainey Law PLLC, represents Washington State employees who have been sexually harassed, discriminated against and wrongfully terminated in legal disputes against their employers. To date, she was litigated against employers large and small seeking justice for her clients.
Showing posts with label blacklivesmatter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blacklivesmatter. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Anti-Racism Resources

    Sometimes I meditate. It helps decrease stress and it helps me focus on the tedious task of applying facts to law - the basic work of lawyers. I usually do it alone using the Headspace app. Sometimes I use the Calm App. Sometimes I join group meditations.  Top attorney and psychologist Lisa Blue  was holding Monday morning sessions for awhile which was great. And locally I have attended in person and (more recently) remote Zoom sessions through SIMS. Tuere Sala is my favorite teacher. She is a former prosecutor - meditation helped her deal with the stressors of law school and litigation. She also teaches Qi Gong, and I was lucky enough to score an instruction and practice DVD from her before the pandemic hit. It has been one of the tools I use to stay sane during this time. 

    Recently, as a member of  WSAJ's diversity committee, I was searching out anti-racism resources and discovered that  SIMS has a wonderful list of resources. I share them below for your convenience. This is a time of great upheaval and change. I hope as a country we rise to the massive opportunity afforded us to make real and lasting change towards a more just and equitable society. 

Antiracism Resources

Seattle Insight Meditation Society adds our voice to the outrage and heartbreak over the continued violence, prejudice and oppression directed at our Black and brown fellow citizens. While the outrage has a new expression, this is not a new problem. Our Black brothers and sisters live with racism daily, fearing for their lives, struggling against discrimination, and being treated as second-class citizens. The barriers to success and financial stability are very real. 

The shock and anger at George Floyd’s death are waking up a country that too easily forgets the daily oppression, racism, and violence that is a fact of life for our Black sisters and brothers. The comfort and security the dominant white culture enjoys are entrenched and risk putting us back to sleep. The unconscious white supremacy and fragility must be overcome. We must not go back to sleep.

We must seek to understand and heal the racism in our own hearts. We must act with wisdom and compassion, confronting and uprooting all aspects of racism. As Dharma practitioners, we are dedicated to understanding suffering and the end of suffering. The root of suffering is the illusion of a separate, isolated sense of self. Racism is a profound manifestation of the separation between self and “other”. By creating a separate self, we create an “other” to defend against, to oppress, to control. Healing racism is Dharma work. It requires inner transformation and outer action.

Please join us in taking concrete, specific steps. 

Sincerely,

Guiding Teachers and Board of Seattle Insight Meditation Society

Here are resources for both inner transformation and outer action. They offer a wide range to provide a starting point for your own work and engagement. Some information may be outdated. Find out more about Sims here.

    Resources for Inner Transformation and Outer Action

    There is a tremendous amount of resources to educate yourself in how to be an ally and not create harm in this time of transformation. Take the time to look through this long list and find areas that resonate with your heart.

    ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION (COMPILED BY BARRE CENTER FOR BUDDHIST STUDIES)

    Local Resources

    CONTACT PUBLIC OFFICIALS

    Our public officials respond to public input. Everyone’s voice is important right now.

    BLACK-OWNED BOOKSTORES YOU CAN SUPPORT RIGHT NOW
    • Consider multiplying your impact by ordering from a Black-owned bookstore
    • Here is a great resource with a purchase link to many of the books above directly from a Black-owned bookstore.
    RESOURCES TO BE AN ALLY TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY BY ASUW DIRECTORY OF DIVERSITY EFFORT
    RESOURCES BY THE STRANGER

    Reading Lists

    AN ANTIRACIST READING LIST​ BY IBRAM X. KENDI
     
    GOODREADS/LISTOPIA

    #BlackLivesMatter reading list

    LETTERS FOR BLACK LIVES

    Letters for Black Lives is a set of crowdsourced, multilingual, and culturally-aware resources to help talk about racial injustices with your own family/community. Translated into various languages

    WHY IS THIS ALL HAPPENING?

    This page on the 100 Year Hoodie website steps you through different layers of what has led up to this moment.

    WHITE PRIVILEGE: UNPACKING THE INVISIBLE KNAPSACK BY PEGGY MCINTOSH

    Podcasts

    Films

    • Slavery by Another Name (PBS Documentary)
    • 13th Directed by Ava DuVernay (can be found on Netflix)
    • When They See Us (can be found on Netflix)
    • Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap – Netflix
    • Time: The Kalief Browder Story – Netflix
    • Just Mercy – free to stream in June (YouTube, iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play)
    • Malcolm X (Netflix)
    • Hello, Privilege. It’s Me, Chelsea (Netflix)
    • Teach Us All (Netflix)
    • Hidden Figures
    • If Beale Street Could Talk (Amazon Prime)
    • I Am Not Your Negro (Amazon Prime)
    • Notes from the Field: Full Film (HBO, available on YouTube)
      In this adaptation of the Off-Broadway show, playwright Anna Deavere Smith dramatizes the accounts of students, parents, teachers and administrators affected by America’s school-to-prison pipeline, which pushes underprivileged, minority youth out of the classroom and into incarceration.

    Series

    • They Gotta Have Us (Netflix)
    • Hip-Hop Evolution (Netflix)

    Discussions

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