21-Day Activism Self-Care Challenge
Curated by Eddie Moore, Jr., Debby Irving, Tilda Kapuya, and June Christian.
"CARING FOR MYSELF IS NOT SELF-INDULGENCE, IT IS SELF-PRESERVATION, AND THAT IS AN ACT OF POLITICAL WARFARE." –AUDRE LORDE
When white supremacy wears us down to the point of ineffectiveness, white supremacy wins. Because white supremacy thrives when we deny humanity, ours and others’, tending to our human needs is vital. And, using the oxygen mask on the airplane analogy, we can hardly care for our collective humanity if we don’t first pay attention to our own. Joy, positive energy, clarity, deep relationships, and resilience not only feel good, they are powerful forms of resistance. Though it can feel counterintuitive to take time for self-care when the world around us is in crisis and many of us have zero time for self-care, understanding and practicing self-care is not only “allowed,” it is required of us. Activism is a marathon, not a sprint. We hope the below resources will help you stay physically and spiritually nourished so you can step up and stay in the intergenerational struggle for liberation.
How does one use this document? Decide how much time you have to spend on this challenge daily, and do as much as you can each day. There are more resources here than you probably have time for. The important thing is that you do some work every day for 21 days. That’s how we build sustained habits.
Thank you for choosing and using this challenge. If you want to stay connected, email 21daychallenge@theprivilegeinstitute.com. We'd love to know how it went for you and your group!
HELP!
I'M TOO BURNED OUT TO DO THIS PLAN!
Great that you're noticing your own limitations.
Start with the "TAKE A BREATH" items below for immediate relief.
Choose one activity per day
Each day, for 21 days, pick at least one of the below resources or activities to do.
Tips For Success
- Use the tracking chart provided below to stay on course. You can drag the image to your desktop and print, or you can access a digital version here and copy it for editing.
- We think understanding white privilege is a powerful lens into the complexities of doing social justice work, so we’ve focused our resources on that specific issue.
- Adaptable to all forms of social justice.
- Can be done individually, with friends and family, or organization-wide.
- Like our Facebook page. Use it to get ideas as well as share your 21-Day experience with the 21-Day community.
- Diversify your habits by doing some of each.
* For adaptation ideas and examples of how communities are adapting the challenge to meet their specific social justice focus, click HERE.
