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Tori Wolfe-Sisson’s “Melanin-Centered” Yoga Class Relieves Stress
BIRMINGHAM TIMES — At first glance, Tori Wolfe-Sisson’s yoga class may seem like any other. The lights are dimmed to help participants relax. Attendees are donning leggings with tank tops or t-shirts and sitting cross legged atop their mats. But this is no ordinary yoga class. Wolfe-Sisson’s yoga classes are “melanin-centered,” meaning the classes focus on relieving minority stress. The classes also seek to make yoga more accessible to people of color and the LGBTQ community. Though Wolfe-Sisson’s classes are open to all, the classes are designed specifically for “black, brown, indigenous, trans and queer people,” said Wolfe-Sisson, who identifies by the pronouns they, them, and their.
By Javacia Harris Bowser
At first glance, Tori Wolfe-Sisson’s yoga class may seem like any other. The lights are dimmed to help participants relax. Attendees are donning leggings with tank tops or t-shirts and sitting cross legged atop their mats.
But this is no ordinary yoga class. Wolfe-Sisson’s yoga classes are “melanin-centered,” meaning the classes focus on relieving minority stress. The classes also seek to make yoga more accessible to people of color and the LGBTQ community. Though Wolfe-Sisson’s classes are open to all, the classes are designed specifically for “black, brown, indigenous, trans and queer people,” said Wolfe-Sisson, who identifies by the pronouns they, them, and their.
Wolfe-Sisson’s classes often focus on relieving tension in the hips and thighs, which is where they believe minorities carry the most stress.
“The type of micro and macroaggressions that we face on a daily basis, that we try to convince ourselves that we’re not holding, that’s what we’re releasing in that space,” Wolfe-Sisson, 29, said.
Even the location of the classes is intentional. Wolfe-Sisson’s classes are hosted at The Hub. A program of AIDS Alabama, The Hub is a community center created to be a safe space for young gay, bisexual, and transpeople of color. The Hub offers HIV/AIDS testing and education but also hosts a variety of events on any given night, from exercise classes to concerts to poetry readings.
“The Hub is like your auntie’s house or your grandma’s house,” Wolfe-Sisson said.
While yoga class is happening in one room, someone may be setting up for a party in another, with the scents of homecooked food and the sounds of D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Goapele, Maxwell and Jill Scott wafting through the air.
Wolfe-Sisson teaches a class called Mela-Zen Yoga at The Hub every Wednesday at 7 p.m. and on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Wolfe-Sisson teaches Trap Yoga, a class that combines traditional yoga moves and poses with lo-fi hip-hop beats. Trap Yoga even features a DJ.
Phree Moon, 27, has been attending Wolfe-Sisson’s yoga classes, including Trap Yoga, since February 2019.
“The music helps you keep going through the poses,” Moon said of Trap Yoga. “You’re not judging yourself. You’re not judging anyone else. You’re just comfortable.”
Moon says that hearing those same beats elsewhere, even while driving, brings back the sense of calm she felt in class.
“I can bring that peace with me,” Moon said.
Wolfe-Sisson, a Las Vegas, Nevada native, has been practicing yoga since childhood and started sharing yoga with friends during their college days at Tuskegee University. Wolfe-Sisson became a certified yoga instructor earlier this year.
Yoga In America
Despite these years of experience, Wolfe-Sisson said that when they attend other yoga classes, the instructor often assumes they’re a beginner because of the stereotype that black people don’t practice yoga.
“Yoga in America has a really racist culture,” Wolfe-Sisson said, adding that yoga students of color are often not treated the same as other students in class and that yoga teachers sometimes unnecessarily touch the hair of students of color or adjust their bodies without consent.
For these reasons and more, Wolfe-Sisson understands why many people of color don’t feel comfortable in yoga classes.
“The only fix that I can see is for there to be more of us at the front of the room,” Wolfe-Sission said.
The proceeds from Trap Yoga are used to provide scholarships for yoga teacher training to women of color.
Trap Yoga is a part of Wolfe-Sisson’s organization BLK Pearl, which they founded in 2016 with their wife Shanté Wolfe-Sisson, a DJ known as BLK Alchemy who often provides the music for Trap Yoga.
The mission of BLK Pearl, Wolfe-Sisson said, is to provide “wellness through visibility and economic development for black, brown, indigenous, transgender and queer women and gender neutral and gender non-conforming people.”
Moon, who has been practicing yoga since 2015, plans to start yoga teacher training in the fall with the help of a BLK Pearl scholarship.
“I’ve always wanted to become a yoga instructor,” Moon said, “but after meeting Tori and coming to their class it definitely gave me the mindset of ‘You can do anything.’”
At the end of many of their classes, Wolfe-Sisson, with permission, will help students relax by massaging their temples with essential oils and helping them stretch their neck and legs. Wolfe-Sisson often reads poetry from renowned black authors like Nikki Giovanni, too.
“The poetry that Tori reads to us is very empowering,” Moon said. “I embody it and I take it with me outside of my practice.”
Wolfe-Sisson believes that challenging the notion that people of color don’t practice yoga also requires a conversation with the black church.
“There’s a lot of demonization of yoga,” they said. But to anyone who believes spirituality shouldn’t be combined with movement as it is in yoga, Wolfe-Sisson asks, “What then is praise?”
Wolfe-Sisson knows that body insecurities can also keep people away from the mat. That’s why they’re a fan of yoga teacher and body positivity advocate Jessamyn Stanley.
“Seeing her can wrap your head around the things your body can do,” Wolfe-Sisson said.
One of the quintessential poses in yoga is called the lotus flower and, in this flower,
Wolfe-Sisson finds the perfect symbol for why African-American culture should be fused with yoga as it is in classes like theirs.
“A lotus flower blooms out of the muck,” Wolfe-Sisson said. “What have we been doing here for the past 200 years?”
Tori Wolfe-Sisson teaches Mela-Zen Yoga every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at The Hub, 2217 6th Ave S. Birmingham, AL 35233 and hosts Trap Yoga classes on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m., also at The Hub. To learn more visit blkpearl.org/tours.
This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.
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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.
Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.
Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”
Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.
“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”
The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.
Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.
President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.
Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.
Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.
Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.
Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.
Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.
Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.
The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.
In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.
The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy
May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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