Communal Grief Project for BIPOC, Part 1

Communal Grief Project for BIPOC, Part 1

Monday, Octber 13th 2025

10 AM to 4 PM PT ()

With Mushim Ikeda and Damali Robertston

Open to BIPOC, ages 18+

In person only at EBMC (285 17th St, Oakland CA)

The center is fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible

N95/KN95 masks required

This 2-part secular series, open to BIPOC-identified folx, offers a space for reflection and connection through communal listening circles and guided practices to help us move through grief, with the support of a licensed therapist. Together, we’ll look beyond grief related to death and explore how all forms of loss — from police violence and climate anxiety to threats against human rights and bodily autonomy shape our lives.

You are invited to attend both sessions or only one. Daylong #1 focuses on Communal grief and Daylong #2 focuses on individual experiences with grief. It will be on Sunday, November 2nd and you can register here.

This listening circle is part of The Communal Grief Project, a larger international project on grief in the U.S., Mexico, and Tanzania. To participate you must be 18 years of older and be okay with a member of our team taking notes on the information shared during the listening circles. Information shared will be completely anonymous -- your name and information will not be identifiable. We are gathering information about experiences with grief in order to develop communal grief practices to help heal ourselves and our communities. You can learn more about the project here: https://communalgriefproject.com/

These daylongs will include breaks and an extended lunch period. Snacks and drinks will be provided but you are invited to bring a lunch.

NOTE: Space is limited to 25 attendees. Please sign up now to save your spot!

Cost

The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.

The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an "add-on" to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.

Other ways to give:

To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so at bit.ly/ebmc-give 100% of our programming on a sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.

Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.

For in-person participation:

For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 60 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.) Please note: The teacher may be unmasked while teaching.

To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products -- more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears on our website:

https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/

East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

Public Transportation/Parking:

- We strongly encourage public transportation/biking/walking since parking in the neighborhood is limited.Please avoid parking your car on the street in a metered space during this time as it will cause an interrupted retreat experience.

- EBMC is 4-5 blocks from 19th Street Bart (about a 7 minute walk).

- EBMC has bike parking inside the center.

- Please note that parking meters are enforced Monday – Saturday, 8 am – 6 pm.

- Parking on Alice, Jackson and 17th between Alice and Lakeside drive is unmetered and has no time limit on Saturdays. - There are also garages on Harrison at 15th and on Harrison between 17th and 19th. If you are planning to drive, please allow extra time for parking.

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is an author whose writing has been published in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and various anthologies. She is the founding and guiding teacher of EBMC’s Practice in Transformative Action, a yearlong program that completed its tenth cohort in July 2023, providing secular mindfulness training for justice activists and agents of change. Mushim was selected by Lion’s Roar Buddhist media magazine as one of twenty-six “Great Buddhist Teachers” in the January 2022 issue. If you would like to make a gift to our beloved teacher, please do so via Venmo: @MushimPatricia-Ikeda or PayPal: [email protected]

Damali Robertson, MA is a certified Resilience Toolkit facilitator, trauma-informed leader, and emerging filmmaker guided by three values: Love, Liberation, and Compassion. As a sought-after facilitator, she recently co-facilitated a series of BIPOC grief retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She also co-facilitates a weekly forum about spirituality and social justice called Imagining Justice. As Director of Community Engagement at LifeLong Medical Care, She has spent the last two years leading trauma-informed and human-centered work for more than 1,000 staff and hundreds of community members. She is also currently making a film about faith and spirituality as pathways to collective liberation. Damali’s life and work are grounded in mindfulness practices, spiritual principles, and lived-commitments to equity, justice and thriving. Damali holds BAs in Political Science and Literature from Africa and the Diaspora from Pitzer College, an MA in Communications for Social and Behavior Change from the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, and an MA in Social Justice and Community Organizing from Prescott College.

Host or Publisher East Bay Meditation Center