2020 was an extremely hard year, especially as a Black man. Even though I definitely knew how entrenched our country was in racism, it never resonated to really hit it head-on especially in spaces of white people. I did my usual mentoring in my community and fight for educational equity for black and brown children but 2020 called me to be more impactful.  2020 changed all that! Pandemic, Quarantine, Murders of several Black People by cops, Crazy political environment, and so much more. Through this journey, Dr. Egerton offered and invited me to come to a healing session. I was so confused by that name. Healing? What do you mean? Little did I know it would actually begin my healing process. In that session, I was able to speak about my experience as a Black Man in a safe space. After that Dr. Egerton invited me to sign up for the I.D.E.A. program which I did not know would transform my life. It helped heal me, equip me, and challenge me to do effective anti-racism work. 

The IDEA Program catalyzed strengthening my awareness about matters of race/diversity and where I stand. Oblivious to the topic on so many levels including uncovering my personal trauma as a BIPOC person. I did not know how I was hiding and quickly saw how I used my Spiritual Practice to evade all unresolved BIPOC experiences.  The magic of a tool called Humanity Mosaic (one of many), revealed my life story and helped to uncover Type Four limiting behaviors. This program uncovers how the type is handling diversity issues internally.  After a few weekly sessions participating members shaped a powerful compassionate community where we created a brave space for us to do our deep work together. We were all transformed. These revelations have paved the way for me to identify how to engage with anti-racist and social justice matters, plus keep my healing work ongoing too. This course is for truth-seekers.  I wish to acknowledge Dr. Egerton & staff for their brilliance and commitment to demonstrate how the Enneagram can bring healing to all matters related as we look at our differences.

During the televised George Floyd funeral, Rev. Al Sharpton shared a story about a little white girl with long blonde hair and big blue eyes tugging on his coat to thank him for helping. I stood in my kitchen and asked myself what I was doing to help. Truth be told, I wasn’t doing much. I had espoused my views on occasion, but as a Type 9, I had yet to shift my care and love for others into Right Action. To be an anti-racist, you have to take action. I wanted to raise my voice for common HUMANITY. This course was exactly what I needed in order to understand myself better, heal trauma that left me silent, and to move forward empowered. I had a lot of “unlearning” to do. Using the A.C.T.I.V.E. Advocacy map, I am diving deeper into conversations from a lens of curiosity and confidence instead of trepidation. My life has changed in a truly beautiful and powerful way and I am now helping others to do the same. I came out of this a better version of myself and I’m forever grateful.

After many years of working in Diversity & Inclusion (most specifically in the areas of sexual orientation, gender identity, ableism, classism, and racism), I must thank Dr. Egerton and her team for reaffirming how important relationship is for creating change. Not only the relationships that cross false social constructs designed to separate us, but also our relationship with all of the parts of ourselves. In each week’s class, Dr. Egerton modeled how to create a safe space for us to fully show up. She focused on “reading the room” for energy levels, participation from group members, and checking in if something needed to come forward. This year was filled with the need to express our hurt, anger, and hopes and we were challenged to engage in the conversations we might be avoiding. As a person who identifies with Type 3 who wants to be valued, it meant courageously stepping into hard conversations with an open heart in order to acknowledge all group relationships and voices as being important. Each week, I was enriched by the conversations I had with my home group or my Enneagram type group as we explored different topics and resources – often tying it back to all the dynamics of our Enneagram Types.