Bearing Witness to
Racism in America
April 24 - 28, 2025
It has long been our desire to create a bearing witness retreat around America’s racial history – as seen through the eyes of African Americans. The intention has always been to engage without becoming a tourist; to seek unity without ‘othering’ those with whom we Bear Witness.
This year we plan on walking the grounds of a deep history in the expansion of slavery, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement – Selma and Montgomery.
We intend our Plunge in Alabama to be personal and transformative, with attendees coming away with an emotional and heart connection with the people, places, and events we witness.
We hope you can join us.
Testimonial
Eliza Welch
Registration is now closed
Bearing Witness to Racism in America
Retreat Info
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When registering, please fill out the Bearing Witness to Racism in America Participation Form.
To Register – Click Here.
The registration fee of $895 (USD) includes all retreat programs, as well as all museum fees, lunch (Fri-Mon), and a final retreat dinner (Monday). Attendees are responsible for travel costs to and from the retreat, lodging in Selma and Montgomery, and evening meals. Attendees are also responsible for making their own hotel reservations (Discounted Room Information Upon Registration).
Throughout our time together in Alabama, we intend to move together, share meals, and remain as a group in our intentional space. To support this ‘container’ we prefer everyone to book accommodations at our two recommended hotels (see below / discounted room information upon registration). These hotels will serve as our central gathering space. If this is not possible, then please stay within a ten-minute drive.
Participants are asked to make their own hotel reservations. We encourage room-sharing between the participants (connect via WhatsApp group after registration).
ZEN PEACEMAKERS RETREAT ACCOMMODATIONS
Three nights (April 24, 25, 26):
St. James Hotel Selma, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
1200 Water Avenue
Selma, Alabama 36703
Website: Click HERE.
Two Nights (April 27 – 28):
Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Montgomery Downtown
120 Madison Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104
Ph. (334) 245-2320 ext 7711
DoubleTree Hotel Website HERE.
CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY
Please note the following important dates for the cancellation and refund policy. All refunds are normally processed within 60 days of the notification of cancellation.
- If the retreat is canceled by Zen Peacemakers International (ZPI), the retreat fee will be fully refunded.
- If it is canceled by the registrant before March 20th, the fee can be refunded after the $100 administrative fee is deducted.
- If it is canceled by the registrant between March 20th and April 15th, the fee can be refunded after the $300 cancelation fee is deducted.
- The Retreat Fee becomes non-refundable if it is canceled by the registrant on or after April 15th.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: The participants are responsible for their own hotel reservations, cancellations, and related fees/penalties.
Destination & Departure
Please plan to arrive on Thursday, April 24th at the Saint James Hotel (Selma) by 5:00 PM in time for a welcome orientation.
We suggest that you book flights for Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) and arrange your transportation to Selma.
Departure
The retreat will conclude after our Closing Dinner on Monday night. We recommend booking your hotel room through Tuesday morning.
We realize that some local participants might leave after dinner.
For your return airline ticketing, transportation from Montgomery to the Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM) for departure home is not covered by the retreat fee and will be the responsibility of each participant to secure it to arrive at the airport in time for your flight home. Spending one or more nights in Montgomery after the retreat is encouraged to relax and integrate the events of the intensive week of the retreat.
We encourage you to purchase refundable tickets, travel insurance policy, or both due to any ongoing pandemic situation.
If you are traveling from abroad, please be sure that your passport is valid for 3 full months after your return travel date.
Please also check the visa requirements for your country and apply for visas as early as possible, as well as any Covid regulations that might arise.
Events will include the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma, the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, and other sites. We will have sessions of zazen (meditation), work practice, and Council practice, and building relationships with local organizations.
Zen Peacemakers encourages everyone to fundraise their participation by reaching out to close ones and friends and by that to include others in what otherwise may be a very personal journey. You will also raise awareness for whatever causes or issues attending this retreat will address for you.
2,500 years ago, it was the practice of the lay congregation to support monks through donations of food and clothing. Shakyamuni Buddha led his monks each morning in the practice of begging for their daily food. Each day’s offering was received with thanks regardless of its nature or size. In this way the Buddha encouraged simplicity, the generosity of both giving and receiving, and undiscriminating appreciation.
We continue this begging practice by raising support for our work by assembling a mala, or beads that are strung together and worn like a necklace. Each bead represents a person who supports that member’s vision and work, and the entire mala represents the Member’s community of support.
This is a practice of giving and receiving. By asking for support from family, friends, and associates, we acknowledge that as individuals, we are limited in what we can do. We depend on the generosity of others to increase our membership, train more peacemakers, and develop and support more programs. This is one more way in which we bear witness in the interdependence of life.
Another important aspect of mala practice is the incorporation of the ministry of money in our program. The assembly of malas ensures that money management and fundraising are not seen as foreign to peacemaking work; instead, the give-and-take of money is the compassionate, unobstructed flow of energy that nourishes and transforms our activities.
Mala practice also gives us the opportunity to share our work with our families, friends, and associates. Most of us lead professional work lives and have families. By raising money for our Socially Engaged Buddhist work, we publicize its activities, and most important, our own commitment. By wearing the beads we have assembled, we take our supporters with us in our peacemaking endeavors and on Bearing Witness retreats such as at Auschwitz, thus making family and friends an intimate part of this peacemaking journey.
Assemble a mala (not from your personal funds) consisting of 18 small beads and one Buddha (large) bead or one of 108 beads and dedicate each bead to each of your donors. Beads from individuals or from groups or families are equally appreciated. When they offer a bead, they will be working, training, studying and traveling with you wherever you go.
ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Bearing witness retreats often take us to places of deep suffering and even trauma. Participants are encouraged to bear witness not just to certain external and historical events, but also to personal issues of vulnerability and darkness. While the entire staff, including spirit holders, council facilitators, religious leaders and coordinators, tries to create a retreat environment that serves these goals, it is the responsibility of all of us, staff and participants alike, to maintain this environment for the sake of all participants. For this reason I agree to uphold this Code of Ethical Conduct, which is based on principles of trust, integrity, justice, respect and accountability, in order to nurture this bearing witness retreat.
I understand that this retreat provides an opportunity to practice the Three Tenets of the Zen Peacemakers: (1) Not Knowing, (2) Bearing Witness, and (3) Taking Action from Not Knowing and Bearing Witness.
>> Accountability. Maintaining the well-being of the retreat is the mutual responsibility of all participants. I agree to consciously cultivate a space where all voices and opinions are heard, the diversity of individual experiences is affirmed and encouraged, and where all participants feel safe in sharing personal shortcomings and concerns. Clear communication supports taking responsibility for both oneself and the retreat, and is thus an act of service to all participants.
>> Transparency. Transparency is crucial to maintaining balance and harmony. I will speak out on matters that, if left unaddressed, may foster doubt, suspicion or resentment.
Self-Awareness. Knowing that this retreat may be arduous to both mind and body, I will take responsibility for monitoring and caring for myself.
>> Right Speech. Mutual respect manifests when we treat each other with dignity and engage with everyone truthfully and compassionately. Harmony is promoted when I observe right speech: refraining from lies, self-serving talk, slander, or apportioning blame. It also includes proactively and skillfully speaking out in a manner that respects all persons involved. Recognizing the potency of anger, I will practice self-awareness and endeavor to express myself openly and generously, without blame or rejection.
>> Confidentiality. I understand that the retreat includes processes and procedures that may involve the sharing of sensitive personal information, and that this information should be held in confidence as much as possible. This caution particularly applies to staff members. On those occasions when, for the well being of specific individuals, staff members need to consult with each other, such consultations will be maintained in confidence.
Boundaries. I am responsible for clarifying, maintaining and communicating appropriate and clear boundaries with other participants.
>> Sexual Conduct. I acknowledge that sexuality is a highly vulnerable part of human experience, and even more so in retreats that challenge our bodies, minds and hearts. For this reason I will not form a new sexual relationship during the retreat with other retreat participants.
>> Use of Intoxicants. I understand that clarity of mind is a fundamental component of the practice of the three tenets. The use of non-medically prescribed intoxicants during retreats is acceptable only when prescribed by the retreat staff.
>> Practices Outside the Scope of the Retreat. All activities should support the purpose of this retreat as declared in the advertised description. No staff member or leader can give teachings or practices that lie outside its purview. Any doubts or questions about this should be taken to the spirit holders for resolution.
When you participate in a Bearing Witness retreat, you enter a carefully crafted container held by various teams:
Spirit Holders learn and listen to the pulse of the retreat during the retreat, and adjust the schedule accordingly. This role is specific to the retreat they have been chosen for. They review the retreat structure and schedule and make recommendations for changes. The Spirit Holders include (1) individuals whose lives are deeply infused with the place and theme of the retreat, (2) Zen teachers or Masters with extensive experience in the practice and teaching of the Three Tenets and (3) Those with a particular role, such as Head of Logistical Staff and Head Council Trainer.
Staff serves the needs of the retreat and its participants by translating the direction of the spirit holders into action. Our staff consists of highly trained ZPI members.
Council Facilitators lead the daily council groups- sharing circles that give space for sharing one’s experience of the retreat with others.
Elders are past retreat Spirit Holders who have transmitted their role to another and hold years-worth of insight from experiencing, practicing and leading at ZPI Bearing Witness retreats. They participate informally and offer the retreat administrators and current spirit holders feedback on the flow and pulse of the retreat. They are available to everyone as a resource before, during and after a retreat.
The Administration Team develops, plans and manages the budget, marketing and schedule for each retreat from its inception to the actual start of the retreat. They continuously evaluate and determine whether a retreat is financially feasible.
Through the years the Zen Peacemakers have hosted countless nationalities, faiths and ethnicities on the retreat. Donations can be extended towards those from diverse backgrounds to contribute to the multifaceted experience of the retreat. Donation will also ensure the attendance of those challenged financially to gather the cost of tuition.
Donations can be made at the time of registration or online on our Donation Page.
Zen Peacemakers, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization for your tax purposes.
- Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press, 2010; Reprint edition 2020.
- Baldwin, James. The Fire Next Time. Vintage, 1962.
- Bond, Julian. Time to Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement. Beacon Press, 2021.
- Branch, Taylor. At Canaan’s Edge. Simon & Schuster, 2007.
- Parting the Waters. Simon & Schuster, 1989.
- Pillar of Fire. Simon & Schuster, 1999.
- Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. Penguin Random House, 2015.
- DiAngelo, Robin. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Beacon Press, 2018.
- Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Lippincott, 1937; Amistad, 75th Anniversary Edition, 2020.
- Kendi, Ibram X. How to Be An Antiracist. Penguin Random House, 2019.
- Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. Bold Type Books, 2017.
- King, Ruth. Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out. Sounds True, 2018.
- Malcolm X and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Perfection Learning, 1987.
- Moody, Ann. Coming of Age In Mississippi: The Classic Autobiography of Growing Up Poor and Black in the Rural South. Bantam Dell, 1968.
- Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. Vintage, 1970; Reprint edition 2007.
- Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. Liveright, 2018.
- Shankar-Brown, Rajni. Tuluminous: Poems. Nirala Publications, 2020.
- Stephenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. One World, 2015.
- Ward, Larry. America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal. Parallax Press, 2020.
- Wilkerson, Isabel. Caste. Penguin Random House, 2020.
Questions regarding retreat program, registration and payment: retreats@zenpeacemakers.org
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THE THREE TENETS
All aspects of the retreat are founded on the Zen Peacemakers’ Three Tenets:
NOT-KNOWING
letting go of fixed ideas about yourself, others, and the universe.
BEARING WITNESS
to the joy and suffering of the world.
TAKING ACTION
that arises from Not-Knowing and Bearing Witness.
These are and will be our anchor to which we will return every day of the retreat.
They are a powerful way to live one’s life and respond to the needs of the world.
Please refer to this webpage about the Three Tenets to learn more.
Zen Peacemakers
Core Trainings
Retreat Info Will Be Available In November
A History of Racial Injustice
Equal Justice Initiative
A series of short films that offer a deeper dive into selected entries from EJI’s A History of Racial Injustice calendar.
A History of Racial Injustice Daily Calendar
Learn more about our nation’s history of racial injustice by reading our online calendar, which features a different historical event each day.
Visit calendar website
