Imagine, if you will, a group of women who come together in a healing circle to talk about things like misogyny, domestic abuse, and/or sexual assault. In this sacred healing space, women sit in community, share their experiences, and hold space for one another. 

Then, imagine one day when these women show up for the group, two men are sitting in the circle. One of these men is there because he, too, is on a healing journey. He wants to sit and listen so he can learn more about how toxic masculinity harmed these women. The other man has joined the healing circle simply because he doesn't think it's fair the group excludes men.

It's easy to extrapolate that the dynamics of that group would be forever changed. That once safe space where the women in the circle used to be able to speak, share, and grow together without the presence of men would never be the same. It would not matter what motivated the men to show up. Their presence alone would shift the dynamic to the point of potentially no longer being helpful to the female participants.

Black-only safe spaces are incredibly important for the exact same reason. Whiteness and white supremacy harm every black-bodied human.

Black people need healing community spaces where white-bodied people are not present.

Coaching creates a multitude of opportunities for black coaches to provide that space to their communities - and that is just one of the thousands of reasons coaching is an awesome modality for growth and healing.

Gozá Parks and Divine Claiborne are creating a beautiful black-only safe space - and they are doing it with a lot of joy and love in their hearts --

---- and as white coaches, it is our job to celebrate and frankly share the shit out of the programs and offerings black coaches create for communities that we cannot serve with the same level of competency.