CG Jung and Howard Thurman - Dismantling Inner Oppressors for Outer Liberation -Catherine Meeks PhD

C.G. Jung and Howard Thurman: Dismantling Inner Oppressors for Outer Liberation   March 11 2017    Catherine Meeks, PhD

Why is it that the movement to bring down socially oppressive structures in our society hasn’t endured?  How could inner liberation support the quest for outer liberation? Where do we look to find the signs of hope?  

Author and community wellness activist, Catherine Meeks, Ph.D., will ponder the complexities of these questions by drawing on the works of Carl Gustav Jung and Howard Washington Thurman.  She will offer us a useful perspective for understanding and acting on the volatile race-related issues we continue to face.  Jung and Thurman both knew that people bound by inner oppressors cannot be free. Thus, if we don’t address the inner oppressor, we will be forced to create outer structures in an attempt to make our inner and outer worlds congruent. Dr. Meeks will examine a major structure of the psyche that affects the construction of our inner reality: shadow projection, as Jung has described it.  She will discuss how unconscious shadow projection leads to justification of collective oppression.
     She will also explore the wisdom of Howard, Thurman, author, philosopher, civil rights leader, educator and a key mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr., who spoke about the theology of radical non-violence to construct a better world for all.  Thurman believed that a profound exploration of one’s deepest inner-self was needed, so that the nature of one’s own heart can be penetrated and transformed - to meet the challenges of life’s journey. 

Catherine Meeks, Ph.D is the retired Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Socio Cultural Studies from Wesleyan College and Founding Executive Director of the Lane Center for Community Engagement and Service, as well as a midwife to the soul of her students and workshop participants. She has had many great teachers including her sons, the Bible, Jungian Psychology, cross cultural stories and other books of wisdom. But her greatest teacher is But,her greatest teacher is rheumatoid arthritis because it has forced her to learn many new ways to listen to her body and to pay attention to the messages from her heart.
The core of her work has been with people who have been marginalized because of economic status, race, gender or physical ability as they pursue liberation, justice and access to resources that can help lead them to health, wellness and a more abundant life. This work grows out of her understanding of her call to the vocation of teacher as well as her realization that all of humanity is one family which God desires to unite.
She writes a bi-weekly column for the Telegraph in Macon, and is frequently asked to present commentaries on Georgia Public Radio and is often on local television programs. She is the author of five books and one inspirational CD.
Currently (March 2017) she chairs the Beloved Community: Commission for Dismantling Racism for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and brings four decades of experience to the work which has helped her to lead the Commission in transforming the dismantling racism work in Atlanta. She continues to be a sought after teacher and workshop leader.
She holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from Clark Atlanta University and Ph.D from Emory University.

The Charleston Jung Society is a private, non-profit organization and with a vision of raising awareness about the many dimensions of Jungian thought within the Charleston SC community. In accordance with this aim, the Society offers programs and events in depth psychology. Our hope is that our meetings and conversations will offer the space where our members and friends can be supported and engaged in their own process of individuation. www.CharlestonJungSociety.org