609-880-1888
BD 101 Educators - August 3-7, 2026
Watershed Center, Millerton, NY
CLICK HERE For more information
BD101 "Basic" 5 Day
Thank you for a wonderful BD101 at Pendle Hill!
Check back for announcements for the next BD101!
Teachers:
Niyonu Spann - Lead Teacher
Niyonu is a singer-songwriter, organization development practitioner, coach, and mom/grandmom of three amazing sons and three delightful granddaughters! Niyonu designed and led the first Beyond Diversity 101 Intensive in 1999 after some 10 years of facilitating “diversity workshops” and becoming dissatisfied with the pattern of measuring “success” by how guilty the white folks ended up feeling; and on the other side, if the people of color got sufficiently in touch with their pain and expressions of anger?” In creating BD101, Niyonu moved beyond that cycle. She now refers to her work as Training in Whole-System Liberation. Her work centers heart-knowing, radical truth-telling, and somatic wisdom.
Beyond Diversity 101 intends healing transformation. We provide frameworks, offer practices, and hold a space for growing skills to de-structure systems of oppression and raise up liberation. Participants are offered pathways to move beyond the guilt-blame cycle toward radical truth-telling, co-responsibility, and activating joy & justice!
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Participants will:
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Recognize and remove blocks that hold
you back as a facilitator, artist, leader,
healer, teacher, or organizer; -
Articulate and break patterns of
domination/power-over/oppression; -
Practice being a courageous and
heart-centered transformer; -
Increase the ability to discern, speak,
and activate a vision of liberation; -
Recognize how our spiritual lives relate
to our social justice work; -
Develop applications for continuing
work at home.
MIND. BODY. SPIRIT.
Lecture and presentation, large and small group discussion: these intellectual efforts are only one dimension of a holistically conceived curriculum. Integral and primary to BD 101 is the establishing a circle of mutual respect, good faith and a commitment to deep caring, which is able to sufficiently ‘hold’ the group through both the painful and joyful revelations that arise in the course of the workshop.
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The intuitive is honored along side the intellectual. We especially tend to the body in the midst of this transformational learning. A massage therapist is on the BD101 staff during the course of the workshop, providing one-on-one sessions.
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Music and expressive movement, yoga and qi gong, as well as activities out of doors, are integrated into each day’s schedule. Care is taken to select workshop environs that are comfortable, where nourishing food is served. Each aspect of the intensive is designed to support, in as holistic a manner as possible, the deep work of the participants.
What Folks Are Saying....
"BD101 is an opportunity to tackle difficult and tender material in a clear-eyed way with others who are likewise committed to this work. It offers a different point of access to justice work than most other settings."​
~July 2017 Participant
" I deepened my understanding and practice around discussing and acting on issues of identity and justice."​
~August 2017 Participant
"In the end, BD101 caused me to dig deep, to process and release what I was unaware of previously. I have found new freedom to engage in new ways.I'm sure this will be an ongoing process as I am still learning from the experience weeks later. Invaluable!!!!! "​
~August 2017 Participant