RESOURCES

C.G. Jung Institute of Colorado: Statement on Racial Crisis

May 31, 2020-

As Jungians, we commit ourselves to explore and become conscious of our blind spots and shadow when it comes to issues of racism that play out daily in our country.

As Jungians, we believe in the collective unconscious. We recognize shadow.

Our country’s inability to come to terms with the shadow of white supremacy can be seen in the long history of structural racism embedded in our collective psyches and in our cultural institutions. We accept the reality that Jung described: “There is no coming to consciousness without pain.”

The on-going criminalization, marginalization and violent victimization of fellow citizens who are Black are manifestations of a white superiority complex that has gripped the American psyche since enslaved Africans were first brought to our shores. The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are just the latest Black victims in this long legacy.

Currently, from a psychological standpoint, we are in the midst of collective and personal nightmares. As Jungians, we understand that every nightmare presents a challenge. Our current challenge takes many forms: What must we do? What must we acknowledge? What must we work on individually, in our community?

We seek to achieve a deeper awareness of this shadow and acknowledge what Jung wrote:

"The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real.”- CW 9ii, para.14

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