NOVEMBER 2022 | 47 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Celebrate pioneers and the spirit of the Greenwood District in its different incarnations throughout history; Commemorate the Greenwood District by telling the full story – before and beyond the 1921 massacre; Improve race relations in Tulsa through immersive education that includes compelling exhibits, engaging programs and interactive reconciliation initiatives; Provide educational programs and resources for K-12, adult and lifelong learners; Include Greenwood District and the city of Tulsa creation stories, focusing on the different people groups and how they lived together; Reference urban renewal, acknowledging it as another layer of racial oppression, replete with psychological, economic and physical stress on an already- marginalized community; Offer inspiration and hope for future generations; Provide a space for discussion and consideration of “next steps”; and Create, through writing and design, a facility that educates visitors and encourages reflection, repeat visitation and engagement, tapping into updatable content and changing gallery space. Dragon Yoga Since its founding in 2013, Dragon Yoga has served as a catalyst for advancing diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion in the Oklahoma City community. Dragon’s commitment to its mission of growth, creative self- expression and evolution through an alignment-based yoga practice that opens the heart has led it to open its doors to Oklahoma City’s most vulnerable communities. Throughout the years, Dragon has provided shelter, volunteer services and financial donations in support of its unhoused neighbors, served as a community gathering place for peaceful demonstrations, led community candlelight vigils and mediations in support and remembrance of victims of racism and abuse of force, and forged bonds with local nonprofits providing direct services to diverse communities in Oklahoma City. Dragon has used its platform in service of many underrepresented populations, including the Black community, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, the disabled, veterans, human trafficking victims and women and children. Dragon calls upon its kula, or community, to welcome all without bias or judgment and encourages its students to seek the good in all things, especially within themselves and their neighbors because we are all in this together. Inspired by the renewed movement for change and progress following the murder of George Floyd, the studio emerged from the pandemic in 2020 as Dragon Yoga, no longer hidden, as a symbol of its commitment to equal representation and justice for all. Over the next year, Dragon launched its largest undertaking to date by transitioning to a 100% donation-based yoga studio. Dragon’s transition came as an effort to eliminate financial barriers to forging a deeper unity with each other at a time when its community was being pulled apart. Dragon’s community and instructors regularly donate their time and expertise to holding donation-based meditations and yoga classes as an act of Seva, or selfless service, to one’s community. In addition, Dragon renewed its commitment to activism by continuing to support organizations serving underrepresented populations in Oklahoma City, including Save Black Boys, Selfless Hands, Poetry and Chill and Black Lives Matter Oklahoma City. Through its efforts and charity-based yoga classes, Dragon has raised more than $25,000 to provide direct financial support to local nonprofit organizations. Dragon Yoga continues to devote its resources to creating tangible change in Oklahoma City by serving as a partner with local nonprofits serving underrepresented groups through donation-based yoga classes and meditations from which 100% of the proceeds are donated to charity, sponsoring charity challenges to raise awareness and donations among its members and providing support and volunteering to serve Oklahoma City’s most vulnerable citizens.
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