Finding our Voice & Breath:
Dr. Fanny Brewster Speaks “to Me” on George Floyd’s Last Breath
Robin B. Zeiger, Ph.D.
I am speechless and breathless in the face of George’s Floyd’s murder. As a writer and a Jungian psychanalyst, I know I must write something from deep within my heart and conscience. My conscience tells me we must all do something and perhaps this is where I can begin.
Yet, I must ask with humility, “Whom I am?” I am white. I grew up without experiencing any racism directed at me. Sadly, I heard too many racist comments and stories. And, I am a displaced American, living in another country in the second half of my life. Thus, I can only look “from afar” as the confederate statues are finally toppled.
To truly meet something very painful and difficult, we all need a frame of reference. We must turn to some idea or person for a beacon of hope and understanding. It is here that I turned to Dr. Fanny Brewster. Dr. Brewster is an African American and a fellow Jungian analyst, poet and writer, Professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and interfaith minister. She has written several books addressing issues of the African American experience from a Jungian perspective.
Dr. Brewster sent me a podcast of a recent interview entitled, We Can’t Breathe: Facing the Pain of Racism. The link is at the end of the article and I highly recommend listening to the interview.
Naively, I began to listen, not knowing what to expect. I must confess I had been experiencing a certain sense of dissociation from the demonstrations, riots, and dialogue in America. As a psychologist, I know when something is “too hard” for us, it is easier to not feel.
This was all to change in a few short moments. Dr. Brewster began by reading George Floyd’s last words. I am deeply sensitive to voice. Dr. Brewster’s soulful and sad voice touched me. It was the voice of a Jungian analyst who sits with pain and suffering. It was the voice of a minister and poet. And, it was the voice of an African American who has seen and felt the pain of racism. But most of all, it was the voice of a fellow compassionate human being that spoke my language.
I listened to the last words of Mr. Floyd for the first time. And I think it was the call for MAMA that finally got to me. Suddenly I could access all the feelings of sadness and I could finally shed tears. We all have mothers. We can all imagine crying out for out mother and the archetypal Great Mother in those final moments.
Dr. Brewster’s interview and dialogue with three Jungian colleagues through This Jungian Life focused on the image of the breath -
the breath that is taken away,
the breath that stokes the fire for justice,
and the breath that connects us to spirituality and religion.
There were many moments in this podcast that touched my sense of sadness, shame and rage for a past and present that still condones racism and cruelty.
Dr. Brewster took her listeners back to a very sad place. She read her poem entitled The Bridge that memorializes a horrific lynching in Oklahoma on May 25, 1911.
Thirty-five men, six women, and seventeen children were captured in a photograph watching the lynching of Laura Nelson and her 14-year old son. And with this, I am reminded I cannot just sit by the side and watch. The podcast reflects on the importance of the breathing we are doing and how each one of us must reflect and change.
The Bridge
You barely glance at the simple bridge arching itself across the North Canadian River.
Sunlight shimmers on water, holding an intense glow that says it must be late morning.
Trees on both sides of the banks are in full bloom.
Men, women and children stand on the bridge, some bending over the railing,
to watch what swings below, as river water flows soft as tears.
If you look closer, you can see what photographer G. H. Farnum caught, reflected,
on the river’s water. The two photographic down river views of this scene are historical, and known as Farnum’s number 2899 and number 2897. He was late.
Hundreds had already seen the image he made famous that day.
What hangs off the bridge deck, catching the photographer’s eyes on May 25, 1911,
was not such an uncommon sight and yet the standing bridge viewers
probably thought themselves lucky, to be captured in the frame of the camera’s eye.
The photographer caught the trees, the shiny river, the blossoming river bank shrubs,
and all 35 men, 6 women and 17 children who came to see the lynched Laura Nelson,
and her fourteen-year-old son LD.
That bridge, from that day, in that place, Okemah, Oklahoma, is no longer there.
It has been replaced by another, but this is the one we see:
Raped mother hangs across from her son.
They face one another, rope tight around their necks,
caught forever in the shadow of the bridge.
Mother and son move with the breeze.
The sun shines.
Their shadows ripple
across flowing river water.
That bridge, from that day, in that place is no longer there,
yet this is the only one I can see.
As I listened to this poem, I once again had no words.
Yet, it was the words of this podcast that helped me to ask what I can do. I can look inside and as an analyst, I can gently remind others to do the same.
Perhaps what is most important to me as a Jungian is the emphasis on the racism inside. Jungians speak about the world of complexes.
We are all familiar with the inferiority complex. Yet, life is full of complexes. They often interfere with our intentions and conscious performance. They appear to be splinter personalities with a mind of their own.
Dr. Brewster and her interviewers reflect upon the racial complexes that sit deep inside of all of us.
We cannot rid ourselves of the racism that rests deep inside all of us. The danger is in convincing ourselves that racism does not exist in our shadow and in our unconscious.
Rather we must meet, acknowledge and integrate the shadowy side of ourselves. This is the side that at worst can erupt into violence against the other. Yet, there is perhaps an even more insidious piece — that of ignoring and remaining indifferent.
I am a prolific dreamer. Our dream world is often a reflection of what sits inside in our shadows. I am white. Thus, sometimes my shadowy other is a black man in my dream. Sometimes, I am frightened, and I must realize I am frightened of something inside of myself. Sometimes I befriend the person. And sometimes the individual gifts me something beautiful. But most of all, I must see and befriend the black person and the Other as a piece inside of me. If I remain in the dark, I too can become dangerous.
I need a colleague like Fanny Brewster to help me see through the darkness of the night. I need her eyes and her vision to bring me to tears. But perhaps most of all I need her voice — which is a reflection of her Godly breath inside.
I have been a psychotherapist for over three decades. I have been privileged to accompany many patients on their journey of individuation. I have sat with their pain. If I cannot feel and I cannot dream with them, I am useless. If I am not transformed by the suffering and the process between us in the room, nothing must is happening.
I must identify a piece of my humanity in their Soul.
I have learned a great deal from my patients of color. I remember with such clarity a conversation I had with a young African American girl during President Obama’s first campaign. She confided in me that her friends were making fun of her for daring to imagine that an African American might become president. I was so deeply sad. But more than that, I held her hope in my heart and hands. And when Obama was elected, I could smile with this young lady. I could hope that one day this little girl could reach for the stars.
I am a religious woman of faith. I am deeply moved by the meaning making we do in the world. I think it is no accident that COVID-19 and George Floyd have become so deeply connected. COVID-19 has forced the whole world to focus on the breath. Breath is our connection to life and to our Creator who breathed the soul into all of humankind. We do not have the right to take away the breath of the Other. Thank-you Dr. Brewster for helping me to breathe deeply with conscience and humility. May this period in our World Story herald many new beginnings.
For a link to the podcast — This Jungian Life. PLEASE LISTEN.
More on Dr. Fanny Brewster, Ph.D.
From her website:
My work is in helping others in the development of a valued, meaningful life. This life is one that is lived with integrity, centeredness and joy. There is no escaping that we will suffer different kinds of pain in life, and so our goal is not avoiding this human aspect of life. The most significant aspect of our lives could be learning how to truly feel our suffering. This is the same as being willing to feel our joy. True living is the ability to sustain the reality of who we are, with who we desire to become. In our work together, we commit to change, and in this way, create and nurture your meaningful life.
Fanny’s books include:
The Racial Complex: A Jungian Perspective on Culture and Race
Archetypal Grief: Slavery’s Legacy of Intergenerational Child Loss
African Americans and Jungian Psychology: Leaving the Shadows
Robin B. Zeiger is a practicing Jungian psychoanalyst and a free-lance writer.
She is a member of the:
International Association of Analytical Psychologyand the Israel Institute of Jungian Psychology. She can be reached at rbzeiger@yahoo.com.
