Ruby Sales

Civil rights legend Ruby Sales learned to ask “Where does it hurt?” because it’s a question that drives to the heart of the matter — and a question we scarcely know how to ask in public life now. Sales says we must be as clear about what we love as about what we hate if we want to make change. And even as she unsettles some of what we think we know about the force of religion in civil rights history, she names a “spiritual crisis of white America” as a calling of today.Ruby Sales is the founder and director of The Spirit House Project in Atlanta. She is included in an oral history of the Civil Rights Movement at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.orgThis show originally aired in September 2016.

Ruby Sales, a civil rights elder and founder of the Spirit House Project, dives deep into the art of living with a focus on personal and communal spirituality. She reflects on the transformative journey from deep depression to self-awareness and the importance of using our minds as tools for growth. Sales discusses the significance of storytelling in healing and the role of mentorship in navigating dark times. Additionally, she explores how understanding desire can lead to spiritual fulfillment and personal growth.