By Cameron Cassar and Annalisa Jackson
What does it mean to heal? What would it look like for our societies to move towards individual and collective healing in the United States right now? These questions helped guide the first event in a recently launched discussion series on Bridging Societal Divides, hosted by MHCR in collaboration with the USTRHT Movement.
“Healing is a returning to our wholeness and an acknowledgment of our wholeness and our interconnectedness as a human family,” said Dr. Gail Christopher, the architect of the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation efforts in the US and Executive Director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity. Her words opened a discussion moderated by MHCR Senior Research Affiliate Colette Rausch which focused on how to bridge and heal societal divides and foster social transformation in the US. In addition to Dr. Christopher, discussion panelists included: Liz Medicine Crow, President, and CEO of the First Alaskans Institute, Tim Phillips, founder and CEO of Beyond Conflict, and Sabra Williams, co-founder of Creative Acts. As Rausch raised guiding questions focused on the meaning and process of bridging societal divides in our communities, each panelist shared insightful stories and reflections on how they had come to experience and understand individual and collective healing.
Dr. Gail Christopher spoke with us about how embracing our common humanity is essential to this type of work.
Dr. Gail Christopher, an award-winning social change agent with years of experience in the field of health and racial equity shared how the healing circles she conducts must be led with love. As she explained, “Healing occurs when we change our mind and hearts” and the work of healing cannot be done without love.
Sabra Williams shared some anecdotes from her time facilitating healing activities with prisoners.
Sabra Williams, a social justice activist and actress, shared lessons learned from her work in prisons where she uses the arts as a tool for transformation. She discussed how she has found storytelling and art to be a medium for healing within the prison system because it gives individuals experiencing incarceration a chance to express themselves and share their stories. More of these kinds of spaces are needed, she emphasized, where the human dignity and story of individuals can be shared and expressed.
Tim Phillips discussed his global experiences in this field and how we can learn from other countries’ past.
Tim Phillips, a world-renowned conflict resolution practitioner discussed how “healing requires clarity.” He highlighted that we have to understand where we are as a nation currently and what allowed us to get to this point in order for us to authentically move towards healing as a society. Reflecting on his international experiences, he emphasized the importance of learning not only from our own history but also from the history of other countries. According to Phillips, understanding the past is the key to moving forward as a country.
Liz Medicine Crow spoke with us about her experiences in dealing with indigenous reconciliation processes.
The necessity of truth-telling was reaffirmed by Liz Medicine Crow, a tribal member of the Kake village in Alaska and a social change agent who has been leading efforts to integrate Native knowledge into organizations and governance. “The closest bond between two people is a shared story,” she said, emphasizing the need for story-telling in building mutual understanding.
As our country enters into the era of a new administration, we are faced with the daunting task of trying to figure out how to build the notion of shared truth and move forward bridging the divides of our fractured country. Although the pain and divisions run deep, we must all work individually and collectively within our communities to build cultures that foster the transformation so needed in our societies. The Bridging Societal Divides series will continue to facilitate discussions on this theme, with our next event focused on the importance of understanding the role of trauma and intergroup dynamics in reconciliation and transformation processes.
You can watch the full event below.