The Office Institutional Equity is eternally grateful to Truth and Racial Healing Circle (THRC) facilitators Mee Moua and Kohnee Harmon for working with our campus community to train and support a group of faculty and staff to serve as Racial Healing Circle facilitators. Racial healing recognizes the need to acknowledge and tell the truth about past wrongs created by individual and systemic racism and address its present consequences. It is an experience and a tool that can facilitate trust and build authentic relationships that bridge divides created by real and perceived differences.
We are also thankful that so many individuals and departments at UNC Asheville have expressed interest in the work of racial healing. We know it is not the responsibility of one person, one group, or one organization to drive this work. The responsibility belongs to all of us to participate in these honest, powerful and moving experiences and pursue this journey together. Our success or failure is directly tied to our collective community’s sustained commitment. Through racial healing, we can forge deep, meaningful relationships, lay the groundwork to transform broken systems, and create a community in which, together, we are a new force for positive change.
About Racial Healing Circles
Racial healing circles are a tool and methodology for working towards inclusion and equity. They are not a solution but a process, designed to put us on the right path. The Racial Healing Circle process is designed to go deeper into the heart space. This process encourages us to tell our stories and to listen deeply to the stories of others. This work will enable us to see our humanity and ourselves in others. When this occurs, we build trust and that trust is necessary for the courageous dialogue to take place which will lead to the transformed community we aspire to.
Helpful Links
- Racial Healing Circles: Empathy & Liberal Education, Association of American Colleges & Universities (AACU)
- Racial Equity Resource Guide, W.K. Kellogg Foundation