This hybrid event will take place in-person and virtual via Zoom

Over the past 6 years, civic and non-profit leaders in Charleston have come together to address the complex issues of race and equity through Truth, Racial Healing, Transformation and Racial Healing Circles. 

On Thursday October 6, Social Justice Racial Equity Collaborative (SJREC) is hosting a special event for you to engage with the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation movement in Charleston. Learn more and participate in the creation of a collective vision for a future without racism and its harmful consequences. Hear from Dr. Gail Christopher (consultant to SJREC and our local framework) about this national movement, experience a Racial Healing Circle designed by Dr. Christopher as a missing gap piece needed for societal advancement, learn about the 5-pillar Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation framework, meet the organizers and current engagement partners, and find ways to plug in for shared impact.

True racial healing requires that we fully acknowledge the truth about the deep wounds of our past and their legacy today, learn to embrace our common humanity, and recognize our interdependency. Sustainable healing from racism cannot be about reconciling to some mythical past. It must be about telling the truth about our past as a way to heal from the wounds of the past and to unleash the power of our hearts and minds to jettison the racial hierarchy and transform our future. We can replace the fear-driven divisions with an authentic narrative in which we can see ourselves in one another.

Today, communities, organizations, and college campuses, across the country are utilizing the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation framework to bring together people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds to create new narratives based on hard truths, build meaningful relationships across racial and ethnic lines, and address both the structures that keep us separated and the legal and economic structures that yield racially disparate outcomes. Since October 2021, SJREC has been offering Racial Healing Circles in our community through 16 trained local facilitators.

Dr. Gail Christopher, the chief architect of Racial Healing Circles is an award winning social change agent with expertise in the social determinants of health and well-being and in related public policies. She is known for her pioneering work to infuse holistic health and diversity concepts into public sector programs and policy discourse. Dr. Christopher recently retired from her role as Senior Advisor and Vice President at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where she was the driving force behind the America Healing initiative and the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation effort. Dr. Christopher became the Executive Director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity in November 2019 and is a national spokeswomen for the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation movement.

As community leaders, it is up to us to jettison the false notion of a human hierarchy, and create a future where every life is valued and every citizen can live to their fullest potential.

Register for the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Summit HERE. The cost is free but the impact on our community’s future is priceless!