Trained healing practitioners are bridging conversations among many diverse groups, conducting healing circles and visioning sessions. The work began in Flint four years ago with professional training through a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant. Through the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Fund, people are coming together with a common goal — to heal racial divisions and promote understanding and acceptance.

A racial healing circle brings people together for open dialogue. People are then divided into pairs, where they share time reflecting on a pre-determined question. Open sharing ensures that everyone’s voice can be heard. Practitioners share their own stories as well, setting the tone for an honest and meaningful conversation.

“When the opportunity to speak my truth to someone else without judgment or interruption is given, magic happens,” said Patrick McNeal, healing practitioner. “It allows for the ‘other’ to see themselves in my story. When I can be viewed and accepted not for right or wrong but because I am human, it creates the space needed for difficult conversations and necessary changes to take place.

“For we know it is no longer personal, it’s the issue, the disparity, the inequities that we then allow to stand on their own. This releases true visioning to take place,” McNeal continued. “That’s what creates the energy needed for healing circles and visioning sessions to produce change.”

“The beauty of a healing circle is that so many times people realize that despite their differences, we are all connected by a shared humanity,” said Lynn Williams, Director of Equity and Community Engagement at CFGF and a healing practitioner. “Using various techniques such as deep listening and empathy, we help participants process their emotions and find a sense of peace.”