Roots Matter: Healing History, Honoring Heritage, Renewing Hope Roots Matter recognizes the impact of transgenerational trauma, as a result of chattel slavery, on the African American community. It emphasizes the importance of discovering the silent stories—those that were overlooked and ignored; unearthing the secret stories—those that were intentionally covered up; and being attentive to the reverberations of the severed stories of…
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As Melanie and Jason answered her questions, the counselor drew a genogram of their families. The genogram revealed three generations of women who had been unfaithful to their husbands in the Jason’s family. In Melanie’s family, the eldest son for four generations were domestic violence abusers. By understanding the history in their families, the engaged couple minimized their chances of…
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Roots Matter offers information, instruction and opportunities for healing by asking these questions: How is trauma set in motion and passed down in cultural, family and personal history? What factors contribute to resilience and resistance? How was resilience and resistance sustained through generations in cultural, family, and personal history? How are resilience and resistance sustained today? Roots Matter offers instruction…
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The Sankofa, a West African Adinkra symbol, is the image of a bird whose body is heading in one direction and whose head is turned in the opposite direction. The image is interpreted to mean, “We cannot go forward without first looking back to our past to understand how we have gotten to where we are.” If we can understand…
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To educate, validate and inspire healing and well-being in families and communities. Roots Matter offers healing opportunities that are: Educational. Participants will know and understand their history and recognize patterns of strength and resilience. Personal. Participants will acknowledge unresolved grief and ambiguous loss and discover the courage and strength of character in their families. Spiritual. Participants will engage in…
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