join the celebration of healing
As an extension of this experience, we invite you to join our Celebration of Healing, aimed to provide audiences with a curated space geared toward individual and community healing.
Join us at one of these FREE upcoming events.
SPEAK THE NAMES
In WTSU, we speak the name of the deceased once for each year that they lived. You can do the same or find your own way of acknowledging the tragedy of their death while keeping their name alive.
TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT YOUR TRAUMA:
You may want to unpacking you feelings about anti blackness with a prefessional.
Here are community partner organizations you can reach out to for support.
ART AS HEALING
We appreciate you coming to see WTSU. While you are welcome to come back again and again practice are other forms of art that can be healing.
Artistic Healing Exercises:
“Draw out” your emotions, with pencil, pastels, and ink
Turn your lost loved one’s clothing into a comforting memory quilt
Build an altar or memory box to reconnect with your lost one
Tribute Scrapbooking for family grief therapy
Start your private “Grief Journal”
Listen to Music:
Check out our WTSU Show Playlist:
GROUP YELL
Gather in an appropriate place and yell together. Be sure to support each other’s need for catharsis by way of this expulsing. Make sure the space feels and is safe for this kind of expression.
GROUP CALL AND RESPONSE
In a circle, one person can say any number of affirming, lovely things about Black people. Here’s a format:
“You ____________ people!” and then the others in the circle and respond with, “Yeah!”
Examples from WTSU:
LEADER: You beautiful people!
ALL: Yeah!
LEADER: You creative people!
ALL: Yeah!
You could build a list of adjectives beforehand and create a script to do call/response with OR encourage participants to call out the adjectives as they think of them in a circle.
BREAK BREAD
Gathering together to eat good food can be a tremendous way of nourishing aching spirits.
WRITE A LOVE LETTER
You and your loved ones or community members can write love letters to Black people and share them however you see fit. Perhaps each person reads theirs aloud. Perhaps they’re passed around randomly, tucked into pockets to be enjoyed when needed.
These are just a very few examples you are welcome to use.
I encourage you to think about what’s most useful to your community.
Be creative. Be loving. Be strong together.
If you would like to add your love letter to Congo Square's online archives please do so below
read poetry
These poems are presented In partnership with the Poetry Foundation. These works are an offering to continue your healing as you experience
What to Send Up When It Goes Down. Select a poet below to read their poem.