Healing Racial Wounds

By Mutima Imani, a Peace Ambassador

I have been in the role of peacemaker all my life, speaking out and engaging in processes as a child that included negotiating, mediating and arbitrating a place for myself and family in communities where we were the first Black people around.  As an adult,  I am coaching, lecturing  and conducting workshops to teach people empathy and understanding so they can overcome racial bias and unconscious prejudices.
 
After I completed the five pillars of the Peace Ambassador Training program I fully understood how my work as a diversity consultant and my commitment to peace complement each other.
 
My diversity work is called Healing Racial Wounds.  The goal is to Heal the Heart of Humanity one person at a time. I believe that we are all apart of the collective oneness being affected by “isms.” We have come a long way and have a long way to go to live in a world where equity replaces discrimination and racial disparities and racism are eliminated.
 
While studying the five pillars of the Peace Ambassador Training program through the lens of Healing Racial Wounds, I found that each pillar is a place of great discovery.  The five pillars are Deep Inner Peace, Healing Personal and Collective Wounds, Communicating Peace, Mastering Systems Change, and Activating and Organizing for Peace.
 
I believe that as we come to the place of being at peace with and proud of our racial and ethnic heritage, we can heal our personal, family and collective racial wounds. Then we can begin to communicate from our hearts a language that is inclusive, that builds community allies across racial lines and fosters forgiveness. Once that work is well underway we can begin to see and address the systemic institutional practices and governmental policies that only will be changed when we activate and organize for racial harmony.
 
I have found comfort and hope in being in the Peace Ambassadors Community, being part of a global network of people who are studying and working together to build a world where peace is possible.

 
Mutima Imani a Social Justice Visionary, Master Trainer and Facilitator working to Heal the Heart of Humanity by providing 21st Century Tools for Personal/Professional Development and Transformation.  Imani is a Global Diversity Specialist who understands and inspires people to think locally while planning globally. Highly skilled at bringing diverse groups together to resolve conflicts, Imani works with people conducting Civic Leadership Training and Restorative Justice Circles. Imani has a Master's Degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Phenomenology; Imani is passionate about how all things work together and what humans can learn from the natural world. You can contact Imani at:  mutima.imani@sbcglobal.net