Marywood University Student Racial Healing Circles

The Center for Truth and Racial healing will be inviting all students to participate in its second round of Student Racial Healing Circles, this spring.

The Student Racial Healing Circles are small groups that gather once per week to listen, learn, and discuss what they can do as individuals and groups to heal the campus, the community, and, ultimately, the country around the issue of systemic racism. Last semester, the Center for Truth and Racial Healing had a strong cohort of students who had very limited experience and exposure to discussing race and racism. However, by the end of the five-week series, students described the experience as “an excellent safe space to learn from other individuals and talk about difficult/heavy topics that aren't usually acceptable or comfortable to discuss otherwise.”

The circles are small groups of students that come together once per week for five weeks to listen, learn, and discuss what we can do as individuals and groups to heal our campus, community, and ultimately our country around the issue of systemic racism. 

Meetings will be held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4:00-5:30 p.m. and will start on Tuesday, February 16,  and run through Wednesday, March 24. There will be the option of in-person meetings, as well as Zoom meetings, however virtual meetings will be reserved only for those who are doing remote learning.

The circles will break into two groups, beginner and advanced. A beginner circle is for those students who have had limited experience and/or exposure to talking about race, racism, discrimination, or working with diverse groups. An advanced circle is for those students who attended the racial healing circles in Fall 2020 and for students who have had some exposure to the subject matter. They will be delving deeper into more targeted discussions and providing development opportunities for this group to potentially lead other student groups in racial healing training.

Student Racial Healing Circles are open to all Marywood students at both undergraduate and graduate levels. For more information or to sign up for a Racial Healing Circle, contact Dr. Yerodin Lucas, Director of Equity & Inclusion, at ylucas@marywood.edu.