What Does Healing Have to Do With Racial Equity?
When H3AL talks about healing, we are talking about what happens between people as well as what changes in institutions. Racism affects access to opportunity, and it also affects trust, relationships, and people's sense of belonging in their own community.
Our anti-racism resolution connects those concerns. It calls for listening to the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, learning the history behind inequity, and approaching healing with accountability.
That is the foundation of H3AL's approach: take harm seriously, understand what sustains it, and work toward change with honesty and care.
Start by listening to what people are telling us
H3AL's roots are in the peaceful organizing that brought people together across Sussex County after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. The need for ongoing education, advocacy, and healing grew out of that community response.
Listening remains essential to the work. When a neighbor describes racism they have experienced, we can pay attention before preparing a defense or an explanation. We can ask what happened, what the impact was, and what they want others to understand.
No one person can speak for an entire community. Listening well means making room for different experiences and respecting a person's choice about what to share. It also means giving people a meaningful role in conversations that concern them.
Recognize the human cost
The effects of racism are not limited to the moment an incident occurs. Research reviews have documented links between racial discrimination, stress, and adverse mental-health outcomes. They also describe the importance of social context and the limits of what existing research can tell us. Read the review on discrimination and mental health and the broader review of racism and health.
For community work, the point is to take people's experiences seriously. Someone who has been dismissed repeatedly may need time before trusting a new invitation. Someone willing to speak about harm should not also have to carry the entire responsibility for repairing it.
Here, healing means the work of community care, trust, and repair. People may also need individual support beyond what a community conversation can offer.
Give accountability something concrete to do
Acknowledging harm matters. What follows matters too.
If an organization learns that a practice is excluding people, the response should include examining and changing that practice. If a person has caused harm, an apology should be accompanied by a change in behavior. If residents are asked for input, they should be able to see how that input was considered.
These are examples of how accountability can become visible. Trust has a stronger foundation when people can point to follow-through.
The same principle applies to the larger work of equity. Better relationships and fairer policies belong together. A welcoming conversation cannot remove a barrier on its own, and changing a rule does not instantly repair the relationships affected by it.
Leave room for boundaries, culture, and joy
Healing takes different forms for different people. It may involve a difficult conversation, time to reflect, clearer boundaries, or reconnecting with community. Trust and reconciliation cannot be demanded on a deadline.
There should also be room to gather without every interaction revolving around harm. Art, music, food, family, and celebration are part of a full community life. H3AL's Juneteenth celebrations and cultural programming create opportunities to connect through those shared experiences.
That does not mean one event can repair generations of inequity. It means relationships deserve care alongside the educational and advocacy work we do together.
Practice love without giving up honesty
H3AL stands for Highlighting Equality and Equity through Education, Advocacy, and Love. Love asks us to recognize people's humanity while being honest about conduct, policies, and conditions that cause harm.
That can be uncomfortable. We may need to change an assumption, hear criticism, or admit that something we intended to be helpful had a different effect. We may also need to set a boundary or challenge an institution we care about.
Our resolution treats that ongoing reflection as part of the commitment. Healing is work we practice through listening, accountability, and the willingness to keep learning.
Continue the conversation: Read H3AL's anti-racism resolution. If you have a perspective, question, or lived experience you would like to contribute to the Journal, contact H3AL.
