Racial Healing: A Visit with Dr. Anneliese Singh

From October 12th – 14th, Dr. Anneliese Singh (she/they) was at NC State, to deliver a series of workshops and lectures on racial healing practices for collaborators across campus. Dr. Singh is a Professor and Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity/Chief Diversity Officer at Tulane University. Her scholarship and community organizing explore the resilience, trauma, and identity development experiences of queer and trans people, with a focus on young people and Black, Indigenous and people of color. Anneliese is the author of The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing and The Queer and Trans Resilience Workbook. She is co-founder of the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition and the Trans Resilience Project.

During her public lecture on October 13th, Dr. Singh described core racial healing strategies that people can practice in the aim of collective racial justice and liberation. She challenged participants to engage in these racial healing practices in an effort to transform institutional settings to better model the beloved community. This lecture was well-attended and viewed on our livestream, and was co-sponsored by the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences (AHS), the CALS Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Poole College of Management and the College of Natural Resources. In addition to this public lecture, Dr. Singh also conducted a workshop for graduate students in the College of Natural Resources, and a Community Conversation sponsored by the CALS Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

LaTosha Y. Bradley, JD, program manager from the CALS Office of Diversity and Inclusion stated “During her visit to the University, Dr. Singh not only shared some of this generation’s most profound thoughts on what it means to honestly seek to “dismantle” systemic racism, but she also created a safe space for our community to engage in a dialogue that is exceptionally difficult to navigate.  For this gift, and for the especially generous way she gave it, CALS ODI will remain interminably grateful.”

On the final day of her visit to Raleigh, Dr. Singh led the AHS Department in a day-long workshop, where we explored what racial healing might look like in our research, teaching and extension practices. The conversations from the workshop will guide the AHS Department as we continue to create our strategic plan for the future, and carry on the work of equity led by our Racial Justice Committee. AHS department head, Ben Chapman remarked “Dr. Singh’s engaging approach to racial healing reminds us that while talk and awareness are foundational, we need to push ourselves to get to actions, both small and big, if we are to make change around racial disparities.”

Thank you to Dr. Singh for taking the time to visit the NC State community.