2021 Reports

I AM! Black Women Healing From Generational Trauma

Fortune, Monique

I AM! Black Women Healing From Generational Trauma manifests into a choreopoem that recognizes the generational trauma and celebrates the sacred spiritual bonds of Black women of the African diaspora.

The purpose of this choreopoem is to utilize the art forms of poetry and dance to acknowledge the internal oppression, pain and violence Black women experience in intrapersonal and generational ways. The choreopoem will also serve as a vehicle for personal and collective healing opportunities.

The accompanying research paper explains the womanist and theological influences that gave rise to the creation of the choreopoem - Black Women!: Healing from Generational Trauma.

The research paper that accompanies the project will examine the psychological, emotional, spiritual and theological issues that impact Black women’s generational trauma.

As a womanist, educator, minister and poet, I lean into the artistic influences of Ntozake Shange, George C. Wolfe, Gwendolyn Brooks, Genesis B., Erykah Badu, Ruby Dee, Toni Morrison, Rita Dove, Alice Walker, Augusta Savage, Varnette Honeywood, Urban Bush Women, Miriam Makeba, Forces of Nature Dance troupe and other artists and creative forces who have provided profound life-giving insights about the powers of Black women spirituality, sexuality, vulnerability and communal connections.