2021 Articles

Truth, Reconciliation and Racial Unification in America: Using Michael White’s Narrative Practices in Facilitation Conversations about Race

Adejumo, Olamide

On the 31st of December 2019, a report was made by the Wuhan Municipal Commission to the World Health Organization about a novel coronavirus through a cluster of cases of pneumonia. This first-of-its-kind report subsequently led to series of global health crises that ultimately led to declaring the coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern. This pandemic has in the past years revealed the socioeconomic inequalities that have plagued the country and are deeply rooted in racial disparities despite government efforts at ensuring equitable distribution of resources.

While race conversation remains very uncomfortable for a lot of people in America, the need for a more engaging and educative method for having these conversations is necessary. This article aims to explore the potentials of utilizing Michael White's Narrative Practice Methodologies (Externalizing the conversation on race; Re-authoring the race conversation; Re-membering racial conversation; The racial definitional ceremony) in race-based conversations. These methodologies, through skilled practitioners of narrative medicine who will act as guides in the conversations through a workshop-styled format, helps facilitate these conversations. It is hoped that ultimately through community organization, community responsibility, these conversations would help create a more inclusive and realistic approach to racial unification, healing, and social equity in society.