While Juneteenth recognizes the end of chattel slavery in the United States, some of our brothers and sisters remain enslaved. They may occupy cell blocks in prisons, seats in classrooms, or rooms in our homes. Regardless of their location, the psychological, physical, and spiritual remnants of slavery prevail.
Professionals in various fields play a role in the ongoing struggle for liberation. Our freedom is not in the hands of one psychologist, professor, politician, policy maker, or police officer. It is up to us.
The Umoja Community Education Foundation’s Practice, Everybody’s Business, encourages collective responsibility. It states, “We are a village, acting in accord, and unafraid to be seen and heard as we do our work, leveraging every voice and source of information to do our best by our students.” To implement this practice for our students, clients, families, and communities, we must build spiritual strength.
Last week, ABPsi President Dr. Monique Swift Muhammad served as a keynote speaker for the Umoja Community Education Foundation’s Summer Learning Institute. Her talk, Liberating the African Episteme, Liberation through Spirit-Inspired Learning, discussed the importance of doing spirit work in schools to support freedom. The spiritual work Dr. Muhammad discussed in her message and illustrated through an interactive indaba (special meeting) resonated with educators, administrators, and counselors.
Two hundred fifty participants from colleges and universities in California and Washington attended the Summer Learning Institute. In addition to keynotes and indabas, attendees engaged in specialty-specific panels and activation labs. Experts provided strategy presentations for engaging Black/African students on the panels and guided application activities during the lab sessions.
During Dr. Swift Muhammad’s keynote, she incorporated African philosophies and connected them to education. The four West African Dogon Levels of Reality are Giri so (word at face value), Benne so (word from the side), Bolo so (word from behind), and So dayi (the clear word). They have implications for teaching, learning, and counseling.
The Giri so is literal and superficial; this happens when teachers emphasize memorizing facts. Benne so approaches the nuances and complexity of culturally responsive lesson plans. Bolo so delves into the profound, metaphorical meanings and encourages deep critical thinking. So dayi represents the ultimate cosmological truth forming a bridge between classrooms, communities, clinics and Ancestral concepts. Through the four Dogon Levels of Reality, President Swift Muhammad encouraged Umoja’s community to align their classroom activities, program agendas, and mental health services with spiritual practices.
We can connect to spirit through breath, grounding, prayer, movement, tarot cards, oracle cards, water gazing, cowrie shells, rituals, and sitting in silence.
Consistency is the fundamental component in channeling spirit energy. To illustrate emancipatory spiritual practices, Dr. Swift Muhammad led the group in a guided meditation and tarot reading.
Exploring the Dogon Levels of Reality requires professionals to recognize potential shortcomings, but the process produces meaningful results. Dr. Swift Muhammad declared,
“When you touch the spirit, you awaken an unknown spirit within.” The Dogon people of West Africa strive for human perfection through a synthesis of masculine and feminine approaches.
President Swift Muhammad indicated our liberation is less about gender and more about meeting the needs of our community.
Referencing Dr. Wade Nobles’ book, Skh to Skh: Evolutionary Genesis as an African-centered Research Method, Dr. Swift Muhammad recommended five tips for shifting classrooms into freedom-focused learning environments. The list included: 1. Always go deep; 2. Focus on producing creators, not imitators; 3. See the lesson in all experiences; 4. Always elevate the African episteme. These five tips are actions we can take on this Juneteenth and every day we are blessed with life.
Freedom is everybody’s business.
While on June 19th, 1865, news of emancipation reached Galveston, Texas, shackles lingered for Black/African people. Some of us may remain unaware or choose to ignore the nuances of slavery.
Human trafficking, mass incarceration, US citizens and undocumented detainees held in detention centers, alongside limited visions of our potential are the various components of slavery that continue in 2026.
We may not all hold teaching positions in schools, but we can use our platforms to awaken people’s minds and spirits. Share this article via social media. Start a conversation at home or via an annoying group chat!
Explore the relationship between education, psychology, and spirituality today. Discover liberation resources via the Umoja Community Education Foundation and the Association of Black Psychologists.
Images courtesy of Cisco Kuhl, Dr. Brandon Gamble, and Dr. Monique Swift Muhammad
