Our Be The Healing Symposium is offered in cities across the country. It addresses topics of systemic racism, trauma, and healing with a cross-section of community members, including educators, social workers, students, and community activists who live and work with children, youth, and adults in each city.
Be The Healing Symposiums have been held in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. No matter the city, the learning enables participants to develop a knowledge base and critical awareness of issues specifically impacting African-Americans.
Executive Director Dr. Joy DeGruy and the Be The Healing staff explore intergenerational and historical trauma, mental health, and improvement strategies through an educational, motivational and solution-oriented lens. Professionals trained in the Be The Healing framework facilitate breakout sessions that help cultivate Community healing.
Look for a Be the Healing Symposium coming to your city!
Be the Healing Symposiums
Nancy Wong Photography
Nancy Wong Photography
Our Portland, Oregon Symposium with our Healing Partner Black Parent Initiative
The Healing Symposium was convened in the PDX on October 3rd and 4th, 2025, with a multigenerational collective of folks committed to fortifying our communities. The learning strengthened our resilience, fostered our healing, and helped us to freedom dream. Our strong Portland roots made this symposium extra special and timely!
Additional Events and Appearances
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Tulsa Reparations Summit: From Apology to Repair
Dr. Joy delivered a lecture at the Tulsa Reparations Summit held April 24 - 26, 2026. The summit's theme was "From Apology to Repair," and took place at Langston University’s Tulsa campus in the historic Greenwood District. Hosted by the Beyond Apology Commission, it focused on advancing actionable reparations for survivors and descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
Representing her role in the global healing movement, Dr. Joy presented at the United Nations, Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) on April 16th, 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Left: General Assembly at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, April 14, 2026
Bottom left: A focused Dr Joy.
Bottom right: Dr. Joy and the team.
Rochester, NY Symposium with our Healing Partner Action for a Better Community: A Testament to the Power of Multigenerational Healing Spaces
Another powerful Be The Healing symposium took place in Rochester, NY on April 11, 2025. The symposium was co-sponsored by Be The Healing, Inc. and our healing partner in Rochester, Action for a Better Community, with their CEO, Jerome Underwood.
Listen to Dr. Joy DeGruy and Dr. Enola Aird Discuss Reparations and Healing on Dominique DiPrima's First Things First Podcast KBLA 1580 Talk Radio
Dr. Joy DeGruy and Dr. Enola Aird joined Dominique DiPrima engaged in a powerful discussion on the global reparations movement and its role in healing.
UNESCO Conference on Intergenerational Trauma Resulting from Enslavement and Other Historical Atrocities
Be The Healing Executive Director, Dr. Joy DeGruy participated in the UNESCO Conference on Intergenerational Trauma Resulting from Enslavement and Other Historical Atrocities on May 21, 2025 in Paris, France.
Dr. DeGruy engaged in conversation with Professor David Meghanagi, a clinical psychologist and expert in Jewish Studies. The conversation was moderated by Dr. Natasha Kelly, a German researcher and author who specializes in Afro-Descendant narratives and Afro-Futurism.
Global Circle for Reparations and Healing - Accra Summit II Centering Healing Conference in Accra, Ghana
Dr. Joy DeGruy was key voice at the Accra Summit II conference that took place on March 26-28, 2025. Centering Healing for Africans and the Global African Diaspora in the Context of the African Union was
the 2025 conference theme. Dr. Joy and Dr. Enola G. Aird co-led the Inter and Intra-Community Healing Working Group during the summit.
The Hague, Netherlands Symposium
Be The Healing's Netherlands Symposium took place from September 13-15, 2024 at the Nationale Theater in the Hague, Netherlands. Dr. Joy and members of the Be The Healing team delivered presentations and engaged in dialogue with the audience and focus group participants representing the Netherland's Afro-Dutch Community.
Dr. Joy spoke of the vestiges of slavery still present in the Netherlands and the multigenerational trauma that continues to plague the Afro-Dutch Community as a result of colonialism and the Dutch slave trade.
Be the Healing Chicago Summit
Our Be The Healing Chicago Summit, a signature symposium weekend, is presented jointly with one of our official healing partners, Organic Oneness. The most recent Chicago event was May 16-17, 2024, at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr. Joy and MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant recipient, Dr. Ruha Benjamin, were featured speakers.