Western Michigan University students Shane Harden, Crea Taylor, Jazimin Williams on the final day of class.
It is the last day of the Spring 2019 semester at Western
on American history. Getting that information now
Michigan University, and the first-ever Truth, Racial Healing &
is beneficial.”
Transformation (TRHT) course at WMU has just wrapped up the final class.
The goal of the course was to offer students an opportunity to explore the national TRHT movement. The
While some students hurried out of the classroom in Sangren
aim, according to the syllabus, was to expose students
Hall to enjoy the rest of the sunny spring day, Shane Harden,
to how the movement is working to initiate deep societal
Crea Taylor, and Jazimin Williams hang around, eager to
transformation by changing the ways narratives around
speak about their experience in the TRHT course
race are created and circulated throughout the
that semester.
United States.
Like many who encounter TRHT for the first time, Taylor did
The course was taught collaboratively by Dr. Douglas
not know exactly what to expect. “’Truth and Healing’ was so
Davidson, an associate professor in the Department of
mysterious to me,” says Taylor, a junior Graphic Design major
Sociology, as well as instructional leaders from the TRHT
from Chicago. “I kept wondering if this is going to be some
Kalamazoo movement. Mimi Abdul Bellamy, TRHT Arts
therapy-type stuff?’”
& Education Narrative Change Design Team lead, was
Despite looming questions, each of the students decided to engage with the unknown and enroll in the course. And now, on the last day, they do not regret the decision. “Honestly, this class was something I never knew I needed,” says Williams, a senior Communication Studies and Sociology major from Taylor, Mich. “I didn’t expect my eyes to be opened so wide. I knew I wasn’t getting a complete education
4 KALAMAZOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SUMMER 2019
instrumental in creating the course curriculum and bringing it to Western. Bellamy, in addition to their work with TRHT Kalamazoo, works for the Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethic Relations at WMU. Winifred Wilson, TRHT Youth Leader Coordinator and Evaluation Intern, taught the majority of the course and had a front-row seat to the students’ growth and transformation.
