Healing Black Women at PWIs is a conference designed to bring Black women who work in predominantly white institutions a space to be witnessed, and to witness. The purpose of this virtual experience, whose aim is to eventually develop into an in-person conference is intentionally cathartic.
This year’s theme is Witness My Contribution. Curated by founder Shameeka Smalling, Witness My Contribution is an immersive, healing art experience for Black women who have been impacted by the various industrial complexes related to structural and institutional racism, the very systems and institutions that we have poured into.
While the point is not at all to relish in pain and trauma, it is imperative that Black women are given space to breathe, be seen, and to be witnessed. Black women, particularly Black women with neurodivergencies, are often gaslit into believing we are the problem when the problem is existing within a system designed to oppress and kill us. It is an opportunity to convene with other Black women and witness each other.
