At the heart of this year of learning (YOL) is the understanding that healing begins within. Cornerstone’s continuum of service to help create communities where individuals and families are safe and children thrive and the Cultural Wellness Center’s mission to unleash the power of people to heal themselves and build community; for us rests at the foundation of the healing and community building.
The journey acknowledges a fundamental truth: if you have not done your personal work, you cannot build community, sustain family, or contribute meaningfully to collective healing. The path toward transformation requires self-development, self-knowledge, and the disciplined practice of self-mastery. Without a deep understanding of oneself, one’s life, strengths, challenges and purpose, our efforts to sustain relationships in our families, work, and communities can be fragile and short-lived.
This YOL creates a conscious bridge between personal and collective healing, recognizing that individual wellness is inseparable from the well-being of family, work, and community. Community members will be challenged to examine the intelligence of the heart (sia)—the inner voice that orients human beings toward alignment with their soul’s purpose.
Through cultural self-study, community analysis, and the courage to shape the future community members engage in the process of cultivating a sense of belonging and wholeness that grounds knowledge and development.
Knowledge is cultivated through the study of a people’s wisdom traditions. This knowledge deepens as each person develops practices that align with what they learn. Through this process, community members build conscious awareness and competence in the ways of their people as ways of demonstrating mastery.
Developing a Vision of Culture and Leadership
The YOL is grounded in truth-telling and community healing as pathways toward self-mastery and community building. Participants are asked to examine culture and leadership through the lens of self-knowledge, self-development, and self-mastery.
The YOL emphasizes purpose and calling by cultivating a conscious awareness of the natural healing present in the work of building community. Together, we will discover culture as a resource that invites participants to cultivate a culturally centered identity.
Cultural identity supports the reconciliation of fragmentation that exists between self, family, community and work. Participants engage in developing the skills needed to heal and unify with a sense of peoplehood that connects them to the intellectual heritage of their people.
Connected to the development of these competencies is the acknowledgment of the experiences of our people and the production of knowledge developed from the self-mastery process. The knowledge produced through this YOL is a testament to our collective commitment to becoming healers, builders, and protectors of African thought and spirituality.
Participants will develop skills and proficiency in the following categories:
- Self-Knowledge, Self-Development and Self-Mastery: the outcomes of cultural self-study, reflective practice, and personal healing.
- Purpose and Calling: to support the cultivation of alignment with the intelligence of the heart (sia) and one’s soul’s purpose.
- Cultural Identity and a Consciousness of Peoplehood: engagement with the wisdom traditions, intellectual heritage, and ways of their people.
- Truth-Telling and Community Healing: pathways for restoring wholeness within self, family, work, and community.
- Service to Self and Community Building: grounds of understanding individual wellness and collective well-being are studied as inseparable cultural dimensions.
- Cultural Skills and Cultural Practices: examination of cultural rituals and ceremonies that support growth and belonging.
- Knowledge Production and Stewardship: acknowledging the experiences of your people and contributing to the preservation and protection of cultural thought.
Facilitators
Dr. Felicia Washington Sy
Dr. Felicia Washington Sy is a licensed independent clinical social worker, traumatologist, and educator with over 20 years of experience providing trauma-informed care to survivors of sexual and physical violence. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Minnesota and her doctorate from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.
Dr. Sy combines mindfulness-based practice, intercultural theory, and social justice frameworks to support individuals, families, and institutions in creating conditions for deep healing and systemic change. She leads healing circles, and consults with organizations across the Twin Cities on diversity, equity, inclusion, and collective wellness.
Dr. Sy has taught in area colleges and universities for over a decade and currently co-teaches an advanced practice therapy cohort at Anam Cara Therapies. Her publications focus on bullying in schools and the professional use of self in trauma-informed care. She holds a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University.
A practicing Buddhist for over 14 years, Dr. Sy is a member of Clouds in Water Zen Center, where she co-facilitates the BIPOC sitting group and brings her contemplative practice into every dimension of her personal and professional life.
Minkara Tezet
Minkara Tezet, the Griot of Psychology and Psychiatry, is a Community Fellow and faculty member at the Cultural Wellness Center. Minkara’s Community Fellowship is centered on the exploration and cultivation of cultural calling, work, personal gifts, and experiential knowledge. His wisdom is deeply rooted in his study of the African System of Thought and commitment to Cultural Self-study. As a facilitator, guide, and instructor, Minkara crafts transformative spaces for individuals and communities.
His work includes Maps to Wellness, Cultural Self-Study, Transformational Leadership Coaching, Cultural Consultation, Community Truth-Telling Healing Rituals and Ceremonies, Rites of Passage Classes and birthing support for fathers.
