Virtual Healing Experiences in a Dual Pandemic

Abstract When racism persists without efforts to mitigate its negative impacts, it can lead to racial trauma. The Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) framework, experienced in person, is a powerful and reliable way to mitigate the harmful effects of racism. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the potential of virtual environments. Relying on the TRHT framework, Virtual Healing Experiences (VHE) are facilitated in virtual spaces using a video conferencing platform for community members to process and heal through restorative storytelling. Virtual Healing Experiences were used by the community of Kalamazoo, Michigan, for racial healing. This chapter explores the critical elements of VHE, participants’ experiences, and the potential of VHE to sustain racial healing in communities, creating a safe, accessible, and sacred space offering reassurance and confidence in forging a path forward. This chapter illustrates how virtual spaces such as VHE can be made sacred by including key practices, such as Touchstones and virtual meeting etiquette, to maintain space where individuals can be vulnerable as they reflect and share their personal stories in order to heal.