Black Grief, Community, and Connection During the Holidays

Black Grief, Community, and Connection During the Holidays

Thursday, December 4 | 12pm-1:30pm (EST) Virtual Training (1 .5CE)

Use Code: "HUCEU20" for 20% Discount
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Facilitators:

Jihan Eley, LCSW-C, LICSW
Grief and Trauma Therapist
Program Overview:

The holiday season often amplifies grief, especially within Black families carrying the weight of personal loss and generational trauma. This one-hour session explores how grief is experienced and transformed in Black communities through practices of connection, ritual, and storytelling. Drawing from scholarly research on Black grief and bereavement, alongside the wisdom of contemporary Black thinkers and healers, we will examine grief not just as an individual experience but as a communal and embodied one.

Through conversation and reflection prompts in the chat, participants will consider how movement, story, song, ritual, and collective care can help transform grief into connection. We will also explore how continuing bonds theory intersects with African diasporic traditions that honor ancestors and community memory, providing pathways for healing during a time of year often marked by both joy and pain.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Identify cultural and historical dimensions of grief within Black families, including the impact of systemic oppression and collective loss.
• Describe how grief during the holiday season uniquely affects Black communities, particularly in contexts of family gatherings, rituals, and remembrance.
• Explore the role of community-based practices, such as storytelling, music, ritual, and movement to transform grief and foster resilience.
• Integrate insights from Black grief researchers and healing practitioners to reimagine grief as a site of connection rather than isolation.
• Reflect (via prompts) on their own relationship to grief, community, and holidays, and consider how they might apply these insights in their families or professional settings

Who Should Attend?

• Social workers and case managers
• Counselors, therapists, and psychologists
• Nurses and community health practitioners
• Chaplains, clergy, and spiritual care providers
• Public health and behavioral health professionals
• Educators and student support staff
• Grief support specialists and peer facilitators

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Host or Publisher Howard University School of Social Work