Our panel will center Black women healing through ancient practices shared across generations. Because these practices are not critical components of the mainstream canon, they are not included in conventional sources, making it difficult to research. We will discuss ways Black people can access healing through nontraditional ways of researching and sources: storytelling; ritual; in the kitchen, table talk, cooking; church, prayer, prayer groups, prayer closets, ceremonial practices; and nature, the environment which includes gardening, outdoors, walking. Our goal is to offer Black people the possibility of an Afrocentric future that adopts these practices in consideration of Sankofa and nommo.
Black women farmers comprise just 0.65% of all agricultural producers in North Carolina, yet their voices offer insights into resilience, representation, and advocacy within agriculture. This session highlights findings from a digital storytelling project centering the experiences of 10 Black women farmers. Attendees will explore how ancestral roots and a commitment to future generations drive these farmers despite systemic challenges. Through storytelling, this research disrupts conventional notions of scholarship, offering a participant-led approach to equity and inclusion in agriculture. The session will engage attendees in reflecting on the power of lived experiences to inspire policy, representation, and future research.
This study examines the intersection of Sankofa, Afrofuturism, and womanism through storytelling within the African diaspora. Rooted in the Akan principle of Sankofa, which emphasizes learning from the past to navigate the present and future, storytelling is explored as a tool for preserving cultural memory and imagining new possibilities. Integrating Afrofuturism and womanism, the study highlights how Black women use narratives to resist oppression and empower their communities. By analyzing personal and communal stories, this research underscores storytelling’s role in identity, resilience, and transformation, offering insights into its cultural and political significance for shaping inclusive futures.
