This week's episode of Welcome to the (AfAM) House explores traditions of healing amongst Black people in the United States. Our guests for this episode are Dr. Deidre Cooper Owens, Thema Haida, Hanifa Nayo, and Leonne Tanis. Through their rich knowledge, we delve into the stories of the earliest known Black healers, Black women, and move through history to investigate how Black people have retained traditions that keep them healthy and cared for.
Guest Speaker Bios
Dr. Deidre Cooper Owens is the Charles and Linda Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine and Director of the Humanities in Medicine program. She is also an Organization of American Historians’ (OAH) Distinguished Lecturer. Her first book, Medical Bondage: Race, Gender and the Origins of American Gynecology (UGA Press, 2017) won the 2018 Darlene Clark Hine Book Award from the OAH as the best book written in African American women’s and gender history. Professor Cooper Owens is also the Director of the Program in African American History at the Library Company of Philadelphia, the country’s oldest cultural institution. Stay connected and learn more about her by visiting her website.
Thema Haida is the co-founding Practitioner of One Village Healing. is a certified Usui/Holy Fire Reiki Master Teacher, a 200hr Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Instructor, and a certified Advanced Metaphysical Healing Practitioner. While holding a space of non-judgement and care, Thema combines Reiki with intuitive energy assessments to facilitate and guide people on their healing journey to wholeness. Her practice as a energy healer and yoga instructor has focused on supporting community activists, artists, healers, and people of color- the people that hold and bring life to communities that are most affected by racism, systematic oppression and inequality. .
Hanifa Nayo Washington is the Principle Organizer and co-founding Practitioner of One Village Healing. She is an award winning cultural activist, storyteller, singer songwriter, performing artist, and a certified Usui/Holy Fire Reiki Master Practitioner who graduated from Beloit College in 2001 with a B.A. in Communications & Russian & Soviet Studies. Hanifa is a former Arts Fellow of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund and currently works with The Word Poetry, Co-Creating Effective and Inclusive Organizations (CEIO), serves as an Intern for Beyond Diversity 101, and is a leader of the New Haven Community Leadership Program. As a cultural activist Hanifa views her creativity as a radical tool for liberation, healing, and community building. Most recently Hanifa was awarded a Phenomenal Woman in the Arts Award by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven.
Leonne Tanis is a change agent, evolving leader, former finance executive and current student midwife. Leonne Tanis left her 15 year financial career to pursue her calling in midwifery. Leonne’s mission is to change the birthing profession for birthing people especially black women and persons and people within the LGBTQIA community. Leonne believes that birthing care should be centered around the person giving birth and her/his/their chosen support structure. Leonne is a Haitian-American with an engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Master’s of Science in Nursing candidate at the Yale School of Nursing a Board member of the National Association to Advance Black Birth.
This episode is hosted, written and produced by Shantrice King.
