Breathing Between Burdens: Fatherhood and Black Grief
Father’s Day can be an especially difficult time for those of us mourning fathers, father figures and ancestors. Our society struggles with grief literacy. Often language eludes us when we talk about our pain and loss. And it’s especially difficult to find brave and safe spaces for Black folks to grieve. While society tends to disregard our grief, for Black youth and others with marginalized identities grief not only goes unacknowledged, but is often penalized. At this gathering we are centering the Black experience of grief and fatherhood, we invite people of all backgrounds who want to listen, learn, and witness, and to expand their knowledge.
This is an opportunity to prepare for Father’s Day with grief experts and with each other. The discussion includes both personal storytelling and testimony and practical tools to manage anxiety and sorrow, while also ensuring a space for joy and purpose.
What acts of service, mindful activities, and forms of spiritual and creative expression might aid us as we approach Father’s Day?
How do we show up not only for bereaved adult children, but also parents who have experienced child loss?
How can we support people with complicated relationships with their fathers and father figures? And people who are grieving non-death losses such as parents living with dementia or mental illness?
Speakers
Tashel C. Bordere, PhD, CT is an internationally-known scholar, author, speaker, consultant, and PI at the Center for Family Policy and Research at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Bordere is the Immediate Past President of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG) Advisory Board member for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and past ADEC Board Member. She completed a Forward Promise Fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) focused on healing among Black youth. Dr. Bordere’s research focuses on cultural trauma, stigmatized loss (gun violence), suffocated grief (a term she coined), and Black youth and family grief and rituals. She has received numerous awards including the Dr. Ronald K. Barrett Award (ADEC), Excellence in Engagement in Outreach (MU), and the Outstanding Faculty Mentorship to underrepresented students award (MU). Dr. Bordere has done keynotes, workshops, trainings, and published research on inequities in loss and culturally resonant practices. She co-edited and co-wrote the Handbook of Social Justice Issues in Loss and Grief (Routledge). She developed SHED Grief Tools for Schools. Dr. Bordere has been featured in national/international media.
James Harris is the author of Man Just Express Yourself: An Interactive Planner Guide for MEN, Young and Old and founder of Men to Heal, a movement to bring awareness to the stigma surrounding mental health among boys, men, and underserved populations. He owns The HEALing Hub which offers outpatient therapy, massages, yoga, mindfulness, seminars, and toiletry, school supply, and hunger drives.
At age five James lost his father. At age eight his mother began to have strokes and epilepsy and he and his siblings were placed into the Virginia foster care system. As a ward of the State, he was required to attend weekly counseling sessions, typically run by older white male therapists. James found those sessions unengaging and felt that the therapists could not relate to the emotional and cultural issues he faced. This unfulfilling experience followed James into his adult life. James had eight years of service in the U.S. Army with two deployments, one to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, and an honorable discharge. Upon his return, he again tried therapy and his experience was the same.
https://www.facebook.com/mentohealMentalHealth/
https://www.instagram.com/men_to_heal/
Three-time Emmy winning Anchor and Reporter for ABC Chicago, Jasmine Minor (moderator) has passionately covered social justice stories since the start of her career. The former Division 1 tennis player began her career working for 72 and Sunny, one of the world’s premier advertising agencies. She quickly realized she wanted to transform her skills of storytelling and creativity into giving a voice for the voiceless.
After graduating in the top one percent of her class from Northwestern University with a Masters in Journalism, her stories have centered around culture and racial disparities, showcasing a balance of truth and joy of often overlooked communities.
In light of the Black Lives Matter movement that took off in 2020, she began her own media consulting company, RISE Productions, to help small minority business owners play a larger role in their industries. In 2023, her work was honored with the prestigious Gracie Award - a global award given to women across various platforms.
Jasmine is also the co-founder of the Minor Legacy Fund, a $5,000 scholarship named after her late father that is given to a female tennis player in the Midwest. She wanted to follow the footsteps of her dad to create a path for future tennis stars to chase their dreams without limits.
https://www.facebook.com/jasmineminortv/
https://www.instagram.com/jasminenminor/
Dr. John Onwuchekwa is an Atlanta-based author, entrepreneur, and advocate for grief literacy. He holds a Doctorate of Ministry in Church Leadership and Community Witness from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. He's one of the founding pastors of Cornerstone Church in the Historic West End of Atlanta. He is the host of the Four in the Morning Podcast. Founder of ventures like Portrait Coffee and The Crete Collective, John has been instrumental in endeavors that establish new narratives, particularly for Black and Brown communities. Tying all these plot lines together is John’s desire to see both individuals and communities thrive. John has partnered with the Gathering Spot to talk about all the intersections of culture, grief, and loss and will be on the We Go On tour which mirrors the name of his latest book We Go On: Finding Life’s Purpose in Life’s Sorrows and Joys.
https://www.facebook.com/MrJawnO/
https://www.instagram.com/jawn_o
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and – at our own pace – actively channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
