“Telling our stories takes time and space.”—Healing Beats Session Participant

“We are all connected. We are all ancestors.”—Healing Beats Session Participant

Over the past few months VocalEssence held Healing Beats Sessions led by Melanie DeMore at five sites around the Twin Cities. Melanie DeMore has expertise in the traditions of the Gullah persons from the Georgia Sea Islands as well as experience leading community healing sessions that encourage dialogue and the sharing of stories across generations and cultures. VocalEssence partnered with the St. Paul Police Department and two Minneapolis Alternative High Schools (Longfellow and Minneapolis Academy and Career Center) to bring these sessions to life.

A total of 210 participants attended these sessions. Each session included Gullah stick pounding, singing, Gullah stick decorating, and dialogue with people of the communities where the workshops were held. All participants got to keep their pounding sticks and were invited to join VocalEssence on stage during the VocalEssence WITNESS: Leading with Love concert.

The participants shared their reactions to the sessions through surveys and the results speak for themselves. The following word cloud shows the most used words participants used to describe the experience.