“A theory in the flesh means one where the physical realities of our lives - our skin color, the land or concrete we grew up on, our sexual longings - all fused to create a politic born out of necessity.”
—This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color
Our Vision
We envision and work towards a world where collective healing and justice are at the center of health and well-being.
We uplift, share, and produce knowledge and healing practices that affirm the inherent wholeness and humanity of each person, especially those that have faced violence and/or have been deliberately silenced by medical institutions.
We critique, interrogate, and dismantle hegemonic frameworks in Western medicine, public health, and epidemiology that currently frame Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, gender-diverse, disabled, and communities of intersectional identities as inherently diseased, broken, and in a perpetual state of “health disparity.”
The Institute for Healing and Justice in Medicine is a refuge grounded in critical race theory, Black liberation studies, Third World and transnational feminism, community organizing, ethnic studies, somatics, decolonization studies, Healing Justice, and Ancestral Healing.
We follow the tradition of countless women of color scholar-activists who embrace that the way we move through the world, our personal and professional lives, are inherently political—a “theory in the flesh.”
By centering and integrating these perspectives with the strengths of Western medicine, we are building a new legacy and epistemology built on the work of generations and ancestors before us. We work towards a new medicine where all forms of injustice are acknowledged, addressed, and dismantled in all their forms. We work towards a world where each person is able to be healed, cared for, and loved.
Our Guiding Values & Mission
Guided by the values of healing, community, and justice, the Institute for Healing and Justice in Medicine is an interdisciplinary hub - a community, a research epicenter, and a dialogue space.
We center around publishing and uplifting perspectives (narratives, experiences, research, and other works) related to healing, social justice, and community activism in Western medicine and public health. We foster space for vibrant dialogue and debate, consciousness-raising, and movement building, seeking to sharpen our collective and develop methods to critique structures of power in medicine through community scholarship and solidarity.
We achieve our mission through (1) interdisciplinary research working group initiatives, (2) a peer-reviewed publication, (3) a justice resource hub, and (4) community healing gatherings.