As the world prepares to mark Juneteenth—an annual commemoration of the end of chattel slavery in the United States—the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing (GCRH) has issued a powerful declaration urging Africans on the continent and across the diaspora to center healing in the ongoing journey toward justice.
The Centering Healing Declaration, released today, calls on Global Africans to confront and recover from the deeply rooted psychological, emotional, and spiritual injuries inflicted by centuries of enslavement and colonization. These harms, the declaration emphasizes, remain largely unmeasured and untreated, yet continue to affect the collective well-being of people of African descent worldwide.
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The declaration emerged from a groundbreaking summit convened in Accra, Ghana, by GCRH, in partnership with the African Union (AU) and Justice and Repair, and hosted by the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF). The international gathering brought together participants from Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, South America, and Europe, all united by the AU’s 2025 Theme of the Year: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”
At the heart of the declaration is a call to action centered on three core insights:
- Centuries of Anti-Blackness Have Resulted in Unhealed Behaviors
These include learned mistrust, internalized inferiority, and the adoption of values that prioritize individualism and non-African worldviews—behaviors that undermine collective health, solidarity, and the fight for reparations. - Collective Healing is Essential for Progress
The declaration stresses that moving forward requires communities to consciously shift from “unhealed” to “healed” behaviors—healthy, African-centered responses that undo internalized damage and promote well-being. - Trust is the Foundation of Healing
Rebuilding trust among African people, fractured by generations of division and oppression, is crucial for collective recovery and mobilization.
In addition to these insights, the declaration outlines a three-part plan of action to construct a global infrastructure for healing:
- Dismantle the Myth of White Supremacy
Build a movement that challenges the false hierarchy of human value and the long-standing lie of Black inferiority that has dehumanized and disadvantaged African people for generations. - Establish a Global Community of Practice
Create spaces where Africans and people of African descent can engage in collective healing through culturally grounded processes, knowledge-sharing, and mutual support. - Engage African Leadership in the Healing Agenda
Call upon AU Heads of State and Government to join with global African civil society in advancing healing as a necessary path to reparatory justice and fulfillment of the 2025 AU theme.
As Juneteenth draws near, the declaration offers a bold and unifying vision: freedom not just from bondage, but from the psychological chains left behind. To join the movement and learn more, visit https://gcrh.org/who-we-are/.
