From the Library of Congress, featuring our CEO and President of the Board Rev. Joanne M. Braxton, PhD: "At the Crossroads of Health and Spirituality."

"The 'Tree of Life' project examines the ways in which people of African descent create pathways to achieve resiliency and sustain health through their responses to the legacies and impacts of slavery and structural inequality. Scholars suggest that spirituality emerges as a protective factor for physical and social well-being (Chao 2010; Crowther, et. al. 2004). What can be learned from the legacies and traditions of African American communities as sources of survival and healing for body, mind and spirit? What particular challenges do African American civic and religious leaders face in the pursuit of health for their communities and themselves? How might answers to these questions shape clinical practice and the future training of physicians, ministers, and spiritual activists? I offer three case studies that utilize unique documents at the Library of Congress to help answer these questions."

Read the full interview here.