Reclaiming Memory, Restoring Identity: Africentric, Human-Centered Design for Healing In the African Diaspora

Background and Purpose:

The enduring psychosocial and cultural consequences of the Maafa continue to shape the lived experiences of Black communities across the African diaspora, manifesting in intergenerational trauma, identity disruption, and community and cultural disconnection. Despite growing attention to historical trauma in social work, there remains a critical gap in rigorously examined, culturally grounded interventions that center Africentric epistemologies and collective healing. Responding to the SSWR 2027 theme—advancing research in service of democracy—this study investigates how an Africentric, arts-based intervention can foster cultural and identity restoration, communal healing, appreciation for ritual practices and participatory engagement as foundations for democratic inclusion. Research questions include: (1) How does participation in an Africentric, arts-based intervention influence identity coherence and community belonging among Black participants? and (2) How can participatory methodologies reconfigure social work research to center Black knowledge systems and advance racial justice?

Methods:
This qualitative study utilizes Human-Centered Design as a rigorous, community-engaged methodology to examine the Maafa Intensive Experience (MIE), a co-created intervention developed with Black artists, educators, faith leaders, and community stakeholders in New York City. Participants (N=XX) engaged in iterative phases of inspiration, ideation, and implementation, incorporating Africentric frameworks (Sankofa, Ubuntu, Serudj Ta) through ritual, storytelling, performance, and symbolic cultural practices. Data sources included semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and reflective artifacts. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis with iterative coding, peer debriefing, and member checking to ensure rigor, credibility, and cultural validity.

Results:
Findings demonstrate three primary outcomes: (1) restoration of cultural identity through reconnection to ancestral knowledge and diasporic history; (2) collective healing facilitated by embodied, arts-based practices that enabled emotional expression and meaning-making; and (3) strengthened community cohesion and belonging through shared ritual and co-creation. Participants identified the intervention as transformative, emphasizing the role of art as both a culturally resonant healing modality and a mechanism for reclaiming agency. The participatory design process disrupted hierarchical research norms, positioning participants as co-creators of knowledge and reinforcing culturally grounded pathways to healing and empowerment.

Conclusions and Implications:
This study advances BADFR scholarship by offering an empirically grounded, Africentric model of research and intervention that centers Black cultural knowledge, lived experience, and collective repair. Findings highlight the potential of arts-based, participatory methodologies to address the enduring impacts of historical trauma while strengthening community capacity and democratic participation. Implications for social work research include the need to expand methodological frameworks that are culturally congruent, community-driven, and oriented toward liberation and systemic transformation. This work positions social work research as a catalyst for racial justice and the co-creation of more equitable, inclusive, and democratically engaged communities.