Honoring Legacy & Navigating Loss: A Journey Through Homegoing Practices and Grief Rituals
Join us for Session 1 of the Future Ancestors Community Learning Series. It’s a nurturing and intentional space designed to honor the legacies of our ancestors while acknowledging the complexities of grief, loss, and healing that can arise when uncovering our family stories.
As Black folx, our histories are often intertwined with joy and resilience, but also with silences, unknowns, and unexpected discoveries. Whether you are deeply familiar with your family history or navigating gaps in your knowledge due to adoption, separation, or historical trauma, this session invites you to explore how we can still create meaningful connections to our lineage and heal through remembrance and collective care.
Part 1: Remembering & Reimagining Homegoing Ceremonial Practices (10:30AM - 12:00PM)
We begin with Remembering & Reimagining Homegoing Ceremonial Practices, led by Dr. Erica Xavier-Beauvoir, also known as “Yeye Oba.” Together, we’ll learn remembrance practices that have long been sources of strength and connection for Black folx.
Yeye Oba will guide us in reflecting on how we can create personal and meaningful ceremonies that honor our ancestors, known or unknown, and those we’ve lost. Whether you are familiar with traditional remembrance practices or looking to reimagine rituals that feel personal to you, this space is open for everyone to explore the legacies we carry and the ones we wish to build. This session introduces key aspects of ancestral veneration, incorporating indigenous technologies, natural burial options, and environmentally sustainable homegoing practices.
Part 2: Grief, Death, & Working with Grace
(12:15 PM - 1:45 PM)
Our afternoon session, Grief, Death, and Working with Grace, led by gina Breedlove, offers a safe space to process the emotions that surface as we reconnect with or uncover our family histories. Grief, whether for people we knew, those we never had a chance to know, or for lost connections and untold stories, is a complex and deeply personal journey.
gina will guide us through sound healing practices and meditations to help us navigate these emotions with tenderness and grace. Drawing on wisdom from bell hooks' Facing and Feeling Loss, this session will focus on how we can honor our grief while finding strength in community and collective healing.
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Throughout the day, we will create space for the full range of emotions that come with exploring our histories — whether we are uncovering joyful memories, confronting painful truths, or navigating gaps in our stories. This session offers gentle guidance and community support for those seeking to honor their ancestors, process grief, or simply explore new ways of connecting to their family legacy.
MEET YOUR HOSTS
The Earthseed Black Family Archive is a community of Black folks committed to preserving their family and cultural legacy in an effort to heal and create liberated futures.
kinkofa is the first-ever digital family history platform dedicated to helping Black folx uncover, document, and preserve their family stories with dignity and pride.
This event is FREE to attend. However, if you feel moved to support the ongoing work of Earthseed Black Family Archive Project and/or kinkofa in preserving Black family histories and cultural legacies, we invite you to make a donation. Your contribution helps us continue to create spaces for healing, remembrance, and community care.
Make a donation to Earthseed Black Family Archive Project