Authors , who met at 91����Ƶ (91����Ƶ), launched Gather at the Table at 91����Ƶ in early October 2012.  A couple of weeks after this launch, the two were interviewed for “Race Talk” with on MSNBC. This appearance that boosted the sales of their book from around #40,000 to #149 on Amazon.com, with the book listed among Amazon’s “Movers & Shakers.” Random House also recommended the book for its list of new freshman-year readings.

The book uses a joint journey through 27 states over three years ­– visiting ancestral grounds, courthouses, plantations, and civil rights sites – as a framework for exploring “the journey toward understanding and peace and reconciliation . . . understanding how slavery affected the psyche of everyone who still lives in America today and how it informs the social structures that govern our lives,” as Morgan explained in a J for “Weekday” on KUOW, Seattle’s NPR station.

“I think what we were trying to do is to look at things from both sides of the equation as a black person and a white person, and a man and a woman, and people who were in opposition in a lot of ways,” she said.

Morgan is a black woman from Chicago’s South Side, a descendant of slaves on both sides of her family. She speaks of living much of her life with a deep fear of white people. DeWolf is a white man from rural Oregon, a descendant of a slave-trading dynasty.

Opposition to Reconciliation

“The intense and non-trusting relationships were so very fragile and suspect at the beginning of the journey but gradually they were able to begin to reach out to each other in order to understand their misunderstandings regarding each race and reach a mutual respect and love,” posted a reviewer on amazon.com on Dec. 20, 2012. That reviewer was one of nine, all giving the book a five-star rating as of Jan. 9, 2013.

Morgan and DeWolf met at Coming to the Table, a program launched by 91����Ƶ’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding in 2006 with the hopes of bringing together descendants of slaveholders and enslaved people to explore history, uncover truths, build relationships, promote healing, and inspire action for a more just society.

The new book credits teachings by both STAR (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience) and Coming to the Table,  each developed out of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at 91����Ƶ. As a result, the authors are dedicating part of the book’s royalties to 91����Ƶ’s work in this field.

Hope Springs at 91����Ƶ

“The actions of one or two people rarely make a significant difference in the world,” wrote Morgan and DeWolf. “But the commitment of many people, acting individually and collectively, has great potential.

“Hope springs when people take the STAR training: when members of Coming to the Table congregate on a conference call to discuss restorative justice, genealogy, or relationship building, when six women in Seattle create a weekly ‘Healing Together’ workshop, and when a man in Virginia inspires people in his community to explore the history and impact of slavery through Negro spirituals and to raise their voices together in song.

“This is our work,” they added, “to repair unhealed wounds from the past and challenge systems that remain unjust and either dismantle them or work to heal the damage they continue to cause.”

The Morgan/DeWolf book tour includes presentations at universities, churches, musuems, libraries, and book-selling venues around the country. To invite the authors to speak or to learn of their scheduled appearances, visit .

In mid-April, 2013, 91����Ƶ will be hosting a workshop pertinent to Morgan’s and DeWolf’s story, titled “Transforming Historical Harms.”  The two-day training will provide tools for analyzing the legacies and aftermath of historical trauma, and will examine the beliefs, narratives and structures that perpetuate that trauma. It will also cover strategies and practices for addressing historical trauma, including facing history, making connections, healing wounds, and taking action. to the public.

For 10 years, – has been helping to break that cycle.

A February celebration at 91����Ƶ marked a decade for this program that emerged at from the ashes of Sept. 11.

A model that works

The STAR model has proven effective and is evolving for specific populations reported founding director Carolyn E. Yoder and current director . The two shared stories of transformation and future plans during the February celebration. University leadership, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding staff, STAR alumni and community members were also present during the event.

Both Yoder and Barge shared that previously living in international settings had laid a foundation for their work with STAR.

“When I worked in Central America during the 1980s we often used the book ‘Where there is no doctor,'” shared Barge. “I listened to my neighbors who were traumatized by war. I wished we had a reference called ‘Where there is no psychologist.’ STAR has become that resource.”

STAR training is applicable to people from all walks of life whether they have experienced a profound loss in a natural disaster, war, or are carrying hurts from something on a smaller scale such as a church conflict. STAR participants come to training sessions with questions as varied as: “How do I help people in my country deal with the earthquake?” to “I’m surrounded by conflict. How do I keep from burning out?”

“By offering a safe space to address trauma which is often the ‘elephant in the room,'” said Barge, STAR is making a difference on an individual and collective level.

Breaking boundaries

The STAR model breaks down disciplinary boundaries, melding the principles of restorative justice, conflict transformation, trauma healing, and   faith into better practices for positive change. The week-long training raises awareness of the links between unhealed trauma and cycles of violence, along with ways to  break those links and thereby emerge from the cycles.

Barge and Yoder see barriers break down between people from opposing “sides” as a result of STAR training and hear reports of “increased resilience” for people working in high stress situations.

“The information on the links between resilience and addressing trauma is very helpful to me in understanding how to stay healthy in the midst of a stressful work environment,” wrote a humanitarian aid organization worker from Syria after a recent STAR training.

As STAR’s first director, Yoder facilitated over 50 trainings with about 800 people from 60 countries during STAR’s first five years. STAR has now trained more than 7,000 people worldwide.

Today trainings take place in Harrisonburg, Va., across the United States and all over the world in places like Mexico City, Lebanon and Haiti. The material is easily adapted to different contexts and is effective whether taught outside under the trees, in a well-equipped conference room, or in a small church hallway. STAR trainers come with rich experience in different cultures and contexts; some offer the training in Spanish.

What next?

The foundational STAR trainings – STAR Level I – are offered both on and off campus and can be taken for continuing education credits. STAR Level II trainings or “specialized” seminars are now available for those who have completed the first training and want additional tools for working with particular audiences. So far, these include , and , a program that helps communities support veterans.

Plans are underway for the development of a certification process for those who want to become STAR trainers. A 38-page booklet, “” explores the program’s astonishing growth. The teachings of STAR are also outlined in the booklet, which is available as an e-book at .

To learn more, explore STAR training dates or register for a training, visit the website at , call 540-432-4651 or email star@emu.edu.

“,” will be taught 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Feb. 6-7, by Amy Czajkowski, former director of Coming to the Table, and Ann Holmes Redding, a Seattle based religious leader who is part of Coming to the Table and has developed materials for them.

Strategies and practices covered during the seminar will address healing historical harms (HHH), including; facing history, making connections, healing wounds and taking action.

“The training will present the HHH frameworks, which are drawn from STAR models and the experience of Coming to the Table,” said Czajkowski. “The concept of historical trauma explains that traumatic responses to events originating decades or centuries earlier can be passed between generations, and necessitate a more comprehensive analysis and healing approach than issues originating in one’s lifetime.”

In addition, the seminar will train participants in the theoretical underpinnings of HHH framework, give examples of HHH practices in different settings, and provide opportunities for participants to work with their own case studies to analyze and create a healing approach specific to their contexts.

Cost of the two-day training period is $175.

For more information, including partial scholarships and continuing education units, contact Kate Bergey at kate.bergey@emu.edu or 540-432-4996.