How Do Unprocessed Legacies of the Past Affect Democracy Today?

On March 27th, 2023, in preparation for the U.S. Summit for Democracy and in collaboration with the Global Democracy Coalition, Think Peace’s Co-Executive Director Antti Pentikainen moderated a panel discussion entitled “How Do Unprocessed Legacies of the Past Affect Democracy Today?” Dr. Gail Christopher, the Executive Director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity and former Vice President of the WK Kellogg Foundation, and Donald (Del) Laverdure, Esq., former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Indian Affairs and esteemed member of the Crow Nation tribe shared their perspectives on the role of racial healing in enabling a wounded society to reimagine itself as a nation. The panelists discussed different communities’ generational trauma caused by systemic violence and colonial legacies, and a nation's capability to unite in a way that values the contributions of all humans of different backgrounds and cultures.