Lucretia Carter Berry, PhD • January 27, 2026
There are moments when I’m reminded why What LIES Between Us exists — not as a curriculum pulled from theory, but as a living offering shaped by years of my own healing.
I designed this course from my personal journey: from education to revelation to transformation, and liberation. And I mean years – years of learning – years of questioning – years of disentangling myself from harmful lies, inherited narratives, and discordant practices imposed by unjust systems and then normalized through institutions. My journey was intentional. It required courage — especially the courage to question beliefs that had been framed as “just the way things are,” but in truth upheld a hierarchical caste system based on ancestry and skin color.
Along the way, I learned something unsettling: when I uphold such norms—in mindset or in practice — I am doing the quiet work of oppression.
Let me make this tangible.
My hair.
For generations, textured Black hair has been marginalized, politicized, and criminalized. It has been deemed unprofessional, inappropriate, morally suspect. There were explicit policies – written and unwritten — against wearing our hair as it naturally grows from our heads. Straight hair was the beauty standard. Straight hair was safety.
So I straightened mine.
For years, I chemically altered my coils out of obligation, out of fear, out of the belief that this was the price of access. But on my healing journey, I began to see the truth more clearly. Each time I applied toxic chemicals to “kill” my coils, I wasn’t just complying with a standard—I was co-signing a lie. I was giving power to a narrative that said my inherent beauty was deficient. I was denying my own dignity.
I remember asking, What if no one hires me because my hair isn’t straight? And yes—that was a real and reasonable fear. Black people have lost jobs, opportunities, and safety because white supremacy ideology politicized our hair.
A wise person said to me, “If they can’t accept your natural beauty, then you don’t want to work for them.”
That was a turning point.
I imagined myself with big, coily hair—and I went for it. Back then, choosing to stop chemically straightening my hair was an outward expression of an inner healing that was already underway. One small but mighty way I began quietly walking away from racialized chains.
I share this story because What LIES Between Us is filled with moments like this—not just mine, but the kinds participants uncover for themselves. So I’m always a little baffled when I get this question:
“Is this course also for Black people?”
I pause every time.
I am a whole Black woman standing in front of folks, openly naming my healing. The design, pedagogy, and methodology of this course are inspired by my own journey. And yet the assumption lingers that racial healing work is only for people racialized as white.
No.
This course is for everyone.
Because everyone racialized in this society has been shaped by lies. Because everyone has absorbed messages meant to shrink, distort, or divide. Because healing, language, emotional awareness, and liberation are not things any group should be deprived of.
What LIES Between Us offers:
- A psychologically safe space to tell the truth
- Multi-racial community grounded in dignity
- Tools for emotional awareness (not guilt)
- Language to name harm without being consumed by it
- A root structure that supports lasting growth
This is not about blame. It’s about becoming free.
And I’d love to invite you into this next in-person journey, in partnership with Davidson College’s Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) and the Community Engaged Faculty Fellows program:
What LIES Between Us: Fostering First Steps Toward Racial Healing
Facilitated by Dr. Lucretia Carter Berry
5 Mondays: February 2, 9, 16, 23, March 2
6:30–8:00 PM ET
Davidson Town Hall, 251 South St, Davidson, NC 28036
If something in you is stirring — curiosity, discomfort, longing — that’s information. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to begin.
Lucretia Carter Berry, PhD, is a distinguished author, educator, and speaker, as well as the visionary founder of Brownicity, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering education designed to inspire a culture of true belonging and justice for all. Lucretia was also a valued contributor to incourage.me, where she shared her insights and wisdom on topics of faith, resilience, and personal growth. Through her books, Teaching for Justice and Belonging – A Journey for Educators and Parents (2022), Hues of You – An Activity Book for Learning About the Skin You Are In (2022), and What LIES Between Us – Fostering First Steps Toward Racial Healing (2016), her impactful TED Talk, and her commitment to building just communities, Lucretia encourages meaningful engagement that transcends boundaries, fostering personal development, resilience, and the transformative capacity within each of us.
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