Healing Wall Panel 5
Healing Wall Panel 5 dedicated on April 26, 2023, in Briggs Building
Healing Wall is an interactive project conceptualized by Detroit artist and retired educator, Carole Morisseau,
to remember individuals killed or harmed by racial violence. The University community submitted ribbons
with the names of those to be remembered.
To Name Is to Heal
It is important to acknowledge that victims of racial violence were loved by families, friends, and members of their communities. Each panel of Healing Wall is made up of 1,200 to 1,500 collected ribbons, and each ribbon represents an individual prayer. Healing Wall Panel 5 celebrates their lives, not their deaths, and is dedicated to the impact they had across the nation.
The creation of Panel 5 began at Detroit Mercy's Celebrate Spirit in 2020, where the campus-wide collaborative project called the community to join in solidarity by naming those killed in unjust systems. The community contributed ribbons of remembrance that will endure as a reminder of the need to work together in advocacy, action and healing.
Healing Wall Panel 5’s new home in Briggs Building acknowledges the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences' commitment to being a place of education, belonging and healing and affirms that diversity is our strength.
Media Coverage
Project Information
Main Points
- Healing Wall Panel 5 draws attention to systemic violence against marginalized communities worldwide
- The project was inspired by the people of Salvador, Brazil, who would tie a ribbon to the fence outside of Igreja Nosso Senhor do Bonfim and make three wishes
- It aims to shine a light on fatal victims of systems of violence and oppression
About the Artist
- Carole Morisseau is a local Detroit artist and retired educator at Cass Technical High School
- Inspired by her travels in Brazil through the Fulbright Hays Group Project Abroad to Brazil in 2018, Morisseau created Healing Wall as a way of honoring the fallen
- Morisseau's commission for the University is the fifth panel of Healing Wall Panel 5 since the project's inception
Community Engagement Activity
- Write the name of an individual killed by racial or systemic violence or injustice. This can be someone you love, know, or know of.
- Talk about the person's life connecting them to family and community.
- Name the system(s) related to their death.
- Write an action step or policy you would like to see happen that addresses systemic racism or racial violence.
The Interactive Assignment in Action
Renady Hightower, Ph.D., associate professor, Health Services Administration, participated in 2018 Fulbright Hays Group Project Abroad to Brazil with artist Carole Morisseau. Given the weight of COVID-19 and its impact on the world and how social isolation generated an increase in mental health issues and needs, she incorporated the “Healing Wall” into the classroom by offering students extra credit if they decided to participate in the interactive exhibit. This decision was made to not only encourage students to participate, but also to be immersed within the University community during a trying and tumultuous time. The responses from students were enlightening and revealed so much that they were carrying, feeling and thinking that was hidden. Read more about this activity in the article Attending to the Mental Health Needs of Students Using an Interactive Assignment.
Celebrating the Dedication
Thank you to all who attended the April 26 dedication of Healing Wall Panel 5. Pictured below are event coordinator Lara Wasner, artist Carole Morisseau, musician Wanjira Markita Moore, Dean Jocelyn Boryczka, student readers and members of the University community.
Contact Information
Lara Wasner - Director of Language and Cultural Training
313-993-1191
wasnerle@udmercy.edu