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Reimagining Pan African Spirituality with Dr. Charlene Desir

Liberating Human Spirit through Pan African Perspectives

Dr. Desir will aim to explore the core tenets of Pan-African spirituality, with a focus on Haitian Vodou, highlighting its guiding principles and healing practices.

Pan-African religions and spirituality have long been marginalized and misrepresented, often labeled as demonic or inferior to traditional world religions. However, as global conversations increasingly emphasize inclusivity, there's a growing recognition of the importance of Pan-African religions and spirituality in shaping a more liberated world where the human spirit thrives. This presentation aims to explore the core tenets of Pan-African spirituality, with a focus on Haitian Vodou, highlighting its guiding principles and healing practices. Furthermore, it will examine the implications of Pan-African spirituality for fields like education and psychology, which have historically been dominated by Christian Western Eurocentric perspectives. By grounding its praxis in the notion of liberation as fundamental to human existence, this presentation seeks to inspire a reimagining of spirituality that honors diverse cultural traditions and promotes holistic well-being.

Dr. Charlene Désir is a professor at Nova Southeastern University’s Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. She received her doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Désir’s academic interest is in the social, psychological, and spiritual adjustment of immigrants, specifically psycho-social trauma, and how psychosocial issues affect social, cognitive, identity, and spiritual development. Dr. Désir has presented various papers on the topic of immigrants and their adjustment to the US. She has also published on the topic of immigrant identity, spirituality, and becoming a reflective researcher. Dr. Désir founded the Empowerment Network (TEN), Global, a non-profit that supports the personal, spiritual, and academic development of women and students in Haiti and the US. She is a member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and the vice president of Kosanba, an academic association on the study of PanAfrican Religions. She was the 2012 president of the Haitian Studies Association and a gubernatorial appointee to the Children’s Services Council in Broward County, FL. Dr. Désir has worked as a school psychologist, K-12 school counselor, school administrator, academic advisor, and professor.

Exploring Human Origins: Promoting a National Conversation on Human Evolution is administered by ALA’s Public Programs Office in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s (NMNH) Human Origins Program.

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