Institute for Black Liberation - Deaconess Foundation

The Institute centers Black lives, Black thought, and Black liberation.

Through a novel approach and bold vision, participants of the Institute develop a liberatory consciousness through healing the hurts of internalized racism. The Institute gives Black leaders in the Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois region the opportunity to name, reckon with and heal from racial trauma and the pervasive effects of internalized and structural racism.

The applied learnings and transformational experience of the interdisciplinary, intergenerational institute will prime participants to accelerate the creation of conditions that promote a just, whole society and future with impact felt most profoundly within the Deaconess footprint.

Twenty-three individuals were selected for the inaugural cohort of the Institute which launched in Fall 2023. To date, forty-four people have successfully completed the Institute for Black Liberation across two cohorts. One participant shared that they 'expected to walk away with a book of solutions. What [they] got was transformation, a type of freedom, [an] insight into self and others.'

The Institute experience is deeply personal and as such Deaconess will maintain the anonymity of all participants. If individual participants desire to share their participation and/or experiences publicly, we support them in doing so. Following completion of the Institute, participants will have the option to provide reflections that they are comfortable with Deaconess sharing publicly for purposes of informing potential participants about the experience, educating potential Institute funders, and reporting to Deaconess team and board members.

Eligibility

Participants must be age 25 and older upon the start of the program. Cohorts are comprised of a diverse group of individuals who identify as Black residing in St. Louis City, St. Louis, Jefferson, St. Charles and Franklin Counties in Missouri and Madison, St. Clair and Monroe Counties in Illinois. Special emphasis is placed on St. Louis City and St. Louis County, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois residents. No preferences is given to people who are further along on the liberatory consciousness continuum than others.

Participation

Each component of the curriculum has been carefully crafted for this rich and intensive course. Due to the limited time the cohort has together and the intensive nature of the work, it is extremely important that selected participants attend all sessions.

Application

The application period for the 2026 cohort opens, Monday, September 29, 2025 and closes Monday, October 20, 2025. Apply below.

Structure

Each cohort consists of up to 35 participants. There are two, one-week (weekdays) immersive sessions that are no more than eight hours per day. The 2026 cohort's immersive sessions will occur:

Immersion 1: Monday, January 26, 2026 through Friday, January 30, 2026 from 9 am to 4 pm daily, with optional community building time from 4 pm to 5 pm.
Immersion 2: Monday, May 18, 2026 through Friday, May 22, 2026 from 9 am to 4 pm daily, with optional community building time from 4 pm to 5 pm.

In addition, there are a variety of activities designed to enhance learning and maintain community building which include webinars, small group meetings, and check-in sessions with the Institute's senior facilitators. Immersive sessions are in-person and the others are virtual.

Location

We firmly believe that we have the ability to free ourselves from the behaviors that resulted from the oppression we’ve endured, and to build a community that reflects our truth.”

Rudy Nickens, Jr.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Participants are required to attend two in-person immersive sessions at the Deaconess Center. There will be two, one-week (weekdays) immersive sessions listed below:

Immersion 1: Monday, January 26, 2026 through Friday, January 30, 2026 from 9 am to 4 pm daily, with optional community building time from 4 pm to 5 pm.
Immersion 2: Monday, May 18, 2026 through Friday, May 22, 2026 from 9 am to 4 pm daily, with optional community building time from 4 pm to 5 pm.

In addition, there will be monthly two-hour group sessions during the months where there is not an immersive session and individual coaching (this spans over the course of six months). Additional components include weekly check-ins and office hour visits between participants and Institute leaders. Immersive sessions will be in-person and the others will be virtual.

In total, the time commitment for participants includes:

Required Hours
- 70 hours of in-person immersive sessions
- 5 hours of virtual group sessions
Optional Hours
- 10 hours of in-person community building time during immersive weeks
- 5 hours of optional assignments

Participants in the Institute will take part in a process of self-discovery, reflection, intensive training and learning focused, in part, on healing racial trauma and promoting well-being, identifying and dismantling internalized oppression, examining and exploring strategies for celebrating racial identity, building power through collective development of leadership skills and kinship with others, and developing tools to sustain change through generations.

The Institute for Black Liberation (the “Institute”) emphasizes developing a liberatory consciousness to give Black leaders in the Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois region the opportunity to name, reckon with and heal from racial trauma and the pervasive effects of internalized and structural racism. Developing a liberatory consciousness is the process of re-imagining one’s assumptions and beliefs about self and others and interrupting internal beliefs that undermine productive actions and relationships with others, which thereby increases their presence, productivity and effectiveness personally, professionally and in community.

Like other professional development opportunities, the Institute enables participants to gain new skills and bring them into the workplace for the betterment of the enterprise and advancement of the mission. Participation in the Institute will be instrumental to growing a stronger team, increasing productivity and performance, and increasing job satisfaction and morale, which will in turn increase team member retention rates. These outcomes are the same as those to be achieved with professional development generally. In addition, participation in the Institute will expose participants to new ideas, expand their networks, provide them with additional expertise for analyzing and governing themselves, and improving their well-being, which will translate into enhanced performance in their positions, and better relationships with other team members and managers to bring about increased quality of performance to the enterprise.

Participants are required to attend three in-person immersive sessions at the Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being. There will be three, one-week (weekdays) immersive sessions listed below:

Immersion 1: Monday, September 18, 2023 through Friday, September 22, 2023 from 9 am to 4 pm daily, with optional community building time from 4 pm to 5 pm.
Immersion 2: Monday, January 29, 2024 through Friday, February 2, 2024 from 9 am to 4 pm daily, with optional community building time from 4 pm to 5 pm.
Immersion 3: Monday, May 20, 2024 through Friday, May 24, 2024 from 9 am to 4 pm daily, with optional community building time from 4 pm to 5 pm.

In addition, there will be monthly two-hour group sessions during the months where there is not an immersive session and individual coaching (this spans over the course of six months). Additional components include weekly check-ins and office hour visits between participants and Institute leaders. Immersive sessions will be in-person and the others will be virtual.

In total, the time commitment for participants includes:

Required Hours
- 105 hours of in-person immersive sessions
- 10 hours of virtual group sessions
Optional Hours
- 15 hours of in-person community building time during immersive weeks
- 5 hours of optional assignments

The Institute’s framework is inspired by the work of Dr. Barbara J. Love. She has written extensively about liberatory consciousness being a crucial means of ensuring liberation workers, who are “committed to changing systems and institutions characterized by oppression to create greater equity and social justice,” operate effectively (“Developing a Liberatory Consciousness”).

Participants in the Institute will take part in a process of self-discovery, reflection, intensive training and learning focused, in part, on healing racial trauma and promoting well-being, identifying and dismantling internalized oppression, examining and exploring strategies for celebrating racial identity, building power through collective development of leadership skills and kinship with others, and developing tools to sustain change through generations.

The Institute for Black Liberation (the “Institute”) emphasizes developing a liberatory consciousness to give Black leaders in the Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois region the opportunity to name, reckon with and heal from racial trauma and the pervasive effects of internalized and structural racism. Developing a liberatory consciousness is the process of re-imagining one’s assumptions and beliefs about self and others and interrupting internal beliefs that undermine productive actions and relationships with others, which thereby increases their presence, productivity and effectiveness personally, professionally and in community.

Like other professional development opportunities, the Institute enables participants to gain new skills and bring them into the workplace for the betterment of the enterprise and advancement of the mission. Participation in the Institute will be instrumental to growing a stronger team, increasing productivity and performance, and increasing job satisfaction and morale, which will in turn increase team member retention rates. These outcomes are the same as those to be achieved with professional development generally. In addition, participation in the Institute will expose participants to new ideas, expand their networks, provide them with additional expertise for analyzing and governing themselves, and improving their well-being, which will translate into enhanced performance in their positions, and better relationships with other team members and managers to bring about increased quality of performance to the enterprise.

Interested in learning more?

Email The Institute

Heal and Transform

Institute participants will be well equipped to create and sustain community change. They will promote a just and whole society and future with impact felt most profoundly in our community.