How Did I Get Here?
A digital course for individuals, parents, youth, educators and communities to unlearn, understand, relearn and reclaim their ROOTS our Humanity and our sanity!
Instructor Fernell Miller
How Did I
Get Here?
A digital course for parents to unlearn the lies you have been taught about race.
Instructor Fernell Miller
Sound Familiar?
I support black peaceful protests but don't support rioting and looting. Can someone please explain?
I have friends of color but I don't feel comfortable talking about race with my family yet.
I want to be an example to my kids so that we can build a more inclusive world.
Are you ready to build a more inclusive home or school culture?
Why?
BECAUSE once you understand this information you will become an inclusive person who is safe to be in any environment .
Here’s everything you’re going to get
- Course area with 9 Modules packed with over 40 lessons
- Members-only Facebook group where you can heal and connect with our private community
- First Invite Exclusive access to future events and courses
- Bonus - Racial Reality Field Guide ($50 Value)
What’s inside the Course Area?
Module 1 - Intro
What is being woke? Why do I need to be woke? How do you stay woke? What do woke people do? If you've been wondering about all this wokeness, then you are in the right place, at the right time - and just in time! You are never late as long as you start at the beginning. So thank you for choosing to put your curiosity into action!
Module 2 - How to use your Field Guide
Examining our footprint is the beginning of understanding where we are, and who we ARE. Let's dig into your essential tools to use for our 9-12 month journey! Let the framework guide you through the personal pruning and weeding in order to reveal, understand, accept, and embrace your roots.
Module 3 - Challenging Embedded White Supremacy and Cultural Conditioning
"I was a curious boy, but the schools were not concerned with curiosity. They were concerned with compliance." Ta-Nehisi Coats
How have you been carefully taught? Have you used your curiosity to question the injustices of our educational system or which students it was designed to serve? It’s in the water we drink, the air we breathe! Challenge the colonization of all aspects of our lives.
Module 4 - The Lie: Exposing White Supremacy Culture.
You will learn about the construct of race and how centering one race as the norm or default, and believing and buying into a system of exclusion and oppression, hurts us all.
Module 5 - The Truth: Liberating our head and hearts.
Understanding our history is vitally important for understanding our roots, as well as building a future centering our humanity where we all belong to each other and with each other.
“If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.” James Baldwin
Module 6 - Awareness to Action
We can't fix what we are unwilling to face. How we show up makes all the difference in creating a culture where all children have the opportunity to live out their dreams and potentials, while continuing to heal and move forward.
Module 7 - Reflections
Transformation | Let's see what you've planted!
Reflect and repeat this section and process often. Each week, each month, each season; Reflect with authenticity, review and return for revisions, reparations and restoration. Prioritize the questions that are most challenging for you in order to bring you the most growth on your journey.
Module 8 - MORE Action
"Excellence is nothing without the courage to execute it."
What would have to happen in order for Black People to not wonder or worry about being safe and respected as their reality?
Module 9 - Stay Connected with
The Root Of Us
Now that you have dug deep into your roots, it's time to answer the final question. How Did I Get Here? Create time and space to tell your story, the root of you! Continue to start dialogue with your circle, family, colleagues and community about the ways you are transforming, healing, and bringing healing to the people you love.
Here’s what our students say
According to Fernell, we cannot know where we are, until
we know who we are.
Fernell's writing drops us at the root of historical devastation;
then, she gives us a map home. We need to follow it.
Part of the journey is opening oneself to the heartbreak, grief, and anger it inspires AND also the joy, resistance, innovation, excellence, and spectacular resourcefulness embodied by Black communities over the last 400 years.
As we read and use the
Field Guide, Fernell invites us to choose courage and connectedness over fear and isolation; grief, acknowledgment,
and apology over defense and self-righteousness; community
and equity over hierarchy and oppression; and joy, celebration,
and resistance over separation, numbness, and collusion.
Our journey home is not an easy one, but it is as elegantly
straightforward and lucid as Fernell writes it to be.
Dr. Jen
I have had the pleasure of sitting in Peacemaking Circles
and Racial Healing Circles
with Fernell.
She brings extraordinary, insight, humor, and positive energy to these conversations. What I appreciate about
Fernell is her strength and determination. Every story she shares is a gift and it has been so inspiring to watch her launch her business,
The Root of Us.
I consider Fernell to be an incredible resource for truth-telling and heart-warming dialogue. Listening to the youth that she mentors talking about how important she has been as an advocate and trusted adult, reminds me that we need more Black women like Fernell in leadership roles!
Lucianne
Fernell is an exceptional educator. Youth love her. Adults revere her.
She creates brave space for all ages to do the arduous and joyful work of racial healing and cross-racial solidarity.
She honors the identities
and dignity of all learners while consistently pushing us with her poignant and profound teachings.
Encountering Fernell’s inclusionary practice, intelligence, humility, humanity, and kinship uplifts my spirit, grounds my heart, and primes me for positive action.
Vincent
I’ve attended all of Fernell’s educational courses including Peace Circles for Racial Healing, and multiple workshops with humanitarian outreach themes to boost local & national communities with candor. She shows up with stunning ability to forge teamwork & camaraderie, often in the least likely spaces. No matter the setting or organization where Fernell is hired to lead courses - students from elementary to elders, K-12 public school classrooms, companies, institutions of all genres - Fernell draws people away from mindsets of individualism, nationalism & pride into humble, intentional community-minded approaches such as: “What happens to some of us, happens to all of us,” and “There is me you without you.” I can always count on Fernell to prioritize truth, gratitude, humility, authentic voices & historical resources during every session of every course.
Keri
Fernell has forever changed my life. Her zest for life, her
passion for people, and her relentless dedication towards
dismantling the status quo are what separates Fernell from
many others.
Her heart is woven into every word she speaks,
and every word she writes. It is palpable, it is real, it is raw, and
it is necessary.
Fernell has never been one to wait; she makes moves. There is
not a soul on this planet that could not benefit from what
Fernell brings to the world.
This is not just a collection of
ideas, thoughts, or musings. This is a gift to the world at large.
Go ahead, take some time, and think about this question,
"Who are you?"
Enjoy. Learn. Reflect. Grow.
Find yourself.
Be yourself.
Step into yourself.
Thank you, Fernell.
Thank you.
James
Before I met Fernell, I had no real mentor or genuine person to look up to in my life.
But Fernell is so authentic
and truth-speaking that I immediately saw the potential of being involved with the work she does. Fernell is exceptional at educating and creating curricula around social justice, especially racial justice. She has decades of knowledge and study to support her already skillful coursework and content.
I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking to learn about racial unity,
and the work behind it,
or how to approach it.
Even if you are well-versed
in this subject, Fernell’s teaching presents such complex concepts naturally, and is always well-paced and trauma-informed.
I can not recommend enough!
Molly
Hi, I'm Fernell
"Excellence is nothing without the courage to execute it"
My work as an educator spans 40 years and carries deep community trust among youth, families, educators and community members. I began as an education activist, youth advocate and community organizer as a result of my own experiences of classroom and curriculum erasure, anti-blackness and racial isolation; which began in elementary school, continued through secondary education, into college and still remain today. I rarely saw the positive representation of black identities I needed in order to see myself in the world, so after becoming an educator I returned to do just that. I came back to build in the place where I could disrupt the white narrative, while being a mirror for the Black, Brown, Indigenous and students of Color who were yearning for that representation as I did for so long.
“I had to create brave spaces where we could show up with our full Identities, without apology or explaining why we need spaces that reflect the true history of Black people; by centering our brilliance, beauty, contributions and the resilience of black humanity which represents who we are, and who we want to be in the world.”
My roots of commitment to disrupting the white centered education and racial inequities over the past four generations are deep because everybody "gets to" take PE right! I've cultivated and cherished so many rich relationships that are built on trust, which I'm told have enhanced our learning community, especially among Black, Brown and Indigenous families and students of Color. My very presence in a predominantly white community presents many opportunities to address the racism we were taught not to see, not to hear, and certainly never to be spoken about.
That is why I started Racial Healing Circles. I needed a space to begin those conversations with everybody in the 'zoom'. Families and folks of all ages, ethnicities, races, cultures, genders, languages and abilities are welcome, wanted and needed in our circles. We are each other's medicine. We are each others healing.
Knowing ourselves, digging up our roots, is the first step in building strong diverse, equitable and inclusive communities of practice. From this ground work comes the knowledge needed to build strong, resilient, multicultural, multiracial teams, organizations, and communities - the sturdy trunk. It is there where we branch out to include others, always working towards the establishment of a just society. Roots, trunk, branches.
The Root Of Us works with educational, government and nonprofit organizations in service of racial healing, racial solidarity and social justice. We shape our work to fit your needs and we can't wait to meet, work, build, learn and heal with you.
We are rooting for you!
Fernell Miller
Founder and CEO of The Root Of Us.
Hey, I'm Fernell
"Excellence is nothing without the courage to execute it"
My work as an educator spans 40 years and carries deep community trust with youth, their families, educators and community members. I began as an education activist, youth advocate and community organizer as a result of my own experiences of classroom and curriculum erasure, anti-blackness and racial isolation; which began in elementary school, continued through secondary education, into college and still remain today. I rarely saw the positive representation black identity I needed in order to see myself in the world, so after becoming an educator I returned to do just that. I came back to build in the place where I could disrupt the white narrative for white students, while being a mirror for the Black, Brown, Indigenous and students of Color who were yearning for that representation as I did for so long.
“I had to create brave spaces where I could show up as my full Identity, without apology and explaining why I needed spaces that reflect the true history of Black people; by lifting up our brilliance, beauty and the resilience of black humanity which represents who I am, and who I want to be in the world.”
My roots of commitment to disrupting the White narrative and inequities over the past four generations are deep because everybody "gets to" take PE right! I've cultivated and cherish so many rich relationships that are built on trust, which I'm told have enhanced our learning community, especially among Black/Brown families and Students of Color. My very presence in a predominantly white community presents many opportunities to address the racism we were taught not to see, not to hear, and certainly never to be spoken about.
That is why I started Racial Healing Circles. I needed a space to begin those conversations with everybody in the 'zoom'. Families and folks of all ages, ethnicities, races, cultures, genders, languages and abilities are welcome, wanted and needed in our circles. We are each other's medicine. We are each others healing.
Knowing ourselves, digging up our roots, is the first step in building strong diverse, equitable and inclusive communities of practice. From this ground work comes the knowledge needed to build strong, resilient, multicultural, multiracial teams, organizations, and communities - the sturdy trunk. It is there where we branch out to include others, always working towards the establishment of a just society. Roots, trunk, branches.
The Root Of Us works with educational, government and nonprofit organizations in service of racial healing, racial solidarity and social justice. We shape our work to fit your needs and we can't wait to meet, work, build, learn and heal with you.
We are rooting for you!
Fernell Miller
Founder and CEO
The Root Of Us
My life changed when I connected to my identities and my community
I learned how to express my pain in the form of service and gratitude.
Gratitude and grounding practices helped me learn how to name and express my pain in the form of self love, service to others, and service to my community.
My family is more connected than ever.
We receive therapeutic guidance and healing for our transracial family with two Black teen boys who are transracial adoptees.
I taught over 300,000 students over the last 35 years
Each hour with Fernell warmly & permanently elevates the dignity of non-White identities in our America. I wish this space had existed in my youth.
As nonbinary queer youth of color, circles with Fernell are safe havens and brave spaces for us to show up authentically and heal alongside our peers.
If you’re anything like me, you’re not looking to read another book about race
I do want to understand race in a real way, in order to engage the world, and build strong, equitable, inclusive and diverse communities without doing harm.
This is for you if you want:
- Accountability and support as you learn about race
- Clarity on what you can do to be inclusive and of service to black and brown folks
- An inclusive safe space to process
- Live, video and asynchronous training and resources
This course makes building a racially equitable community possible
I’ve thought of everything to help you go from an overwhelmed ally to a racially competent neighbor.
There’s no point spending countless weeks, months, and years trying to figure this stuff out on your own. You have been programmed for years to believe lies about others.
I don’t want you to waste time and money and go down this path alone without any support system to give you real-time feedback. Instead, I want to help you actually heal from the racial trauma you are carrying.
What makes this course different?
CURRENT TEACHER
- Our Course
The world's most insightful educators take a complex idea or problem, show it to us in its parts, and synthesize the information in a way that provides us with a vision so clear and straightforward, we often ask, "why didn't I think of that?" The instructor, Fernell Miller is that kind of educator. She is a woman with such clarity of vision, intuitive understanding of justice, and the brilliance to match, that she quickly and precisely gets to the root.
- Other Courses
Will have you access generic training with a list of books about race, that take your journey on a detour from the path without actually practicing in real-time with real tools.
NOT ROOTED IN WHITE SUPREMACY
- Our Course
Our course directly addresses the huge gaps in your educational experience that white-centered education would not allow us to acknowledge while guiding you on a journey of self-awareness in order to learn how to dismantle white supremacy in all areas of your life in real-time.
- Other Courses
Tend to center white comfort and strategizing around practices and concepts through a white lens. Your disappointment comes from expecting new insight and experiences from the same familiar sources or a famous thought leader who doesn't actually live what they teach as Fernell does.
COMMUNITY CENTERED
- Our Course
The best courses provide real-life opportunities to practice what you learned. Let me connect your family with my private online communities and circles, so we can continue to heal together.
- Other Courses
Your instructor is not present or they just listen and provide generic advice that doesn't help because they are more concerned about their numbers and image than actually supporting your growth.
What makes this course different?
CURRENT TEACHER
- Our Course
The world's most insightful educators take a complex idea or problem, show it to us in its parts, and synthesize the information in a way that provides us with a vision so clear and straightforward, we often ask, "why didn't I think of that?" The instructor, Fernell Miller is that kind of educator. She is a woman with such clarity of vision, intuitive understanding of justice, and the brilliance to match, that she quickly and precisely gets to the root.
- Other Courses
Will have you access generic training with a list of books about race, that take your journey on a detour from the path without actually practicing in real-time with real tools.
NOT ROOTED IN WHITE SUPREMACY
- Our Course
Our course directly addresses the huge gaps in your educational experience that white-centered education would not allow us to acknowledge while guiding you on a journey of self-awareness in order to learn how to dismantle white supremacy in all areas of your life in real-time.
- Other Courses
Tend to center white comfort and strategizing around practices and concepts through a white lens. Your disappointment comes from expecting new insight and experiences from the same familiar sources or a famous thought leader who doesn't actually live what they teach as Fernell does.
COMMUNITY CENTERED
- Our Course
The best courses provide real-life opportunities to practice what you learned. Let me connect your family with my private online communities and circles, so we can continue to heal together.
- Other Courses
Your instructor is not present or they just listen and provide generic advice that doesn't help because they are more concerned about their numbers and image than actually supporting your growth.
NO EXPERIENCE
REQUIRED
WORK AS HARD OR LITTLE AS YOU WANT
EXTREMELY
AFFORDABLE