Chinyere Neale

Chinyere Neale reflects on a time in her life when the frustration she often felt toward well-meaning but uninformed white people who considered themselves allies in racial justice work became a mirror for her own growth. After attending an LGBTQIA+ ally training at work one day, she came to a humbling realization that she also had the capacity to be well-meaning but uninformed in a different way. The experience expanded her understanding of privilege and oppression, and influenced her approach to life as a “never-ending classroom”.

As a retired global public health educator from Detroit with a multifaceted career, Chinyere reflects on her upbringing in segregated Detroit, her passion for music and the arts, her role as a sexual health educator, and what led her to finally embrace being seen as a teacher. Her storytelling speaks to the importance of authenticity, keeping joy a priority in movement work, and remembering that we all have a role to play in working for social justice.