It is true that it has not always been safe for us, but I hope we can come together as a people, create our own safe spaces, and become empowered to … - Monnica T. Williams

As an African American clinical psychologist and researcher, it has become evident that we have not been meaningfully included as research participants or researchers in scientific studies, and our voices have not been part of the conversation as these medicines move into mainstream mental health care.

In southern Africa, there is widespread reliance on ubulawu as psychoactive spiritual medicine used by Indigenous people groups, such as the Xhosa and Zulu, to communicate with their ancestors and treat mental disturbances. Ubulawu, an ancient African plant medicine, is composed of the roots of several potent plants that are ground and made into a cold water infusion, churned to produce a healing foam.

I hope that somewhere in the recesses of our cultural consciousness, there still exists some memory of the valuable psychedelic traditions cultivated by our African ancestors and nature's many gifts that have been lost somewhere between North America and the Middle Passage.