Celebrate Black History All Year Long
At NCCC, we continue to listen, learn, and come alongside our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ siblings in the work of healing justice. We refuse to relegate Black History to one month out of the year, and, instead, will highlight BIPOC and marginalized voices throughout the year, pointing all of us toward ways we can celebrate Black History and Black excellence all year long.
For helpful ways to engage this year-long learning and celebration practice, we recommend supporting, learning alongside, and listening to the following:
Black Pioneers in Mental Health
The folx at Mental Health America correctly point out that Black Americans’ contributions to the field of mental health have long been overlooked. Read more about Black pioneers in mental health here.
The Body is Not An Apology
The Body is Not an Apology is a book, international movement + Instagram account written and led by Sonya Renee Taylor. Her work offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by violent systems of oppression in which we all live. You can also listen to Sonya Renee Taylor’s conversation with Bréne Brown here.
Black Maternal Health Caucus
Black Maternal Health Caucus is the group behind the creation of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 that addresses the fact that Black moms die at rates 3 and 4 times that of their white counterparts.
The Loveland Foundation
The Loveland Foundation prioritizes opportunity, access, validation, and healing for Black girls and women.
The Great Unlearn with Rachel Cargle
The Great Unlearn with Rachel Cargle is a monthly self-paced, self-priced learning collective, committed to celebrating and highlighting the genius of academics of colour.
Therapy for Black Girls
Therapy for Black Girls is a space developed to present mental health topics in a way that feel more accessible and relevant to Black women.
Questions for Reflection:
What is one thing you can do today to learn more about the work of antiracism?
What does justice in mental healthcare look like to you?
Suggested Created Practice:
Write a letter of gratitude to a pioneer in Black Mental Health. Tell them what their story, their life, and their work means to you, personally, and to the world at large.
Then, once you’ve written your letter of gratitude to a Black Mental Health pioneer, share it with a family member or friend so they, too, can learn of their brilliance.
Written by author of Blessed are the Women: Naming & Reclaiming Women's Stories From the Gospels, Claire McKeever-Burgett.
