black lives matter is a movement that fights for Freedom, Liberation and Justice.
by working to dismantle oppressive systems, promote justice and equity, we can work to ensure that black people are safe, have access to necessities as well as their desires.
so where do we go from here?
i came up with a 4 step guide: plan, invest, repost and recenter. each piece is a 6 minute or less read; many include resources like therapyforblackgirls.com and other documents, which are all available below as well.
racism has always existed in america, for it’s the one continuous part of our history. in recent years, racism became more covert. it now is becoming increasingly more overt. the time to act, for liberation and freedom, is now.
step 1: plan
plan out what YOU need to do to take care of yourself. once you have that down, you’re ready for action
step 2: invest
invest in your community. what can you do, as an individual, to solve a community issue? find ways to do it. contemplate how you can support the movement within your career/job as well.
step 3: repost
spreading awareness and ACCURATE information is key. learn a little about how to critically analyze what you’re consuming.
step 4: recenter
meditation and planning are two tools you can use to recenter. passion planner has resources on their site to help you get organized.
black mental health matters
step 1, of the 4 step plan.
if you are in crisis, please contact a professional. the suicide hotline (in the US) is 1-800-273-8255.
to learn more about mental health, please check out the National Institute for Mental Health.
gwella is an app that is to connect healers to potential clients, check that out as well.
what is mental health? why is it important? how do i care for it?
mental health refers to cognitive, behavioral and emotional wellbeing. overall, it’s about how you feel, think and interact.
mental health is important because it affects your relationship with yourself, first and foremost, and others. when you care for your mental health, you feel better.
caring for your mental health means different things for different people. overall, it refers to doing things that help you release pain, feel ground and feel better. the self-care movement has been patronized, making it about doing face masks, but it’s much more. self-care is the deliberate action to do things that will improve your life, by taking care of yourself.
how can i find out what will work for me?
finding out what makes you feel good, may vary depending on where you are in your life. it takes time, but it’s so worth it to find what brings you joy. i have found a lot of joy through movement therapy, through yoga. check out yoga green book: it’s a black owned yoga streaming platform (with a directory for black owned studios and black teachers), for $19 a month. right now, it’s free for 30 days!
the Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre at Children’s Hospital (in Canada), has provided a guide with different types of therapy. therapy provides you with resources to take into your daily lifeDownload
art therapy resources: this site includes templates and other guides
apps: these offer quick “pick me ups”, daily (or multiple times a day) messages. some require subscription
- storyteller by morgan harper nichols
- eternal sunshine
- shine
instagram accounts: add in some inspirational content to your ig feed
- morganharpernichols (and her other pages: garden24, storytellerco, and thedevoco)
- alex_elle
- themantraco
- shinetext
- iam.mantra
books:
- you can heal your life by louise hay (scroll down to “educational resources” to find a free pdf version)
- breathe: mindfulness journal | this journal is interactive and guides you through activities to improve mindfulness.
black queer liberation is tied to black liberation
if all of us are not free, our work is not done. speak out against homophobia.
terminology:
- sex- physical anatomy (may vary depending on genotype and phenotype)
- gender- expression of identity (based on individuals and heavily influenced by culture)
- sexuality- who you are attracted to
- pronouns- vary; are selected by the individual.
- gender neutral language- where language doesn’t involve gender (examples include parents, person and people)
- deadname- the name an individual was given at birth that they have chosen to no longer use.
how to be an ally:
there are many ways to be an ally; this is just my take
- be committed to remembering how people want to identify (no using deadnames)
- be respectful (hold space for queer folx to talk)
- stand up to injustice- if something is homophobic, say something!
are you committed to being an ally? check out the safe zone project, where they host ally training workshops.
educational resources
for black folx and allies alike. education is so important. it helps us achieve step 3 of the 4 step plan.
websites:
built for teachers, this site has information of how to talk to our youth about racism and affirming students
this is a directory to finding local mental health services!
anti-racism resources for allies
this is a complied document of resources made for and by white allies
paulo freire wrote the pedagogy of the oppressed, which indicates that in order to fight oppression, oppressed groups must act. it’s good for some background knowledge
there’s so much fake news out there. learn how to critically analyze information, with this SAGE Guide
bell hooks in her novel, all about love, explores the creation of a beloved community and the importance of love.
read about women, race and class by angela davis. each chapter is powerful and discusses the complexities of intersectionality.
the timelessness of black issues discusses the importance of black art, written by mayah wheeler
peggy mcintosh writes about white privilege, as a white woman. it really contextualizes all the DAILY advantages white people have.
louise hay in your can heal your life, writes about healing. taking time to heal is so important.
how do we care for our black youth? mayah wheeler discusses the importance of care, in her piece educating with care.
bell hooks explores love as a force for the social change we so desperately need. her response is critical of the exclusion of love through dominating structures, such as racism and sexism. hooks argues that love, is the answer to our problems.
mayah's site 