Black Health and Wellness

As we celebrate Black History month, this year’s focus is surrounding the topic of Black Health and Wellness. Not only do we look to the past and acknowledge the legacy of medical scholars and practitioners within black communities who have been instrumental in the progress of medicine, but we also look to the future, seeing how black health and wellness is such a worthy theme to devote regular time and effort toward.

How might we establish healthy practices within our organizations to foster and promote health and wellness, especially as it pertains to the traditionally marginalized? We’re here to applaud the strides of our black communities while advocating for continued progress in the realm of black health and wellness. Much of this effort resides in the rise of various self-care practices.

A brief history behind self-care in black communities

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman.”

“Self-care” first took root within the 1950s as those with less independence or those in institutions were encouraged to maintain personal health practices to strengthen self-value. Self-care, which consisted of health-related grooming and exercise, quickly spread within the black community. According to an article called Black History is Built on Self-Care: 4 Inspirational Advocates, the poverty in the black communities began to be tied to the prevalent poor health. Many medical facilities in the 1960s would exclude medical care from ethnic minorities, and black communities were left with poorly funded hospitals and clinics. Even with the 1965 Medicare and Medicaid Act, which made it illegal to provide federal funding to those medical institutions who were actively excluding minority groups, the problem persisted, as it was widely ignored.

In an effort to combat this tragic injustice, activists and civil rights leaders made a concentrated effort toward the health and wellness of the black community. Free clinics sprouted up to provide free services to those who were being discriminated against. Although, the road ahead had its own challenges for these clinics, which, according to an article from Black Past called Black Panther Party’s Free Medical Clinics (1969-1975), were regularly bombarded by unjust raids and regulations. 

For the black community, “self-care was survival. It formed a collective political will and built resilience against the repeated injuries inflicted by systemic racism” (Yubi). 

How we can promote black health and wellness today

Whenever we dive into the historical context of topics like the nuanced health injustices experienced within black communities, it becomes much easier to see the importance of committing dedicated effort to combat its long-lasting effects. We only skimmed the surface of the deeply-rooted injustices that continue to play a part in the wellbeing of our black communities. 

So, what can we do about it? How can we move forward together? Oftentimes the overwhelming feeling leads to inaction. Let us not fall into that camp.

4 ways to promote black health and wellness in your workplace

An article titled 4 Strategies To Promote Racial Healing In A Post-Pandemic Workplace from Forbes gives four practical ways we can incorporate healthy strategies as we work to promote black health and wellness. Senior Contributor, Janice Gassam Asare, who is focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, gives the following four areas we can improve the health and wellness of our workplaces:

• Reduce Stress
  Your workplace can implement employee wellness programs that encourage stress-reducing practices as well as educate your team on various resources. A few ideas include journaling gratitude, deep breathing exercises, and downloading apps like Calm or Headspace. Make these resources and tips readily available on your team. Another key is to normalize the use of them. Your influence as a leader will be essential in making this an included practice at work. 

• Financially support community healing
  When it comes to therapy and various healing community groups, it can be difficult for people of color to find adequate resources that fit their needs. Make an investment toward resources that will specifically cater to the care and wellbeing of those suffering from trauma within racially marginalized groups. Perhaps your workplace can host opportunities for the black community to gather and take part in community healing. This is a practical way to show your support and desire for growth and health. 

• Promote rest
  With longer workdays, it can be easy to fall into a trap of unhealthy work expectations. Be intentional to provide your team resources on how to balance work and rest. You may even discover small ways this can sneak into work practices, especially in our remote-driven, post-pandemic world. Asare addressed one such example in her article. “...Many Black employees have dealt with issues related to ‘Zooming while Black,’ and the pressures to uphold Eurocentric standards of professionalism while in remote settings” (Asare). A step as simple as optional video meetings, allowing employees to Zoom in with audio only, can be instrumental in ways you may not have realized.

• Promote education
  This is a continuous process. Ensure your human resources teams are equipped and trained in best practices when it comes to racial trauma. Provide resources and workshops in an effort to keep this topic of black health and wellness a key priority. Read books on this topic, keep the conversation going, and see the health and wellness that will be catalyzed by your team simply by making it a priority, and then acting on that priority. 

It’s difficult to understand the importance of self-care and wellness across your organization if you are missing the context surrounding its need, especially as it pertains to minority groups. Racial trauma is the root cause for many Black, Indigenous, and people of color who are experiencing a lack of wellness. From that stems the offshoots of mental, physical, spiritual, and other forms of wellness that are in a broken state. Couple that with the general trauma of the past couple of years, and it’s a perfect storm. Those who don’t pay attention to how this can affect the BIPOC community might miss the fact that 21% of white employees were excited to return to the office after the pandemic, while only 3% of Black employees were feeling the same, according to a study from Future Forum.

Dedicating time within your team to understand the “why” behind black health and wellness is crucial not only to the practicality of self-care, but also to the collective effort to combat the damage that has been done. Beyond the Self-Care Story described this well by saying, “we must honor all feelings, moments, and experiences before and beyond us” (My Black is Beautiful).