Honor Black, Indigenous and People of Color
Mental Health Month
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Self-Care in the Movement
It’s essential to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and to affirm practices for wellness—especially during Black, Indigenous and People of Color Mental Health Month.
In this new article from LFJ’s Spring 2023 magazine, Jamilah Pitts provides recommendations and specific practices for health and wellness, reminding us that being healthy and nurturing ourselves enable giving that stems from general well-being and overflow.
“Find your community in the people who accept you and where you feel visible. Find people who recognize the importance of self-care, wellness and healthy boundaries.”
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From LFJ Director Jalaya Liles Dunn
“I am inspired by the Maasai tribe in East Africa, whose traditional greeting to one another is, “How are the children?” During these polarized times, we must ask that question along the continuum of education—and be intentional in our actions to prioritize the well-being of children experiencing systemic harm.”
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How Are the Children?
Because mental health matters, these Learning for Justice resources remind us of the ongoing impact of racism and bias and provide recommendations to support adults in helping young people during these polarizing times.
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Handle With Care: Supporting Young People During Crises
People are continuously struggling to respond when traumatizing events occur in our communities, across the country and around the world. For families, educators and community members who must respond to the needs of children as a traumatizing event unfolds, we’ve gathered recommendations and resources to support you. Read and share this recent resource article.
“[W]e must always consider the well-being of all children, and especially those who may witness or are personally affected by these events.”
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Black Minds Matter
Revisit this article that reminds us to interrupt school practices that disregard the mental health of Black youth.
“I’m acknowledging that the world often doesn’t allow Black people to simply be … But it’s incredibly important for parents, family members and educators to protect the ability for our babies just to be babies—to laugh, to make mistakes, to color outside of the lines, to create things with blocks that don’t make sense to those of us who have forgotten how to dream. Too often we snatch them from Black kids in ways that are unfair and undeserved.” —David Johns
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LFJ Staff Picks: Film and Book Reviews
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What We're Watching
Let’s Eat, an award-winning short film by Dixon Wong, offers a beautiful and moving take on food as an intergenerational love language. This animated film, set primarily in the kitchen, follows a Chinese American immigrant mother and her daughter across a lifetime together as they share lovingly prepared meals. Viewers witness a lively preschool-aged daughter grow into a strong-willed teenager and then an adult. After the mother’s health declines, the daughter shares treasured food traditions with her own daughter. Without dialogue, the animation and music lend themselves to a deeply touching film emphasizing the importance of cultural traditions. (8 min.) Available on YouTube
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What We’re Reading
Author Tricia Hersey offers an intervention for the exhausted in Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto. The artist, poet, theologian and community organizer urges us to reject grind culture and rigid systems that make it difficult to dream or create. With an analysis rooted in Black liberation theology, Hersey asserts that rest is our divine right. She insists that we must rest, not to do more later but to connect with our bodies—sites of liberation—to imagine, invent and heal.
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