BEDI Resources
Definitions & Key Terms
Racial Battle Fatigue: Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) was a term coined in 2008 by Critical Race Theorist William Smith. It was originally used in reference to the experiences of African American men in America but is now expanded to describe the negative and racially charged experiences of all people of Color (PoC) in the United States. William Smith defines RBF as: . “cumulative result of a natural race-related stress response to distressing mental and . emotional conditions. These conditions emerged from constantly facing racially dismissive, . demeaning, insensitive and/or hostile racial environments and individuals.” University of California, Merced
Radical Self Care: Radical self-care is the prioritization of placing your needs before someone else's. Radical self-care is carving out a space for yourself by defining your own self-care. This concept was introduced in the book A Burst of Light by writer, feminist, and activist Audre Lorde. Radical Self Care library guide
Safe Space: Safe space refers to an area or forum designed to address marginalization and the harms that come from it. Safe spaces seek to provide individuals from marginalized groups an environment where they do not face mainstream stereotypes and ostracism. They also are spaces where a shared political or social viewpoint is required to participate in the space. Encyclopedia of Adolescence
Self Care: Within the general public, self-care is often discussed and illustrated as individual activities performed to "treat" oneself (Kinser et al., 2016). Unfortunately, this, in combination with a growing wellness industry, perpetuates a culture of self-care based on individualism, capitalism, and consumerism (Hobart & Kneese, 2020). However, for Black people and communities that are exposed to the harsh realities of being second class global citizens subjected to oppression, self-care can go beyond “treating” oneself. Reclaiming Self-care: Self-care as a Social Justice Tool for Black Wellness
Self Care & Mental Health
Black Fatigue by
This is the first book to define and explore Black fatigue, the intergenerational impact of systemic racism on the physical and psychological health of Black people--and explain why and how society needs to collectively do more to combat its pernicious effects. Black people, young and old, are fatigued, says award-winning diversity and inclusion leader Mary-Frances Winters. It is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining to continue to experience inequities and even atrocities, day after day, when justice is a God-given and legislated right. And it is exhausting to have to constantly explain this to white people, even--and especially--well-meaning white people, who fall prey to white fragility and too often are unwittingly complicit in upholding the very systems they say they want dismantled. This book, designed to illuminate the myriad dire consequences of "living while Black," came at the urging of Winters's Black friends and colleagues. Winters describes how in every aspect of life--from economics to education, work, criminal justice, and, very importantly, health outcomes--for the most part, the trajectory for Black people is not improving. It is paradoxical that, with all the attention focused over the last fifty years on social justice and diversity and inclusion, little progress has been made in actualizing the vision of an equitable society. Black people are quite literally sick and tired of being sick and tired. Winters writes that "my hope for this book is that it will provide a comprehensive summary of the consequences of Black fatigue, and awaken activism in those who care about equity and justice--those who care that intergenerational fatigue is tearing at the very core of a whole race of people who are simply asking for what they deserve."
ISBN: 9781523091324Publication Date: 2020-09-15
Do Better by
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER San Francisco Chronicle's 10 Books to Pick * HelloGiggles' 10 Books to Pick Up for a Better 2021 * PopSugar's 23 Exciting New Books * Book Riot's 12 Essential Books About Black Identity and History * Harper's Bazaar's 60+ Books You Need to Read in 2021 "A clear, powerful, direct, wise, and extremely helpful treatise on how to combat and heal from the ubiquitous violence of white supremacy" (Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author) from thought leader, racial justice educator, and acclaimed spiritual activist Rachel Ricketts. Do Better is a revolutionary offering that addresses racial justice from a comprehensive, intersectional, and spirit-based perspective. This actionable guidebook illustrates how to engage in the heart-centered and mindfulness-based practices that will help us all fight white supremacy from the inside out, in our personal lives and communities alike. It is a loving and assertive call to do the deep--and often uncomfortable--inner work that precipitates much-needed external and global change. Filled with carefully curated soulcare activities--such as guided meditations and transformative breathwork--"Do Better answers prayers that many have prayed. Do Better offers a bold possibility for change and healing. Do Better offers a deeply sacred choice that we must all make at such a time as this" (Iyanla Vanzant, New York Times bestselling author).
ISBN: 9781982151294Publication Date: 2021-02-02
Headcase by
Headcase is a groundbreaking collection of personal reflections and artistic representations illustrating the intersection of mental wellness, mental illness, and LGBTQ identity, as well as the lasting impact of historical views equating queer and trans identity with mental illness. The featured pieces offer personal views from both providers and clients, often one and the same, about their experiences. In the anthology, readers will access the inner thoughts of contributors who collectively document the difficulty of navigating flawed healthcare systems that limit affordable access to genuinely affirming, effective services. Traversing boundaries of race and ethnic identity, age, gender identity, and socioeconomic status, Headcase appeals to LGBTQ communities and, specifically, LGBTQ mental health consumers and their friends, families, and comrades.
ISBN: 9780190846596Publication Date: 2019-02-05
Healing Justice by
In the context of multiple forms of global economic, social, and cultural oppression, along with intergenerational trauma, burnout, and public services retrenchment, this book offers a framework and set of inquiries and practices for social workers, activists, community organizers, counselors,and other helping professionals. Healing justice, a term that has emerged in social movements in the last decade, is taught as a practice of connecting to the whole self, what many are conditioned to ignore - the body, mind-heart, spirit, community, and natural world.Drawing from the East-West modalities of mindfulness, yoga, and Ayurveda, the author introduces six capabilities - mindfulness and compassion; critical thinking and curiosity; and effort and equanimity - which can guide practitioners on a transformative and empowering journey that can ultimatelymake them and their colleagues more effective in their work. Using case studies, critical analysis, and skill sharing, self-care is presented as an act of resistance to disconnection, marginalization, and internalized oppression. Healing justice is a trauma-informed practice that empowers socialpractitioners to cultivate the conditions that might allow them to feel more connected to themselves, their clients, colleagues, and communities.The book also engages critically with self-care practices, including investigation into the science of mindfulness, cultural appropriation, and the commodification of self-care. The message is clear that mindfulness-based practices are not a panacea for personal, inter-personal, or politicalproblems. But, they can put practitioners in a more authentic and powerful place to work from, which is particularly important in a world where there is more connection to technology, ideologies, and people who share one's beliefs, and less connection to the natural world, people who are different,and the parts of oneself that one tends to reject. The book also offers suggestions for how to share self-care practices with community members who have less access to wellness.
ISBN: 9780190663087Publication Date: 2018-04-12
Liberated to the Bone by
A way to deepen our understanding of the relationship between social justice and the work of healing--healing as individuals, communities, and societies. The newest title in the Emergent Strategy Series, Liberated to the Bone, addresses the intersections between healing our physical bodies and healing our social relations which are shaped by violence. Bodyworker and cultural worker Susan Raffo addresses intergenerational trauma, social justice, organizing, and how all of these things are relevant to our bodies. The book illuminates three different approaches to healing: ending violence, the significance of being rooted in the present, and creating the conditions to address unfinished histories and generational trauma. By showing how these approaches are intricately connected--physically and emotionally--Raffo interrupts the traumatic binaries of the political and spiritual, the physical and intellectual, and healing and organizing.
ISBN: 9781849354653Publication Date: 2022-11-15
Racial Battle Fatigue in Higher Education by
Racial Battle Fatigue is described as the physical and psychological toll taken due to constant and unceasing discrimination, microagressions, and stereotype threat. The literature notes that individuals who work in environments with chronic exposure to discrimination and microaggressions are more likely to suffer from forms of generalized anxiety manifested by both physical and emotional syptoms. This edited volume looks at RBF from the perspectives of graduate students, middle level academics, and chief diversity officers at major institutions of learning. RBF takes up William A. Smith's idea and extends it as a means of understanding how the "academy" or higher education operates. Through microagressions, stereotype threat, underfunding and defunding of initiatives/offices, expansive commitments to diversity related strategic plans with restrictive power and action, and departmental climates of exclusivity and inequity; diversity workers (faculty, staff, and administration of color along with white allies in like positions) find themselves in a badlands where identity difference is used to promote institutional values while at the same time creating unimaginable work spaces for these workers.
ISBN: 9781442229822Publication Date: 2014-12-23
Rest Is Resistance by
***INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*** Disrupt and push back against capitalism and white supremacy. In this book, Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to connect to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice. What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic, damaging, and machine‑level pace -- feeding into the same engine that enslaved millions into brutal labor for its own relentless benefit. In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially not for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity. We are enough. The systems cannot have us. Rest Is Resistance is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism. With captivating storytelling and practical advice, all delivered in Hersey's lyrical voice and informed by her deep experience in theology, activism, and performance art, Rest Is Resistance is a call to action, a battle cry, a field guide, and a manifesto for all of us who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture.
ISBN: 9780316365215Publication Date: 2022-10-11
Stay Woke by
A no-nonsense guide to establishing a personal meditation practice, changing your life, and taking hold of your dreams. CONFESSION: This is not really a meditation book. Yes, you're going to learn everything you need to know about meditation, but if you came looking for a typical guide to mindfulness, you're in the wrong place. We are modern people in a high-tech world. We have first world problems and long to-do lists. And if you grew up in struggle--overcoming homophobia, sexism, trauma, shame, depression, poverty, toxic masculinity, racism, or social injustice--you need a different type of meditation ... one that doesn't pretend the struggle doesn't exist. Here you will discover: - How to actually find stillness when your mind is going crazy - Why most guided meditations get boring after a while - What nobody tells you about "setting intentions" and the scientific process to manifesting - Four hidden habits that sabotage your growth--and how to move past them - Proven techniques to overcome anxiety, stress, and trouble sleeping - Daily rituals that cement and enrich your practice - How to use mindfulness to take action toward the causes you believe in and get sh!t done Whether you've tried meditation but it never sticks, or you've heard about it but never gave it a shot, Justin Michael Williams guides you step by step in creating a custom meditation ritual that fits in with your busy (and sometimes messy!) modern life. With free downloadable audio meditations every step of the way, Stay Woke gives people of all genders, identities, colors, religions, ages, and economic backgrounds the tools to stop wasting time, overcome self-doubt, and wake up to the lives we were really born to live.
ISBN: 9781683643722Publication Date: 2020-02-11
Under the Skin by
A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR * "A stunning exposé of why Black people in our society 'live sicker and die quicker'--an eye-opening game changer."--Oprah Daily From an award-winning writer at the New York Times Magazine and a contributor to the 1619 Project comes a landmark book that tells the full story of racial health disparities in America, revealing the toll racism takes on individuals and the health of our nation. In 2018, Linda Villarosa's New York Times Magazine article on maternal and infant mortality among black mothers and babies in America caused an awakening. Hundreds of studies had previously established a link between racial discrimination and the health of Black Americans, with little progress toward solutions. But Villarosa's article exposing that a Black woman with a college education is as likely to die or nearly die in childbirth as a white woman with an eighth grade education made racial disparities in health care impossible to ignore. Now, in Under the Skin, Linda Villarosa lays bare the forces in the American health-care system and in American society that cause Black people to "live sicker and die quicker" compared to their white counterparts. Today's medical texts and instruments still carry fallacious slavery-era assumptions that Black bodies are fundamentally different from white bodies. Study after study of medical settings show worse treatment and outcomes for Black patients. Black people live in dirtier, more polluted communities due to environmental racism and neglect from all levels of government. And, most powerfully, Villarosa describes the new understanding that coping with the daily scourge of racism ages Black people prematurely. Anchored by unforgettable human stories and offering incontrovertible proof, Under the Skin is dramatic, tragic, and necessary reading.
ISBN: 9780385544887Publication Date: 2022-06-14
Yoke by
Finding self-acceptance both on and off the mat. In Sanskrit, yoga means to "yoke." To yoke mind and body, movement and breath, light and dark, the good and the bad. This larger idea of "yoke" is what Jessamyn Stanley calls the yoga of the everyday--a yoga that is not just about perfecting your downward dog but about applying the hard lessons learned on the mat to the even harder daily project of living. In a series of deeply honest, funny autobiographical essays, Jessamyn explores everything from imposter syndrome to cannabis to why it's a full-time job loving yourself, all through the lens of yoke. She calls out an American yoga complex that prefers debating the merits of cotton versus polyblend leggings rather than owning up to its overwhelming Whiteness. She questions why the Western take on yoga so often misses--or misuses--the tradition's spiritual dimension. And reveals what she calls her own "whole-ass problematic": Growing up Baháí, loving astrology, learning to meditate, finding prana in music. And in the end, Jessamyn invites every reader to find the authentic spirit of yoke--linking that good and that bad, that light and that dark.
ISBN: 9781523505210Publication Date: 2021-06-22
Your Body Is Not an Apology Workbook by
Based on the New York Times bestseller The Body Is Not an Apology, this is an action guide to help readers practice the art of radical self-love both for themselves and to transform our society. Readers of The Body Is Not an Apology have been clamoring for guidance on how to do the work of radical self-love. After crowdsourcing her community, Sonya Renee Taylor found her readers wanted more concrete ideas on how to apply this work in a larger social and structural context. Your Body Is Not an Apology is the action guide that gives them just that-tools and structured frameworks they can apply immediately to start changing the world. Taylor guides readers with concrete ideas and, as always, practical applications that move us beyond theory and into doing and being radical self-love change agents in the world. This workbook, along with the new edition of the book, will put people in action in their organizations, in politics, in their doctor's offices, and at their jobs.
ISBN: 9781523091188Publication Date: 2021-03-16
Background Articles
Popular Articles
Scholarly Articles
- 44 Mental Health Resources for Black People Trying to Survive in This CountryHere’s a list of resources that may help if you’re looking for mental health support that validates and celebrates your Blackness.
- 55 Mental Health Resources for People of ColorIn this piece, OnlineMSWPrograms.com collected resources that have been tailored to the mental health needs of various racial and ethnic groups.
- All Bodies Deserve: Creating the Future of Us (Coloring Pages)In partnership with the Women’s Foundation of California, The Center for Cultural Power presents a coloring book titled All Bodies Deserve: Creating the Future of Us. Inviting all of us to imagine a colorful, welcoming future where all bodies deserve love, care and recognition, All Bodies Deserve: Creating the Future of Us includes twenty new illustrated coloring pages from eight diverse artists. Each of their drawings centers joy and diverse communities and is inspired by the ideas of abundance – that we should all have what we need to thrive; that people can be different and still equally valued; that we need to care for ourselves, our communities, and the world; and that we can raise curious, happy, healthy identities and families. Download your copy and start coloring!
- Caring for Yourself to Care for Others: A Burnout and Vicarious Trauma ToolkitThis is a toolkit about burnout and vicarious trauma. It was created on June 6, 2020, with the intention of providing resources for self-care and healing amid the very necessary work of organizing specifically against anti-Black racism and police brutality, though these principles apply to any kind of movement work, and these movements are intersectional. This is a toolkit for organizers, students, parents, allies, and anyone for whom its message resonates.
- The Four Bodies: A Holistic Toolkit for Coping With Racial TraumaOur ancestors knew that our health was more than just about the physical, that our bodies are made up of four distinct parts: the mental body, the emotional body, the physical body and the spiritual body. Trauma can be stored in these different parts of our being, and so by working with our four bodies, we remind ourselves of our full humanity. Below is what a holistic approach to coping with racial trauma can look like.
- Mental Health Resources for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)Consistent with the Guide’s mission to provide timely mental health resources, we highlight a range of resources that may be useful to BIPOC-identifying individuals seeking support for mental health concerns and/or coping with race-related stressors, whether current and/or historical, as well as those hoping to share available resources to their patients.
- Pink TherapyPink Therapy offers a directory of qualified LGBTQIA+ friendly therapists and counsellors providing trusted, non-judgmental services for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, asexual, intersex and anyone who identifies as gender, sex or relationship diverse.
- Teachers Of Color Playlist#Diversity makes the world a beautiful place. Immerse yourself in the #wisdom of teachers spanning different cultures and backgrounds, and experience the #boundless and #unifying #power of #meditation.
- Therapy for LatinxFinding a mental health provider shouldn't make you feel worse. We know first hand that going through Google searches and endless directories can feel daunting. Sometimes it may even feel easier to give up all together, we know because we've been there too. Therapy for Latinx was created to make this process as easy as possible. Search our listings to find therapists that honor who you are, provide services with dignity, and can code switch like the best of them.
- Tools & Trainings - Human Resilience ProjectAdvocates and organizations have developed manuals, tools, and training materials to promote well-being. This section includes tools and training modules, including those created by Black Lives Matter advocates, women's rights activists, the United Nations, and others.
- Radical Self Care: Angela DavisIt’s Radical Self Care Week here at AFROPUNK. Let’s hear how revolutionary artists and activists take care of themselves in these chaotic times. Check out what Angela Davis had to say!
- 4-7-8 Breathing exercise for sleepingTry this 4-7-8 breathing technique to calm anxiety, stress and aid a good night sleep.
Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and breathe out for 8 seconds. Repeat as often you like. - The Missing Ingredient in Self Care | Portia Jackson-Preston | TEDxCrenshawWhat happens if you push yourself too hard? What happens when your body tells you to stop yet, you keep going? Portia shares how self-care brought her back to health and it can help you too. Portia is passionate about promoting a holistic and inclusive approach to self-care that takes into consideration how cultural and social factors as well as experiences of discrimination based on identity markers (e.g. race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation) may trigger one's need for self-care and shape one's willingness--or reluctance---to engage in self-care practices.
- SelF Care IRLWelcome to Self Care IRL, a brave space for you to create better wellness experiences. Join Ty Alexander, wellness blogger and best selling author of , as she explores strategies and ideas for becoming your best self. This podcast will inspire you to take life by the horns and enjoy the ride despite your traumas or circumstances.
- Episode 39: Badass Black Women on Radical Self-CareSix Black women will engaged in a thought provoking and critical conversation about radical self-care. They shared their truths about the importance of self-care in their lives as they navigate their intersectional experiences out in the world. This conversation is for everyone. Come learn from these badass women about their radical self-care practices
- IrresistibleFormerly known as Healing Justice Podcast, Irresistible is a virtual practice space at the intersection of collective healing & social change. Host Kate Werning & collaborators share conversations with powerful social justice leaders, and accompanying audio practices to help resource you in your leadership and vision. We are more than resistance -- we are irresistible.
- Asian Mental Health CollectiveAMHC aspires to make mental health easily available, approachable, and accessible to Asian communities worldwide.
- Asian Women for HealthAWFH is a peer-led, community-based network dedicated to advancing Asian women’s health and wellness through education, advocacy, and support. We envision a world where Asian women are well-informed, have access to care that is culturally appropriate and high quality, and inspired to live happy, healthy lives.
- Asians Do TherapyReducing Stigma and Increasing Accessibility
- Black Emotional and Mental Health CollectiveBEAM is a national training, movement building, and grant making institution that is dedicated to the healing, wellness, and liberation of Black and marginalized communities.
- National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color NetworkThe National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) is a healing justice organization committed to transforming mental health for queer and trans people of color (QTPoC). We work at the intersection of movements for social justice and the field of mental health to integrate healing justice into both of these spaces. Our overall goal is to increase access to healing justice resources for QTPoC.
- We R NativeWe are a comprehensive health resource for Native youth, by Native youth, providing content and stories about the topics that matter most to them. We strive to promote holistic health and positive growth in our local communities and nation at large.
- Native Wellness InstituteThe Native Wellness Institute exists to promote the well-being of Native people through programs and trainings that embrace the teachings and traditions of our ancestors.