Black Women & Healing

Black women have been the foundation, backbone, and the sturdy table that everyone wants to scoot their seats to. In other words, Black women have always possessed this authentic aura that exemplifies the epitome of fortitude, strength, wisdom, and hope for centuries. However, it makes me think about the lack of healing that gets pushed to the margins when we have to be everything to everyone, all the time.

Have we healed from the oppressive forces that target our intersections of race, gender, sexuality and class identities?

What does this mean for the collective group of Black women in society today?

How do we heal from past trauma and what does that process look like?

Though, there is no universal answer due to the unique experiences’ Black women and people of color encounter, your answer and how you go about this process may look and feel different. In many ways, many of us have not tapped into the power of healing because many of us do not know where to start.

Why Is Healing So Important For Black Women?

It grants us freedom. In order for us to be free, healing is essential. Especially, since Black women are likely to experience disproportionate rates of violence, exploitation, and other forms of abuse that affect their intersectional identities. When this trauma accumulates, this impacts our autonomy, agency, and navigation as Black women.

What Does Healing Actually Entail?

The term healing is often interchangeable with self-care and as you care for your outer self, you’re simultaneously healing from within. Healing involves a compilation of practices that allows one to create boundaries, set intentions, develop unbreakable self-love, and find validation in one’s feelings. Many practices such as crystal healing, meditation, yoga, dance, therapy, sacred or ancestral practices, or rituals are all forms that can help one heal.

Is It An Easy Process?

Realistically, healing is a lifelong journey. It’s a beautiful voyage that requires vulnerability, transparency, and emotional clarity—which can be very rewarding if you want it to be. But it never stops. We must keep going because our ancestors cared so much for us to have a better life. Heal, because you are the Black woman that breaks generational curses, finds liberation, and taps into the power you’ve always had.

“I need to see my own beauty and to continue to be reminded that I am enough, that I am worthy of love without effort, that I am beautiful, that the texture of my hair and that the shape of my curves, the size of my lips, the color of my skin, and the feelings that I have are all worthy and okay.”
– Tracee Ellis Ross

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