Love of Blackness: Celebrating Black History & Black Love

February is a month of deep significance—honoring Black history, legacy, and contributions while also celebrating love in all its forms. This year, we embrace Love of Blackness—a reminder that Black history is a love story, woven with resilience, community, and the unwavering commitment to liberation.

Black History is Love in Action

Black history is a story of love—love for justice, love for culture, love for one another. It is found in the devotion of ancestors who fought for freedom, in the creativity that fuels Black art and expression, and in the radical self-love that has carried generations forward. From the love letters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Coretta Scott King to the communal care of the Black Panther Party’s survival programs, love has always been the heartbeat of Black resistance and progress.

Black Love is Revolutionary

In a world that often tries to diminish and erase Black joy, loving Blackness—our features, our heritage, our voices—is an act of defiance. Black love, whether romantic, platonic, or self-love, is a force of healing and restoration. It shows up in Black families, in chosen communities, in affirmations passed down from elders, and in the daily decision to show up unapologetically.

How We Honor Love of Blackness

• Celebrate Black History Month with Love: Uplift Black stories, artists, and trailblazers whose work is rooted in love for their people.
• Prioritize Self-Love: Nourish yourself in ways that honor your mind, body, and spirit—whether through rest, joy, or creative expression.
• Show Love to the Community: Support Black-owned businesses, engage in mutual aid, and invest in Black spaces that cultivate care and empowerment.
• Reimagine Love as a Collective Force: Love is more than romance; it’s the commitment to uplift and protect one another.

This February, let’s embrace the fullness of Black history and love—because to love Blackness is to honor its brilliance, its struggles, and its boundless beauty.

Welcome to 2025: A Year for Healing and Resistance

As we step into the new year, we carry the weight of the past while looking toward the challenges and possibilities of the future. This moment is an opportunity to pause, breathe, and honor our capacity for resilience and transformation. Before the work ahead begins in earnest, let us commit to rest, recovery, and healing—for ourselves, our communities, and the movements we hold dear.

Rest as Resistance
Rest is not idleness. In a world that demands constant productivity, choosing to rest is an act of defiance. It is a way to reclaim our energy and ensure we can sustain ourselves through the battles to come. Healing is foundational to the resistance work that will define the coming years. Without it, the movements we build risk becoming unsustainable, leaving us vulnerable to burnout and despair.

Honoring the Past, Healing the Future
We are reminded of the consistent challenge per our internal BWM Book Club choice, Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care, and Safety by Cara Page and Erica Woodland: “The long-term generational impacts of COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program) have been enormous for our movements and our communities. An entire generation of freedom fighters have been jailed, murdered, or driven to exile, interrupting generational transfer of resistance strategies. This was a direct attempt by the state to disrupt the transmission of knowledge and memory due to the threat it poses to its control and domination.” The deliberate sabotage of movements was designed to weaken our collective power, yet here we stand—continuing to fight, learn, and rebuild.

This history teaches us to give ourselves grace. As we rediscover and innovate resistance strategies, we must also embrace rest and healing as vital components of our work. Reclaiming these tools is not just an act of survival but a declaration of our enduring resilience.

The Work Ahead
The coming years will demand much of us. They will require our creativity, courage, and commitment to justice. But as we fight for change, let us not forget that care—for ourselves and each other—is a revolutionary act. Healing is not separate from our resistance; it is a part of it.

As we move forward, let’s root ourselves in rest, resilience, and renewal. Together, we can build movements that not only resist oppression but also nurture the thriving futures we dream of.

Here’s to a year of healing, justice, and collective liberation.

The Power of Mutual Aid: Building Community-Based Care Systems

At its heart, mutual aid is about communities taking care of each other—not through charity, but through solidarity. This principle has driven movements for justice and equity for decades, from the Black Panther Party's revolutionary survival programs to the hands-on work being done today by grassroots organizations.

In November, our Community Care Collective Program Director, Dynasty Davidson, partnered with Tip It Forward founder Kammaleathahh Livingstone to host a training on using radish seeds for acupressure. This workshop empowered participants to bring an innovative, accessible form of self-care and healing to their communities. The training emphasized the importance of shared knowledge and the role of everyday people in supporting each other’s well-being.

This approach aligns with the legacy of mutual aid, particularly the Black Panther Party’s groundbreaking health initiatives in the 1960s and 70s. The Panthers, in collaboration with groups like the Young Lords, established free health clinics and programs to address systemic inequities in healthcare. One notable effort was their collaboration with community groups and hospitals to provide accessible acupuncture as part of their People’s Detox program in the South Bronx, which addressed the heroin epidemic. These efforts not only provided care but also empowered communities to take control of their health systems, resisting reliance on oppressive structures.

Today, mutual aid continues to thrive in the face of systemic challenges. The radish seed training, much like the Panthers’ initiatives, reflects the belief that healing and support can—and should—come from within our communities. By equipping individuals with tools and knowledge, we’re collectively building a future where care is decentralized, accessible, and culturally responsive.

As we move forward, we’re excited to continue fostering spaces where knowledge and resources are shared, ensuring that everyone has the tools they need to thrive. Stay tuned for more training opportunities and stories of how mutual aid is transforming our communities!

Reimagining Mental Health Care: A Collaborative Blog to Spark Change

At Black Wellness Matters, we believe it’s time to reimagine mental health care. Too often, people in crisis face barriers that leave them feeling unsupported, unsafe, and disconnected. This blog is a space to explore stories, perspectives, and ideas that challenge the status quo and create innovative, community-centered solutions to mental health care.

Imagine this: It’s 2 a.m., and someone in your neighborhood is experiencing a mental health crisis. In many cases, the only option might seem to be calling 911—often resulting in police officers arriving, even though they may not be trained in de-escalation or mental health support. But what if there were another way?

Picture a neighbor, pre-designated for emergencies, stepping in. They have a “Code Red” binder—a resource carefully created with input from the person in crisis and their trusted community. Inside are steps for addressing the situation, contact information for preferred family and friends, and additional tools for providing immediate, compassionate care.

Instead of fear or isolation, the person in crisis feels seen and supported. They are surrounded by people who understand their needs, and the crisis is met with empathy, not escalation. This is the type of reimagined care we hope to inspire—solutions built with marginalized and directly impacted communities, not just for them.

Through this blog, we’ll share stories of resilience, explore creative approaches to mental health care, and highlight the voices of those leading the charge for change. Together, we can co-create a system that prioritizes connection, compassion, and the unique needs of every individual.

Let’s start the conversation and reimagine mental health care—together.