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Tupac Amaru Shakur, " I'm Loosing It...We MUST Unite!"

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Mental Health Month Takes on New Meaning for Black America Amid COVID-19

mental health

Today marks the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month. And it’s fair to say that mental health and wellness is being taken more seriously amid COVID-19. As millions of Americans stay home and practice social distancing, there is a national conversation about the importance of self-care and mental wellness.

We recently spoke with Tonya Ladipo, founder and CEO of The Ladipo Group L.L.C., based in Philadelphia about the mental and physical impact the pandemic is having on people mentally. And during that conversation, she urged black people to not put their mental health on the back burner during these uncertain times.

Black Health Matters

Someone once said, “When white America catches a cold, black America catches the flu.” Others have even gone as far as to say pneumonia. A recent study by Dr. Cato Laurencin, CEO of the Connecticut Convergence Institute and Editor-In-Chief for the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities outlines the health disparities blacks are facing amid the coronavirus.

In addition to the virus, pre-existing social inequities are attributed to the decline in the overall health of black people.

To that point, Ladipo told BLACK ENTERPRISE that self-preservation is key. “We have been through so much that the need to make sure we are well is not optional.”

She also said, “They can’t take our minds. I feel as though we have to fight to protect it [our mental health] especially through COVID-19 because we’re on lockdown—and because it’s hard. We have to protect our mental health and wellness like a job right now. We have to make sure that when we come out of this—and we’re bruised and maybe having broken bones—that we’re not fully broken.”

Although black people and those living in underserved communities are being hit the hardest by COVID-19, there are a number of actionable steps that people can take to practice self-preservation during these times.

Here’s advice we’ve collected from mental health professionals.

Preserve Your Mental Wellness:

  • Find a virtual therapist
  • Unplug from your screen for a period of time daily.
  • Turn off the news and/or mute your news push notification.
  • Know your limits. — Be able to set limits and don’t overload yourself. We live in an overload culture and it’s very easy to do more and take on more. Sometimes we find our significance in the amount of things that we do and we find ourselves wearing ourselves out
  • Take vacations or staycations. – Know how to step away and take a real vacation or staycation and do what reenergizes you and things that nourish your mind and body. If what you need is to be away from everyone, do that.
  • Watch what you eat. – Don’t give your taste buds over what your body really needs.
  • Maintain a regular cycle of 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night
  • Exercise for 30 minutes.
  • Journal about how you are feeling.
  • Read books that take your mind to other places.
  • Check-in with family members and friends.
  • Take time for yourself.
  • Minimize or manage the amount of stress in your life—recognize what things are stressful to you and have a way to minimize them.

To read more about how COVID-19 is impacting the black community, click here.



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Cincinnati high school host unique, individual ceremonies to send off graduates

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many states to cancel in-person school instruction and events, including long-awaited graduation ceremonies for millions of high school seniors.

That wasn’t the case, however, for a group of seniors at Dohn Community High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Instead of resorting to an online send-off, the charter school offered a handful of graduates a modified graduation, according to Fox19Now.

The school’s director, Ramone Davenport, brought the ceremony to the students’ homes where seniors dressed in caps and gowns, along with masks and gloves, received their diplomas on a table adorned with the school’s colors and flowers.

READ MORE: Graduation season falls victim to the coronavirus pandemic

Davenport, who also wore protective coverings, presented the selected seniors their diplomas with high elbows instead of hugs and handshakes. Each individual ceremony featured family members who cheered from a distance, usually across the street, holding handmade congratulatory signs for the students.

“Students have worked their tails off,” Davenport told the local news station. “I think I have to keep the motivation in the spirits of them, so they can continue to get this high school diploma then go on to the next level.”

Dohn counted 250 graduates among its roster, according to WCPO-TV. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine encouraged high schools to host virtual celebrations or in-person events of fewer than 10 people amid the coronavirus pandemic, the ABC affiliate reported.

“I was honestly upset because it’s been 12 years that I waited for my diploma,” graduate Vic’ Tajia Stuckey told the news station. “But Dohn always makes it happen for us.”

Nearly all of Dohn Community High School’s 1,000 students are at or below the poverty line.

READ MORE: Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot dances on TikTok to announce virtual graduation ceremony

One of the seniors, Prince Dixon, admitted to being nervous to take part, but the nerves soon transformed into happiness.

“At first I was kind of nervous,” said Dixon, who is moving on to the University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash, which is about a dozen miles away from his alma mater. “But I see everyone supporting me and clapping me on, so I was happy at the end.”

Dixon plans to double major in electronic media and computer science, with a minor in physics.

The post Cincinnati high school host unique, individual ceremonies to send off graduates appeared first on TheGrio.



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Kenya Barris embraces criticism of Netflix show ‘#BlackAF’: ‘I take opinions good with the bad’

Netflix series #BlackAF has struck a chord in the Black community to become one of the most polarizing new titles on the streaming platform.

The underlying topics of colorism and Black representation in media triggered much of the backlash and Kenya Barris, the show’s star and creator, recently broke his silence to respond to the reception of his latest work in an appearance on T.I.’s expediTIously podcast.

READ MORE: ‘#blackAF’ review: Kenya Barris is done appeasing the masses

“The one thing that I’ll say in terms of the colorism [is] this (the show) is based on my family” and actress Rashida Jones is “playing a version of my wife, who’s biracial,” said Barris, who said she did a “pitch-perfect job.”

#BlackAF is a fictionalized satire of Barris, who plays himself, opposite Jones, navigating through Hollywood as a Black creative with a biracial wife and family. Barris is the creator of the Award-winning ABC series Black-ish and its subsequent spinoffs Grown-ish and Mixed-ish, which are also loosely based on his life. He is also a co-writer of comedy film Girls Trip.

Barris has six children with his wife Rania “Rainbow” Barris, who is the inspiration for anesthesiologist Rainbow Johnson, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, in Black-ish.

“I think everyone’s experience and everyone’s opinion in terms of, you know, colorism are real, and I understand that,” Barris continued, “but if you just dug a little bit under the surface, you’d understand that” #BlackAF is “biographical … and I was trying to duplicate a version of what my family was.”

READ MORE: ‘#blackAF’ review: The navel-gazing inception of Kenya Barris

The show “speaks to the idea that there is so much colorism in the world,” he added, “The ignorance I have a little bit of a problem with … but I take opinions good with the bad because if you’re going to listen to any of them, you’ve got to listen to all of them.”

Many have taken to social media to speak on their disdain for the series’ look at colorism:

One Twitter user questioned if Jones is Black, saying “it makes no sense” how America is “committed to their one drop rule.”

Another suggested the show lost her support on the first episode.

 

While Barris is credited for creating #BlackAF and writing multiple episodes of the eight-part series, others questioned the show’s penmanship.

Some, however, have supported the show and showed appreciation for both the satirical commentary and representation.

One Twitter user called out critics that derided Barris for “choosing actors that (sic) portrayed his ACTUAL family” and said #BlackAF is “education on black history, yet ur (sic) concerned about colorism.”

“[B]lack people come in all shades, shapes, and sizes. Rashida Jones is a BLACK. WOMAN” and “her having lighter pigmented skin & being mixed doesn’t (sic) make her less of a black woman than any other black woman,” another user wrote.

“I truly don’t understand all the hate this guy is getting. It’s his life, and his experiences. He should be allowed to tell his story in his own way,” another #BlackAF fan said.

 

Barris as a Hollywood writer continues to make moves in real life as executive producer of the Netflix sketch comedy show Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show and wrote the forthcoming Coming 2 America sequel.

The post Kenya Barris embraces criticism of Netflix show ‘#BlackAF’: ‘I take opinions good with the bad’ appeared first on TheGrio.



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HBO Renews Insecure, Promising Us More Issa & Molly Shenanigans After 2020

Halfway through what already feels like a too-short season of Insecure, the addictively funny show on HBO about Black millennials living in Los Angeles, has secured a fifth season.

Read more...



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Michelle Obama’s Critically Acclaimed ‘Becoming’ Is Coming to Netflix as a Documentary

michelle obama

We all knew that something great had to be in the works a couple of years ago when the Obamas penned a deal with Netflix. Nevertheless, imagine our level of excitement for former first lady Michelle Obama’s documentary, Becoming to air on Netflix May 6.

Women all around the world resonated with the stories and affirming words shared by Obama in her candid autobiographic novel. Becoming sold more than 10 million copies. In addition to book sales, Obama’s book tour was a monumental success—and the Netflix documentary is a behind-the-scenes look of the 34-city tour. Which is great news for those who weren’t able to secure tickets for the sold-out events!

In a heartfelt Instagram post, Obama announced the documentary, writing:

“I’m excited to let you know that on May 6, @Netflix will release BECOMING, a documentary film directed by Nadia Hallgren that looks at my life and the experiences I had while touring following the release of my memoir. Those months I spent traveling—meeting and connecting with people in cities across the globe—drove home the idea that what we share in common is deep and real and can’t be messed with. In groups large and small, young and old, unique and united, we came together and shared stories, filling those spaces with our joys, worries, and dreams. We processed the past and imagined a better future. In talking about the idea of ‘becoming,’ many of us dared to say our hopes out loud.”

I treasure the memories and that sense of connection now more than ever, as we struggle together to weather this pandemic, as we care for our loved ones, and cope with loss, confusion, and uncertainty.

She went on to sing the director’s praise saying, “It’s hard these days to feel grounded or hopeful, but I hope that like me, you’ll find joy and a bit of respite in what Nadia has made. Because she’s a rare talent, someone whose intelligence and compassion for others comes through in every frame she shoots. Most importantly, she understands the meaning of community, the power of community, and her work is magically able to depict it.”

On Twitter, Obama shared a clip from the documentary.

I’m excited to share that on May 6, @Netflix will release BECOMING, a documentary directed by Nadia Hallgren that shares the stories of the amazing people I met after the release of my memoir. During this difficult time, I hope you’ll find some inspiration and joy in this film. pic.twitter.com/fqsIbhXYeL

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) April 27, 2020

Mark your calendar for the release!



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