By Christie A. Cruise, PhD
On July 6, 2024, 36-year-old Sonya Massey was tragically killed in her home by a Springfield,
Illinois, Sheriff’s Deputy who had a history of misconduct and DUIs. The ongoing victimization
and murder of Black women by law enforcement remains a critical issue. This essay, originally
shared by The Healing Collective Global in August 2020, regrettably remains relevant four years
later. What also remains relevant is the need for Black women to prioritize our mental health and
well-being at all costs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused most of us to change our routines significantly. For many
of us, shelter-in-place orders have encouraged the resuscitation of old projects and have
motivated us to commence projects or activities that have lingered on our to-do lists for much
longer than we had planned.
I have become more interested in watching television than I would care to admit. I justify this
newfound pastime by reassuring myself that there are worse things than the Hallmark Channel
and Home and Garden Television (HGTV) I could watch. HGTV provides me with a mental
vacation by allowing me to live vicariously through house hunters looking to buy property in the
Caribbean and Mexico. The Hallmark Channel, with its often predictable yet strangely insightful
plots, provides me with hope for finding a compatible partner.
I may be among the few who watch the commercials during a television show’s intermission
instead of taking a bathroom break or refilling refreshments. In all my television watching, I
have noticed a disturbing trend. Commercials, especially those selling products that appeal to
couples and families, are often missing Black women.
There is no shortage of commercials touting diversity, especially in the wake of the recent
murders of Atatiana Jefferson, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McClain,
and countless others. As companies and organizations continue to release racial justice
statements, there has been a surge in advertisements that feature more Black, Indigenous, and
people of color.
What I find disturbing, however, is not the increase in diversity but what seems to me to be an
intentional erasure of Black women from commercials with couples and families. Many of the
commercials I have seen while awaiting the return of the current episode of House Hunters
International or Love at New Heights (my take on a title of a Hallmark Channel movie) represent
Black men in relationships with women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, except Black
women. I rarely see commercials with Black women in relationships with anyone other than
inanimate objects (laundry detergent, mops, food) and domestic animals (cats, dogs).
Now, granted I have not conducted a quantitative research analysis where I have taken a
randomized sample of all commercials across a variety of television networks, run descriptive
statistics, and analyzed the frequencies, mean, median, and mode of the data collected. And I am
aware that our perceptions are greatly influenced by the lens with which we view society. My
lens has been greatly influenced by my experiences with white supremacy, oppression, and
discrimination as it relates to race, gender, and color. But it is also influenced by public behavior
and response to Black women and research related to the experiences of Black women and girls.
In 2019, I presented, with my friend and colleague Dr. Shemya Vaughn, at the National
Convention for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). In our presentation entitled, Is
Anyone Listening: The Silencing of Black Women and Girls with Mental Health Issues, Dr.
Vaughn and I discussed the dehumanization and adultification of Black girls as young as five
years of age and the spike in suicide rates of Black children in general, but specifically Black
girls 10-14 years of age. Let me repeat this for the people in the back. Black girls experience
trauma and have suicidal ideations as early as five years old.
In a 2018 interview with Vogue Magazine, tennis powerhouse Serena Williams shared that the
day after receiving an emergency C-section to deliver her daughter, Olympia, she felt short of
breath and was concerned she was having a pulmonary embolism as she had a history of blood
clots. Williams explained her symptoms to a nurse and requested a CT scan, which she was
denied because the nurse did not believe her symptoms. After insisting on a CT scan, Williams
was granted her request. The results of the scan revealed small blood clots in her lungs.
Unfortunately, Williams’ story is not the exception; it is the norm.
The National Partnership for Women and Families published an issue brief in 2018 titled, Black
Women’s Maternal Health: A Multifaceted Approach to Addressing Persistent and Dire Health
Disparities that included the following results:
1. Black women in the United States are more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than
women in any other race group.
2. Black women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than
white women.
3. Black women are more likely to experience preventable maternal death compared with white
women.
4. Black women’s heightened risk of pregnancy-related death spans income and education levels.
More recently, the murder of Breonna Taylor by members of the Louisville Metro Police
Department brought to light yet another area where Black women are disregarded: the justice
system. Before the murder of Breonna Taylor, Kimberlé Crenshaw—lawyer, professor, and civil
rights advocate—delivered a TED Talk on the Urgency of Intersectionality. Crenshaw, after
conducting an audience participation activity to illustrate her main point, discussed the
exceedingly low level of awareness of police violence against Black women. This TED Talk was
delivered in 2016; fast forward four years, and awareness of and justice for Black women who
are victims of police violence continues to be low.
Black women are also targeted within our own community. From the disrespect we witnessed
from Snoop Dog and other Black male celebrities against Gayle King, to the Twitter memes from
50 Cent about the shooting of Megan the Stallion and the disrespect aimed at Jill Scott from
professional football player Kyle Queiro, Black women are as Malcolm X described: “The most
disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is
the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.”
Perhaps commercials aired between re-runs of the Golden Girls on the Hallmark Channel and
Home Town on HGTV are not part of an implicit plan to silence and erase Black women and
girls; however, there are institutional, social, and cultural systems in place that seem to be
working overtime to dehumanize and eliminate us. If we are to dismantle these systems of
oppression, we must get in formation.
First, we need to exercise our democratic rights. We must vote. In 2019, we witnessed a new
record-setting when the 116th Congress became the most racially and ethnically diverse in
history. Just recently, 3 Black women—Cori Bush, Kim Gardener, and Tishaura Jones—won the
primaries in St. Louis, MO, for the Congressional seat, the Circuit Attorney's office, and the
Treasurer's race, respectively. This fall, we have an opportunity to not only effect change with
our presidential election vote but also make history with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Second, we must amplify the voices of Black women. With our time, talents, and financial
resources, we must support publications and platforms that tell Black women’s stories.
Publications and platforms like Midnight & Indigo, CRWN Mag, Gumbo Magazine, The
Kitchen Table Literary Arts Center, REWRITE London, and The Healing Collective allow Black
women to be vulnerable and authentic.
Next, we must continue to fight for justice for Black women and girls; this includes our
transgender sisters. We must support initiatives like the #SayHerName campaign developed by
the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and the Center for Intersectionality and Social
Policy Studies (CISPS) to continue to bring awareness to the names and stories of Black women
and girls who have been victims of police violence. Other ways we can fight for justice for our
sisters include participating in protests, signing petitions, and contacting lawmakers to demand
justice.
Some Black women are using their celebrity status to demand justice for police violence against
Black women. Oprah Winfrey recently purchased 26 billboards throughout Louisville, KY,
demanding justice for Breonna Taylor. Jada Pinkett Smith stood in solidarity with Tamika
Palmer, Taylor’s mother, during a rally in Louisville in June. I would be remiss if I did not
mention the countless number of Black men who are also using their celebrity status to demand
justice for Breonna Taylor and other Black women victims of police violence, including
Common, LeBron James, John Legend, and yes, even Kanye West who offered to pay the legal
fees for the family of Breonna Taylor.
Equally as crucial as dismantling systems of oppression is healing from them. Healing from
oppression can take many forms, including psychotherapy, mind and body practices, and healing
arts. The methods you choose for your healing journey should be specific to your needs. Below
are some resources that may assist with the journey.
The Black Mental Wellness Corporation, founded by four Black women clinical
psychologists, provides information and resources about mental and behavioral health
topics from a Black perspective.
Black + Well produces a journal and magazine focusing on healing from trauma through
health and wellness practices.
Ourselves Black produces a magazine that focuses on controlling our narratives about our
experiences with mental health and wellness.
Girl Trek is a national health movement that uses civil rights history and principles to
motivate Black women and girls to live healthy lives. Through numerous national
partnerships, Girl Trek has developed a training program for Black women to serve as
health professionals in their communities in fitness, mental health, and nutrition.
The Healers for Liberation Network is a D.C.-based collective of people of color healers,
therapists, shamans, life coaches, creative arts therapists, and others with a mission to
center healing-based communities that do not follow white supremacy healthcare models.
My healing journey has been multifaceted, with my priorities being rest and sleep. I allow my
body to rest and sleep when it requires it. Rest, for me, includes disconnecting from all
electronics, including television, cell phones, and computers. I often lay in silence when I am
resting my mind and body. I may also engage in stretching exercises. Naps are essential to my
healing. My brain requires rest to work optimally, so I rarely take a 2-3-hour nap in the middle of
the day. I do not support the “push through” culture. I believe it is detrimental to the healing of
Black folks, especially Black women.
In addition to rest and sleep, I write. I journal regularly, sometimes with prompts and other times
without. I allow my spirit to dictate what I need to put on paper when I write. Some days, I write
only a sentence, while other days, I write pages. Again, this is part of my healing, so I allow my
spirit to lead me.
Daily walks and music are also part of my healing journey. There are times when I walk in the
park or just around my neighborhood, and I also walk around the house. The location of my walk
is essential, but giving my body space to move is more important. On days when the weather
does not permit, or I do not want to go out, I put on my favorite playlist and walk around the
house. It is a very cathartic experience.
Psychotherapy is a vital part of my healing. For the first time, I have a Black woman therapist. I
have been blessed to have always had excellent therapists. However, there is something special
about having a Black woman with a similar background as mine with whom to process trauma
and grief.
Prayer and meditation are how I anchor my soul and stay centered. They are the most important
of all my healing practices. It is through these practices that I find my peace. I generally meditate
at the end of the day to relax before bed. I pray throughout the day, in the morning, while
working, and before bed; I pray without ceasing.
There is still much work to do. We face overt and covert messages that say we do not matter
every day. We matter! We are not going anywhere! Let us take the necessary steps to care for
ourselves so that we can continue this fight for justice.
