How You Gonna Win When You Ain't Right Within?: Black Mental Health with Nyla Bowers

The Bottom Line: The best thing we can do for our community is what we can do for ourselves. In this conversation about mental health in the Black community, Janah is joined by Nyla Bowers, a current freshman at Cornell University. Janah and Nyla approach the discussion through multiple lenses (including historical and contemporary) to explain the conditions that create Black exhaustion and the roots of the stigma surrounding mental health practices. Mental health is especially important for the Black community. Generational trauma has been passed down since the enslavement of Black people. Trauma manifests itself onto our bodies, in our genes, and in our daily social interactions and relationships. Minimizing the necessity and urgency of Black people’s mental and emotional well-being poses a grave threat to our liberation. When leaders and individuals are burnt out and suffering from mental exhaustion, they are not equipped to function, excel, and advance social movements. Nyla and Janah dive into the necessity of self-care, spirituality, and choice in bringing levity and hope to Black people's lives.