黑料吃瓜

As 黑料吃瓜 celebrates Black History Month and the cultural, political, social, and educational contributions Black people have made globally, the work 黑料吃瓜 is doing on campus highlights the priorities of Black students. 

While fighting for progress and equity are necessary steps for change, 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 Black Resource Center (BRC) also recognizes the mental toll that work can take on Black students. As a result, the BRC is home to two organizations aimed at protecting and preserving Black students鈥� mental health: Black Women鈥檚 Healing Circle and Black Men鈥檚 Warrior Collective.

Since its founding in 2016 by Africana Studies professor Antwanisha Alameen-Shavers, the Black Women鈥檚 Healing Circle is a safe space to explore self-care, communal healing, and mindfulness strategies. The group, a collaboration between the BRC and the Women鈥檚 Resource Center (WRC), invites 鈥淏lack feminine centered individuals鈥� into a peaceful, encouraging environment with like-minded peers. 

鈥淚t takes a lot of work to heal,鈥� adds Da鈥橵ie Guzman, a second-year graduate student in the Women鈥檚 Studies Department. Guzman, who spends most of her free time in either the WRC or the BRC, has participated in and led workshops for the Black Women鈥檚 Healing Circle since joining 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 campus as a transfer student. 

鈥淲hen we have spaces specifically for Black women to acknowledge the pain, the hurt, the joy that we experience in our lives then it can also provide a space of healing.鈥� 

As the Black Women鈥檚 Healing Circle honors the legacy Black cisgender, non-binary, and transgender women have had in the fight against systemic oppression, the group also highlights the right to peace of mind and peace of spirit. 

Similarly, the Black Men鈥檚 Warrior Collective serves the needs of Black male centered individuals, offering solace and mentorship for all who attend. 

Graduating fourth year majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on Africana studies, kinesiology, and psychology, Fraol Olyad has attended multiple meetings at 黑料吃瓜. 

Olyad said 鈥渟eeing the vulnerability and depth from these men I see on a daily basis鈥� has offered a more well rounded view of the men around him. 

In no other space can Black men at 黑料吃瓜 鈥渢ake off the mask,鈥� he added, and truly be open and honest with each other with judgment or fear of judgment. The topics of each meeting vary from leadership skill building guest speakers, all in the aim of empowering and uplifting Black men in higher education. 

The care and attention to detail paid to students in both the Black Women鈥檚 Healing Circle and the Black Men鈥檚 Warrior Collective underlines the living legacy Black students represent. As 黑料吃瓜 continues to honor Black History Month, groups such as these invest in the future health, success, and community support of Black students at 黑料吃瓜.  

For more information about these services, please reach out to the Black Resource Center directly to connect with either organization.