- Written by Lia Threat
- Published in Wellness
When We Support Black Communities, We Support Our Communities
When We Support Black Communities, We Support Our Communities
By Lia Threat
Click aqui para español- >Cuando apoyamos a las comunidades afroamericanas, apoyamos nuestras comunidades.
As I write this, George Floyd has just been laid to rest, and Breonna Taylor would have been celebrating another year of life. Sadly, they lost their lives to senseless police brutality like many others before them. So, I would like to dedicate this space to remind readers to reflect on the struggles of those blacks being oppressed in the United States and worldwide. We share similarities in culture and our strong sense of community. Daily, we fight systemic oppression complexly linked to a history of slavery and colonization. In a holistic approach to health, we cannot truly thrive if one part of our life is out of balance. When a community suffers, we suffer, and there can be no joy when a person harbors hate and fear.
As an action step, I encourage you to support black businesses and other communities of color. Visit black-owned restaurants and donate to organizations that are doing important work with children to inspire change. Please pay attention to those in our food industry, working to end systemic forms of racism that limit access to fresh foods. Systemic oppression also affects other marginalized communities of color. Below are some local organizations to explore and is by no means an exhaustive list. For a list of black-owned restaurants and businesses, check out- https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/multicultural/black-owned-businesses-in-new-orleans/
Liberty’s Kitchen- providing hands-on training programs for youth in the food and service industries. http://www.libertyskitchen.org/
Grow Dat Youth Farm- Inspiring community members to grow food while supporting youth and adults to fight oppression in their communities.
Café Reconcile- Job training program to help at-risk youth in a restaurant setting. https://www.cafereconcile.org/about/
Navigate Nola- Providing Social-emotional wellness programs in New Orleans Public Schools and throughout the New Orleans community.
Kingsley House: Providing social, educational, and senior programs to help strengthen communities.
https://www.kingsleyhouse.org/
YEP (Youth Empowerment Project)- Mentor programs for at-risk youth that have been in the juvenile justice system.
