Black History Month and the Pyramid We Inherited, Mental Health, Identity, and Self Image
Black History Month often sits on pride, culture, and resistance. All matter. Yet one part stays quiet. The part about how Black people see themselves, and how those views grew inside systems built to rank human worth. For centuries, whiteness placed itself at the top of the social pyramid - by law, story, religion, science, and violence. The message stayed simple. White meant superior. Black meant less.
Faith and Mental Health: Healing Shame, Restoring Dignity
Africa’s spiritual roots run deep. Faith is often our anchor in times of heaviness, yet too often, faith spaces have also become places of silence, shame, and misunderstanding. This gathering was a gentle invitation to name what is usually...
Mental Health Was Never Foreign to Us
Today is World Mental Health Day and before we speak on anything in regards to mental health today, I think we need to dispel this seemingly light but dangerous notion that the West introduced mental health to Africa. Perhaps we lacked the umbrella definition of our emotional wellbeing but Africa did not just discover mental health. We’ve always known what it means to carry emotional burdens. We’ve always had language for grief, spiritual unrest, and
Is Suicide Always About Depression? A Conversation Rooted in Truth
We miss the impact of spiritual distortion where vulnerability is seen as weakness, and suffering is framed as punishment or a test of our faith. We miss the weight of cultural conditioning where children are taught to suppress their emotions, and adults are praised for endurance over healing. We miss the reality of intergenerational trauma where silence is inherited, and shame is passed down like a family heirloom.
What is PTSD then?
One of the concrete myths on mental health is that mental health is not an African thing. To be honest, even when I was placed on mental health medication as a 15 year old, I only got to hear the word "mental health" when I was 26. A few months ago, I made it to my 32nd year. It has been four years now, and I can assure you that there is no topic I've had to educate myself on, almost on a daily basis, like the one of mental health. I've had to look at the cultural norms and traditional proverbs to understand the meaning beneath their practice and sayings
Suicide Awareness
The Boda-man, two minutes into our journey, asked that I excuse him for making some inquiries. Are you married? I took a deep breath thinking that this was going to be one of those unsolicited advice episodes on marriage. I told him I wasn’t. Have you ever been in a relationship? I answered in the affirmative. Have you ever been heartbroken? I answered in the affirmative. “Forgive me but you are the right person to speak to. You know a couple of days ago, I was depressed…”
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