Community Healing “ONE ACTION AT A TIME” by Rodnisha Ford
system failing Black people.
Gnawing our way through the wreckage of our mangled
bodies born of trauma, we
have nowhere to turn in times of pain. Tired and unwell, we desperately seek an
outstretched hand to save
us and soon realize that no hand
will ever come. Sink or swim, live or die, this defines
the treatment of Black bodies in healthcare.
My disdain for such historically horrific treatment of Black people, especially Black
women, has always grown silently, attacking white
supremacy within the comfort
of my mind. In 2018 my silence bloomed into passionate fury
as I questioned the inaccessible rates and blatant disregard
for Black communities within the health spaces around
me. That year I worked at a
holistic mental health office
where practitioners preached wellness for everyone but
seeking aid. In one incident, I remember being told to stay
on high alert of a “potentially
dangerous man” that had found
his way into the office. I saw the young gentleman in question
and realized that he was simply a Black man. When asked what he needed, he shared that he
just moved to LA from Brooklyn and was looking for help. He wasn’t a threat. The office
was in no danger. I let it sink
my archaic mindset and shifted
out of reach of the healthcare
space for Black people. It didn’t
out of the United States and
Our existence is revolutionary;
everyone” didn’t have a healing have a healing space for me.
That same year, my mother, only
53 years young, was hospitalized and fighting for her life. Doctors labeled her predicament as
“complications during surgery", but failed to mention that the
complications were due to an unrelated mistake made by
the surgeon years prior during a previous surgery. Doctors overlooked and covered up this fatal error. Rooms over,
another family grieved a loss at
the hands of the same surgeon. At this moment, I realized that my mother’s doctors did not
sufficiently educate themselves or any of their patients on
potentially safer alternatives
to harmful and, in some cases, unnecessary surgery. Even
worse is the doctors’ lack of
accountability, and the hospital's steadfast commitment to cover up fatal mistakes at the cost of Black and Brown bodies. This
is the nature of the healthcare
system that led to my mother’s life hanging in the balance.
By the time we had medical
records and staff stories put
together, all the pieces spelled out neglect. On the table they
saw a Black woman and deemed her unworthy of life. A few
months later she died, and a part of me did too.
In the midst of my grief and
despair, I completely dismantled
system’s death grip.
into a new perspective. I moved
it is only fitting that our
found solace in Thailand to
healing is as well.
take time to heal my own body, mind, and spirit. I vowed not
There is no more time for
to work for anyone other than
games; the Revolution is now
myself as I create holistic
and we are standing on the
healing spaces for Black and
front lines. This movement
Queer communities. I began
is far bigger than my desire
to understand that due to lack
to stay comfortable, so I am
of access to information and
here—climbing through the grit
resources, Black people are
in order to inform and heal our
stuck in a healthcare system
people. I work to give access
that is determined to keep us
to resources that a white
unwell. I acknowledge that this
supremacistt system tries to
simply will not do anymore, so I
keep us from. I fight to keep us
launched Creative Wholeness
alive. The movement lives in me
(creative-wholeness.com), a
as my mother’s legacy lives on.
holistic health and wellness
I stand for all those who don’t
organization determined to
yet know that they can, and I
cultivate self expression and
creativity as a way to decolonize our healing spaces. Through
will not stop until Black, Brown
and Queer folx are reconnected with a holistic sense of
this work, I offer one-on-
community wellness on all
one health coaching, group
wellness sessions, and intensive workshops that are designed to
levels of mind, body, and spirit.
Because we fucking deserve it.
help address counterproductive behavior patterns and restore our mind-body connection.
Using an integrative and trauma mindful approach, I teach
o
isha Fo n d
rd
blatantly shunned Black people
in that this “healing space for
R
I
am tired of the U.S. healthcare
basic practical tools that help sustain wellness by utilizing our body’s natural ability to
restore itself. I operate through a holistic framework rooted
in acknowledging all aspects of physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and social needs
Freelance Writer
as they influence wellness.
r.l.ford13@gmail.com
goal—it keeps us healthy and
She/Her/They/Them
Preventative care is the ultimate
blackgirlwrites.com
THE UNLEASHED VOICE |
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