Last Saturday for Black History Month, and I was at Politics and Prose to celebrate the launch of Marita Golden’s new book: How to Become a Black Writer: Creating & Honoring Black Stories That Matter. Brimming with the wisdom of the ages, Marita Golden did not disappoint. She sat alongside fellow literary activist, E. Ethelbert Miller and responded to questions about her writing journey.
I thought Marita Golden’s new book on the importance of documenting our lived experience very prescience as I turned and looked into the faces of the racially diverse audience; men and women, young and old, who had braved the cold and rainy Saturday evening to listen to a literary warrior talk about one way to meet the moment. Her words were a balm after a particularly chaotic week.
As a therapist working with African Diaspora women, I realized how much I appreciate Marita Golden’s long advocacy for self-awareness and the importance of Black women valuing and preserving their mental health, topics that she first wrote about in Migrations of the Heart, and in Don’t Play in the Sun: One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex (2004) and continues to advocate for in The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women (2021); and The New Black Woman (Loves Herself, Has Boundaries, and Heals Every Day) (2024)
As an island woman recovering from swim trauma and an advocate for women reclaiming our connection with the water, whether it in a pool, a river, lake or an ocean. I also valued Marita Golden sharing of her swim story. For her, learning to become comfortable swimming in the deep end is a necessary life skill.
During this Black History Month, check out How to Become a Black Writer, even if you don’t have a writing project in mind. Writing is therapeutic! Or reconnect with a skill that African women once possessed. I’ve observed that once students learn basic water safety skills and how to maneuver in another element, they rarely want to leave the pool at the end of the class.
For more support for your mental health visit my webpage at transculturalclinicalservices.com
#writers write
#careforyourmentalhealth
#watertrauma
#BlackHistoryMonth
#MaritaGolden
