This week, we want to acknowledge the presence and work of BEAM — Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective — a nonprofit composed of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities. BEAM offers training, support, resources, and programs that support their mission of eradicating barriers to the healing of Black communities.

Recently, BEAM pointed us to Red Table Talk, a series of episodes on Facebook hosted by three generations of Black women of the same very famous family: actress Jada Pinkett Smith, her mother Adrienne, and Jada’s daughter, Willow Smith. These women sit and talk frankly about difficult topics. A recent episode about pain and loss transfixed us. The conversation begins with a simple question: What is your experience of loss? During the talk, the women touch on the loss of dear friends, loss of self, self-harm, and pain amidst life changes. “If we didn’t experience pain, would we really grow?” The women come to the question and discuss it deeply. “What I feel like I need to keep doing is training my mind and heart to move with loss,” Willow Smith says to her elders, and they answer yes, yes, yes.

Surviving Loss

This week around the Red Table, Jada Pinkett Smith reveals the impact of the tragic death of her longtime best friend, Tupac Shakur. While Willow Smith shares a painful secret for the first time. Follow Red Table Talk for episodes and updates, only on Facebook Watch.

Posted by Red Table Talk on Monday, May 14, 2018

 

We live in a time where it’s easy to post and tweet about mental health issues. It is much harder to do something that moves mental health to the forefront and creates a forum for deeper conversation and change. The stakes are alarmingly higher for Black mental health in our country. The layers of racism surfacing and finding traction in our culture disgust us. Productions like Red Table Talk and organizations such as BEAM are absolutely essential in creating positive Black communities and a larger culture that supports them.

If BEAM is new to you, we hope you will explore their work here.