"That Shit Is NOT Just for White People": Internalizing Stigmas

Hey y'all, good morning... afternoon... or evening :)

How was your first week of black history month?

I spent the last week thinking about how black health has been molded by the minds and actions of, for the most part, everyone else BUT black people. In the last rejooovism, we grazed over how conscious and unconscious bias in the medical industry led to the mistreatment of Black Americans in the medical field. Mainly speaking to how OTHERS perceived and acted toward our ancestors and how Black people then reacted to save themselves, but I didn't touch on how those biases actually affected our people.

We all have heard someone close to us say "that's white people shit," when it comes to certain things & don't get me wrong, there are a few things that I find universally FOR white Americans as a black American, like:

- Cussing out the police

- Demanding to speak to a manager

- Frivolous calls to the police department

- Tanning Beds...

See, I'm talking about the stigmas that hold US back. The ones like:

- Overlooking the way you or others around you feel (because we don't get depressed),

- Avoiding movement (because you find it to be inaccessible), and

- Avoiding therapy (because therapy is for crazy white folks).

Do you know what it means to internalize something?

It's an often-unconscious acceptance of an idea, belief, or value making it a part of your own thought process, character, or in the case of black health, our culture.

I believe we've internalized racial stigmas and claimed them as our "culture."

& These stigmas have created a culture reliant on unhealthy coping mechanisms, a chronic course of mental illness, and worse overall health outcomes like hypertension due to chronic stress in the black community. The internalization of these stigmas overtime led to an increase in our psychological distress, decreased our self-esteem, and acted as a barrier to seeking out mental and physical healthcare because we often dismiss total wellness as, "white people shit."

These stigmas led to the curation of a culture avoidant of a total wellness approach. Mainly because black people were largely left out of health conversations that surmised the black population would simply die out over time. Health conversations were solely and directly for the benefit of the white population because black people lacked the fitness to be seen as citizens. - More on this later.

I deal with these same stigmas and laugh at myself often because the activities that bring me the most peace aren't considered "blacktivities." Shit like hiking, visiting botanical gardens and national parks, doing yoga, meditating, hugging trees, etc. NONE of that is considered "black" and after being told for years that I "talk white," I could only laugh at how I spend my free time, cause here I am, acting 'white.'

But learning the history behind why certain activities aren't "black" helped me to understand just how these internalized stigmas came about. For instance, it isn't that outdoor activities, like hiking, camping, and skiing aren't "black," it's due to the lack of access to land, a nonexistent proximity to natural recreational areas, and an absence of economic resources in black communities that made these activities seem "white," or otherwise unobtainable for black people.

But it's easier to say that shit is for white folks, because it really was.

So, the cure to this way of thinking is a mindset shift and being our ancestors' wildest dreams by not submitting to these stigmas and doing ALL the things. Using what we know now to enjoy all aspects of life, if we feel so inclined, without allowing these racial stigmas to hold us back.

You can hug a tree if you want to and STILL be Black.

Thanks for reading! Tell me your thoughts below and check me out almost everywhere on socials:

IG - therejooovco | TikTok - rejooov | X - therejooovco | FB - therejooovco | Pinterest - therejooovco

Love & Light,

- Cina