Because Black Women Are The Answer: 9 Wellness Platforms To Keep Your Eye On
Black women fight many wars and attention must be paid.
image @bydorianadiaz.
by Brianne Patrice.
Black women are the answer. Point, blank and the period. However, we remain the least protected and the most under-cared for. We remain disrespected, undervauled and ensalved to a patriarchal system that teaches us “others, first and self, last”.
We are taught to love men who are never taught to love us.
We are groomed to fight for them whilst they refuse us.
We ignite wars and incite revolutions— ready to dismantle and set fire to the branches that aim to roadblock our community’s progression and natural succession. And even with our bloody bodies laying next to yours, you still refuse to call us by name.
Our voices go unanswered and unaccounted for; our bodies remain oversexualized. And our weariness trivialized to nothing more than being the “angry black woman”.
We are tired.
Black women fight many wars and attention must be paid.
When will we stop teaching this idea of self-sacrifice? We must never be martyrs to our own demise. When will we normalize self-selection? We want to breathe and feel the wind beneath our feet dancing cheerfully into the sun. We want to rest and undress, lying bare allowing wounds to heal. And we want to build and have home that offers sacred unity.
Understanding the importance of the black woman’s healing, and the need to “pass the torch”, we rounded-up 9 platforms who we all should be drawing our attention to. 9 platforms who aim to shift the paradigm through the uplifting of women’s voices drawing our attention to stories of — connectedness, wholeness, pleasure and joy.
Chossing self isn’t rooted in selfishness or ego but instead is rooted in care and necessity; thus, collectively, these spaces, are crafted in the grace you deserve and the tenderness you seek.
The diaz collections is an llc founded by doriana diaz. It is a cultivated network operating as a source of natural embrace for up and coming and long-standing black and brown artists. We serve as a channel for the dispersion of black and brown creation throughout Philadelphia and the African diaspora at large. The diaz collections was built to nurture the tenderness of black narratives and testimonials through an artistic lens in order to remain rooted in an inherent and eternal love for ourselves and one another; we have been a witness to the truth that lives within artistic creation. It has the power to cause those engaging with it to shiver, to shift their thinking, to honor the sacred ground in which they are viewing. We know the abilities that lie beneath the surface of one's creative energies. Art is sacred, holy, a church of spirits. A place you go to connect with the divine. Art offers us all-new ways to home ourselves, or to build a new home in a place we might have never known we needed.
@thediazcollections
A fellow writer and IG girlfriend Melissa M. Tripp recently asked other female writers to complete the sentence, 'Women who write are dope _____." My sentiment: 'Women who write are dope because we make it known that to be tender is to be courageous." It is important that we honor our voices in all of their facets because, in a society which continuously deems and sees only parts of us worthy, presentable and acceptable, honoring our whole, the tender and the courageous, the together and the undone, is an act of reclamation and liberation. And how we, all her words, define liberation: (n.) a culminating state of being arrived at through healing, self-discovery, love, declaration and un-becoming.
Tracee Elliss Ross in an acceptance speech once said, " [...] I am more than my parts, and we all are. And we all as women need to continue to change our gaze from how we are seen to how we are seeing. We are full and beautiful women, and let us live in that."
- enaife.isis, founder all her words
@allherwords
Naaya was founded by Sinikiwe Dhliwayo , who is a true creative and public speaker, who, for the last decade, has made a home at the intersection of wellness and publishing. Whether making yoga and meditation accessible to those who need the practice most or telling the stories of marginalized folx through elevated photo and video, Sinikiwe is dedicated to changing the conversation around what it looks and feels like to be well. Wellness, as it stands now, is synonymous with whiteness, affluence, and being able-bodied. Naaya exists to redefine this narrative into one that centers BIPOC folks. Because we know the beauty and the trauma that exist in our experience of living in BIPOC bodies. We want to create a space where BIPOC folks can luxuriate in the beauty that is intrinsic to our being. We aim to root you in your well-being by making you feel seen and—most importantly—heard.
@naaya.wellness
Blex Technologies is an ecosystem of solutions specifically for the Black community. We are a health + wellness space that owns and operates multiple brands: from a sex and relationship coaching app, to a carefully curated intimacy and wellness box. Our mission is to create products and solutions that empower our people to feel invigorated about discussing their sexual health, can confidently lead a healthy sex life, and openly flex their sexual curiosity. Black sex is different. Black intimacy is different. In fact, it’s beautiful and intricate and dynamic, and should be treated as such.
@blex_box
These Twenty Somethings is a Social Wellness Club for black and brown women in their twenties. The club's mission is designed to inspire introspection, guide growth, and to connect likeminded black and brown (women) twenty somethings. We value and prioritize community and personal growth, as these are pivotal within having a healthy foundation within one's lifestyle. Kristian James, a fellow twenty something, founded the brand in 2018, launching January 2019, with the podcast, These Twenty Somethings. Her goal was to share her story with depression and anxiety, fill a gap within the wellness industry, along with allowing twenty somethings the space to speak on topics that were relevant to their lives. In March 2020, she evolved These Twenty Somethings into a Social Wellness Club with the vision to bring a sense of support and guidance to her audience through community, conversation, and digital/in-person programming for women of color. In that, it is important for us to ensure that our community knows that they are never alone and that wellness is a personal pursuit.
@these.twenty.somethings
twenty nine thirty is an online and irl community dedicated to navigating the unfamiliar spaces we encounter. Our tagline — “love. loss. growth and the art of becoming.” is grounded in bringing more open, informative and digestible content surrounding survival mode, what it means to live in it, how to heighten our awareness to it, liberating ourselves from it and what it means to co-create a new life on the other side of it. We are an organization dedicated to actualizing black women’s sensual and sexual divinity through literary and visual aid. Our goal is to bridge the gap between trauma and self-identification providing black women with various healing and authoritative mechanisms that will create the confidence and safe spaces needed to blossom and spring forth. twnety nine thirty addresses an issue that all of us deal with but don’t necessarily understand or have the capacity to acknowledge– trauma and other high stress situations rob of us of our awareness, our ability to think soundly and clearly and of our ability to trust and properly lean into our intuition and decision-making skills. It’s hard to process something when you’re actively (and subconciously) engaging with it.
@twentyninethirty
Grounded, co-founded by SGC’s very own, Danuelle Boswell, was created to help you disconnect and decompress through the appreciation of plants in the spaces we occupy. Their selection of plants have a plethora of benefits designed to elicit a sense of tranquility and mindfulness. From boosting your creativity and concentration, to reducing stress and purifying the air, the influence of plants within a given environment, has proven to be advantageous. Introducing plants to your space has the capacity to improve your health and overall happiness. Sometimes, when the world around seems a bit chaotic, the synergy between plants and humans are a natural progression in helping us to remain grounded.
@groun.ded
Saddie Baddies was started in 2019 by Priscilla O. Agyeman, MPH- a New York based public health professional and mental health activist. With Saddie Baddies, the aim is to break down the barriers of mental health awareness by adding layers and dimensions to the conversation, providing dissemination in bite-sized doses, and establishing a broader understanding through engaging discussion and accessibility. Historically, minority women have been left out of the wellness space and are underrepresented which prevents room for healing and addressing generational trauma. In order to initiate collective healing, we have to understand what we’re dealing with first and also recognize and utilize the resources available to us. The purpose of Saddie Baddies is to gently introduce topics that have been “taboo” for generations and remedy the disconnect and stigma women of color have surrounding mental health.
@saddie_baddies
Chapter Harmony is a wellness platform for the black woman who deserves to be paid, loved, and rested in high favor. We believe that by encouraging black women to manifest the life they deserve, to put themselves first, and to make self-care a priority — we can break generational curses within the black community and live a life of abundance and pure joy.
@chapterharmony
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Brianne Patrice is the Executive Director and Editor-In-Chief of Sad Girls and Sad Moms Club. Outside the club, Brie also sits as Publication Editor to Black Girl In Om. She is a writer and owner of, Twenty Nine Thirty, an online community dedicated to connecting black women back to their sensual and sexual divinity. And is an intuitive-lead healer, spiritualist and meditiation guide. You can check out her digital home here and/or here.