Steve Harwell Memorial Tweet Collection πππ
[...] Iβm so pathetically intense. I just canβt be any other way.
Sylvia Plath, The Letters of Sylvia Plath: Volume I: 1940 - 1956 β Edward Cohen, c. 11th September 1950
I couldnβt have imagined it why would I? How could I? How could a seven year old make that up?
This will never NOT be funny
https://www.thedailybeast.com/state-department-to-lgbt-married-couples-your-out-of-wedlock-kids-arent-citizens
For the last few weeks, Iβve been going through it. First there was the constant stream of news about the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on Black communities, then came the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade at the hands of police and the wrongful death of Ahmaud Arbery. Meanwhile Iβm navigating this pandemic along with everyone else, and trying to figure out how to make a positive impact along the way. Itβs been dizzying. And I know Iβm not alone.
According to Naj Austin, founder of the social community for people of color Ethelβs Club, all of those complex feelings and mixed emotions are normal in times of crisis and collective trauma. Ethelβs Club, which previously offered free mental health counseling for members in its Brooklyn location, has now transitioned to a digital model. βThe great thing about a healing space like Ethelβs Club is that it takes our identity, and everything that comes with that, into account. You canβt talk about these complex feelings without talking about Blackness.β The clubβs online community is hosting free, hour-long grieving sessions twice monthly.
For many Black people practicing social distancing, the need for virtual resources has never been more clear. So, Iβve compiled a list of six more mental health resources, in addition to Ethelβs Club, that are providing virtual support to the Black community right now. However you choose to grieve, process, and/or stand in solidarity, remember that youβre not alone, and that your personhood and wellness still matter.
Dive in Well
Maryam Ajayi founded Dive in Well, an organization offering digital classes on various wellness practices, to create a more inclusive wellness industry. Dive in Well hosts donation-based digital events like breathwork classes and therapy sessions aimed at centering self care.
Sista Afya
This Chicago-based, community-driven organization provides women from across the Black diaspora with low-cost group therapy sessions, workshops, and free online conversations known as Online Sista Support Groups, which cover topics like managing the stress sparked by consuming news.
Healhaus
Founders Darian Hall and Elisa Shankle created this space in Brooklyn to provide accessible and inclusive wellness to their community. HealHaus is currently closed, but their ethos has continued virtually through live streamed classes, including a healing cypher for men of color.
Therapy for Black Girls
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford founded this organization to combat the stigma around therapy that might otherwise prevent Black women from seeking care. Now, TBG has become a successful podcast, a directory that aims to connect women with culturally competent therapists, as well as a private community Facebook support group. The organization holds free group support sessions weekly on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. EST.
The Nap Ministry
Performance artist and poet Tricia Hersey founded The Nap Ministry to champion Black rest as a form of reparations and resistance against burnout culture and capitalism. While she normally hosts free pop-ups where visitors can take brief naps and workshops in the Atlanta area, Hersey has been using Instagram to provide mini sermons about the importance of slowing down and getting more sleep when youβre a Black person fighting oppression day-in and day-out.
Inclusive Therapists
Austin-based therapist Melody Li founded the Inclusive Therapists database to provide therapists with training for racial trauma and connect people of all identities, abilities, and bodies with culturally sensitive care. Li herself, and many other therapists in the Inclusive Therapists network, offer reduced-fee teletherapy options to ensure that financial limitations do not keep people from pursuing care. Decolonizing Therapy and Viva Wellness are two other therapy practices with active online platforms.
How did they deserve a childhood and I didnβt? Who gave them the right to take mine away?
genuinely believe that the best and funniest thing you can do in any story is send the characters to literal hell