Niamo Nancy Mu’id
We are in contact with it through someone we know, yet we would prefer to act like it doesn’t affect us. An exception is a public relations maven who has served major Africamerican celebrities like Eddie Murphy and others. I am a witness that this is a major service to people who are darker than blue without reknown. I am a witness that we African descendants have now named for the state of the soul of black folk and why it needs repair, it is called depression and mental illness. These names for the state of mindfulness that has afflicted most Africamericans is not new, but the level of acceptance of the name for this condition affecting many has a new advocate at the tipping point--sister Terrie Williams.
Last night Jonathan, Shakira and I attended an event at Symphony Space sponsored by The Terrie Williams Agency, her Stay Strong Foundation and The Ad Council to promote the sister’s new book. For $25 people gained entry and got a signed copy of:
Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting
By Terrie M. Williams
Contributor Mary J. Blige, Susan L. Taylor
Published by Simon and Schuster, 2008
ISBN 0743298829, 9780743298827
368 pages
What an astounding event about really getting that one has a problem that must be healed, reading the signs, taking heed, and pursuing paths to recovery and healing. Doug E. Fresh was the MC and played the best James Brown music to get the event rolling. DJ Hollywood gave the best “before this one and that one was him” rap delivery ever. The publisher of The Source talked about why he was on board and would seek ways his magazine and the hip-hop community can speak more about healing than about pain. Valerie Bell, Sean Bell’s mother, was also there and spoke about how she is healing; she was with a filmmaker who explained the connection between Sean Bell getting gunned down and Emmet Till’s horrible lynching. The sister is making a movie about it so this history will not be forgotten.
She even said something about how Emmet wanted to change his name to Sean before he died. I’ll have to check to make sure I heard this correctly. I noticed she spoke in the third person, whereas Terrie asked people to speak about their own pain. It is still very raw for her of course. I kept saying to myself, in International Black Summit facilitator fashion, “speak from the ‘I,’ girl, speak from your own experience.” Her historical allusion was excellent and unexpected; she certainly did not look like she could/would have such wise understanding of the continuum of assault on Black males and be able to convey it like a teacher. I admit maturing beyond the assumption of cultural trappings. I must assume everyone i meet is brilliant and has prescient meaning for my life.
The event closed out with at least 30 folks speaking at the mic about their own pain. the tears flowed, the hugs helped, and an announcement was made about the many psychologists in the back who were there to help people talk more in a private setting. I had asked Yvonne, Terrie’s assistant, if there was room for me to do reiki, and she showed me the small area they had and just really didn’t think so. I realized that without some way to inform people of my service, it didn’t make sense and there was not an opening for this. I must also admit I was not prepared to stay late laying hands on folks without a bit more inclusion into the “healing room” Terrie had set up. She had told me space was an issue via email last week. She will remember us for next time anyway, and the work is on for me to think more about how the HealMobile can participate. She is doing these screenings--oh did I say there was a film about the book and the effort?--in 50 cities across the nation.
Dr. John Bolling and Dr. Henry McCurtis were two of the 5 or so psychologists mentioned that people could go to speak to. I have seen McCurtis myself when married to Onaje. He is a deep brother no question and his specialty is men. Bolling has the Mandala Center and it does wonderful work to help our menfolk. He’s a Yoruba practitioner (I believe) who wrote a deep piece on the Eshu/Elegba trickster figure as a paradigm for how African descendants cope with mental illness. The Timbuktu Collective intends to publish the article in its journal sometime soon. It is interesting that most of the psychologists named were men. Jonathan commented that there seemed to be a 4:1 ratio of women to men in the space. I said 3:1, as Symphony Space began to fill up.
Quite a few hip-hop brothers spoke, include one Abu Muhammad from Newark who described how he killed his own brother in front of his mother and is out of jail to tell about it, all glory be to God. The youngest to share was a 13-year-old dawta whose father came up and encouraged her after she whispered to him, to state how she grew up, that he was a recovering addict, and her mother was still a drug addict. All she wants is her mother to tell her girl stuff...that kind of mothering...she was so very beautiful and I know we’ll hear more from her. She called her dad a “good Muslim.” Erica from December 12th Movement and The Code was there to help her tell her story, as well as another young sister, 16, who was outstanding in her delivery and overstanding. Kudos, Erica--I know you helped my daughter Namibia in the past and I am comforted to see you doing what you do best. I’ll fill in the full names of folks a bit later.
“Black Pain” is the new book by Terrie M. Williams. So go get it. TM is screening “Healing Starts With Us: The Open Book” in 50 cities nationwide so stay tuned.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Depression in the Black Community
