By Lisa M. Peyton | Photo courtesy Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness
Black women are powerful forces — leading families, communities, movements and change. Yet our strength often exists alongside deep challenges: confronting racial inequities, health disparities and the demands of caregiving — all while navigating systems not built by or for us. These unique demands require pathways and practices that protect and restore our wellbeing.
In 2009, three years before I started the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (FFBWW), I launched Black Women’s Wellness Day as a trusted space for Black women to heal, grow and claim our power. This year’s event will take place on Sept. 27.
The theme of this year’s event is rest, resilience and resistance. It offers a path back to ourselves, to one another and to a more sustainable way of existing in a world that often challenges our very existence. Through these principles, we can find balance, the power to persevere, and the tools to protect our mental and physical health.
REST: THE MOST RADICAL RESET
Bubble baths and stolen naps are wonderful. But rest, as a healing practice for Black women, is ancestral, deeply personal and a form of protest. It’s not just about sleep — it’s about reclaiming our time, energy and space in a world that too often drains us.
Rest might mean scheduling a day of nothing and honoring it like a critical work meeting. It could mean setting boundaries around screen time or caretaking. For others, it’s returning to nature: taking meditative walks, grounding barefoot in green space or working in the garden.
Reconnecting to the land can also be meditative, helping us reclaim our relationship with nature and healing.
RESILIENCE: REDEFINING HOW WE BOUNCE BACK
Resilience is both a personal and community attribute. It fuels our capacity to recover and thrive — despite obstacles or threats.
Resilience isn’t just “bouncing back.” It’s the intentional work of nurturing mental health, strengthening our spirit and staying rooted in who we are. It means building systems, practices and habits that support emotional, mental and physical wellbeing.
Some techniques to foster resilience include mindfulness, setting boundaries with loved ones, and integrating sacred practices like meditation or prayer into daily life that brings us healing, purpose and renewal. Starting each day with a clear intention — whether it’s to stay present or approach challenges with calm — can keep us centered and clear-minded. Journaling a few lines to process emotions and track personal growth, or seeking therapy to unpack deeper struggles while staying connected to a supportive community can also provide strength and perspective.
RESISTANCE: WELLNESS AS A FORM OF POWER
Resistance isn’t always loud — but it’s always intentional. It’s naming the systems that harm us, advocating for policy change, and refusing to shrink or settle. Prioritizing our health is revolutionary.
Through programs like Project Live Well, Wellness Ambassadors and the Well Black Woman® Institute, the FFBWW equips women to take charge of their health and lives — and become advocates for change. We offer tools for healing, leadership and organizing while advancing equity in health, housing and economic opportunity.
As women and leaders, building daily habits like consistent movement, eating nutritious meals and accessing routine care are key to our longevity. But resistance also means addressing the social and economic barriers that shape health outcomes, particularly for Black women. True wellness is personal and political. Educating ourselves, deepening our understanding of our own health, and sharing vital knowledge about the systemic challenges we and our communities face is a form of resistance, helping to shift and grow awareness and advocacy.
When we center Black women’s health, starting with our own, we strengthen entire communities. Rest, resilience and resistance aren’t just themes — they’re a blueprint for liberation.
The 17th annual Black Women’s Wellness Day is on Sept. 27. Learn more and register at bwwday.org.
