As I watched my daughter walking hand-in-hand with my mother, the revolutionary nature of reclaiming our health was made crystal clear. We give so much to our families, our communities and our nation. In a world that spends a lot of time and effort tearing down Black women and the families we raise, caring for our own bodies is revolutionary indeed. How dare we make our wellness a priority when the world views us as disposable?
My daughter, Kaitlyn, and I came home to Houston, and kept walking and talking, bringing our family and friends into the movement. Kaitlyn took her superhero blue gear with her to The University of Texas and started a trekking group there, as well.
Last November, at our extended family’s Thanksgiving gathering, we led everyone in our first Family 5K, including loved ones from our youngest children, to our 95-year-old matriarch. It felt good to declare, as a family, that we would not go gently into that darkness of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, high blood pressure or heart disease. We would fight for ourselves and one another!
I’m honored to volunteer as a Fix-it Advocate for GirlTrek in Houston.With the tremendous help of Houston’s GirlTrek members, we’ve adopted the historical 5th Ward neighborhood around Atherton Elementary. Famous Houstonians who have attended the school include Barbara Jordan and George Foreman. We have contributed to the start of a rooftop garden at the school to eliminate the area’s food desert. We’ve surveyed the walkability of the neighborhood and made public comment to city officials on needed improvements. Most importantly, we’ve demonstrated to the community another of GirlTrek’s mottos: “When Black women walk, things change.”
When my children were young, I gave them walking tours of The University of Texas at Austin, also my alma mater, and showed them the south-facing statues on the campus, in honor of Confederate “heroes.” I told them that as painful as the statues were, I used to walk by them and smile, knowing those fellows were likely spinning in their graves that I was attending the University despite their violent attempts to keep my ancestors enslaved and unlearned. It made me so proud to see my daughter boldly leading collegiate trekkers, in superhero blue, around those same statues that loomed over and mocked them as they made their way to greatness.
Last night, I received notice that finally the statues were being removed. It dawned on me that my repeated walk and the walk of other women and men of color along the path of those statues toward graduation made a difference. We walked and things changed.
I couldn’t be prouder to represent GirlTrek along this path.
See #BlackGirlHealing in action at #TEDMED2017!
BlackDoctor.org is excited for this content partnership with GirlTrek to feature #BlackGirlHealing, an initiative created to document the narratives, struggles and successes of Black women on the journey to living their healthiest, most fulfilled lives through the habit of daily walking. This initiative will further the mission of decreasing health disparities and stigma among women and girls, and further the conversation that self care is a revolutionary act of love. Join the movement at www.girltrek.org.