Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Program focuses on Holistic Black Wellness
Virtual events set each Wednesday in February
NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County’s Black History Month Committee kicked off its slate of 2022 programming events with a discussion about Holistic Black Wellness.
Moderated by Hakim Jones, a youth workforce career counselor with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, panelists included Adrean Turner, Shanita Fields, and Florenna Douglass, along with a performance by Henry Haley, of the Ebenezer Methodist Church, in Norristown.
Between 80 and 85 people attended Wednesday’s virtual panel that was broadcast via Zoom and streamed live on the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services’ Facebook page, according
to Jones, who noted that participants consisted of government representatives, area residents and members of the public.
“After the butterflies, getting the nervousness out, I thought it went well,” Jones said. “Our committee, we have become like a tight-knit family, so my committee is really supportive and helpful. Everything from controlling the chat, to controlling the music, to just helping moderate it. I thought it went well.”
Jones noted that typically county Black History Month events net an attendance rate of approximately 60 to 80 people.
“It actually met our expectations, and exceeded it for the first session,” Jones said.
Organizing the monthlong programming events back in October. Jones said members would conduct planning sessions each week virtually.
Once the national theme of “Black Health and Wellness” was announced, committee members got to work.
“Once we establish what the theme is going to be, our committee really ventures out into the community, locally and regionally, to identify both speakers and honorees,” Jones said.
“But we also work with our county … (which) we’re thankful for because not many government bodies have shown that much support to their departments when it comes to Black history, but Montgomery County has always made it a priority.”
Committee members were then tasked with brainstorming topics and sourcing panelists.
“We really have to look within our networks and within the community, (for) people that are doing great work, and we want to give them an opportunity to share their knowledge, their wisdom and the things they’re doing to help the problem,” he said.
Committee members emphasized the importance of having these events spotlight members doing good work in the community.
“The doctors, the holistic people, the pastors, the other people who have the position, and the platform where they can come out and be a part of our program, and educate everyone on what their job is, and what they do, and what they know about the different topics that we are exploring on our Black history program,” said committee member Lora Gonzalez.
Jones agreed, adding that “it also celebrates and honors people locally and regionally who are doing great things and it gives us an opportunity to celebrate — to celebrate the good things, and the success, and the progress.”
Jones has been a member of the county’s Black History Month Committee for the past 12 years. Gonzalez and fellow committee member Sonya Sanders, an office manager with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, has been involved for the past four and seven years, respectively.
“I got involved when I saw an email that came out, and I thought that it would be a cultural experience, and I wanted to make a cultural difference by joining the Black History Committee, and they welcomed me on day one,” Sanders said. “I feel that the Black History Committee has made and has added value to the cultural aspects of the county.”
Gonzalez, an administrative assistant for the county’s health and human services department, recalled being on board after hearing about the initiative from a committee member.
“It’s history first of all, and it’s Black history, and I am Black, so I wanted to be a part of that, and I wanted to be a part of making the change or people also learning more about Black history,” she said.
This year marks nearly two decades that the county’s Black History Month Committee has put on programs.
“We have definitely seen an increase in diversity in our program when it comes to committee members, and others on the outside who support it,” Jones said. “We’re seeing positive results of just time taking its toll.”
“More and more people are empathetic to the Black experience. More and more people are trying to find ways to do their part to improve the circumstances,” he continued. “So we’ve seen just more support and diversity around our program as the years went on.”
Events were previously held in person, but the COVID-19 pandemic and health and safety concerns prompted the need to pivot to a digital platform.
Organizers were pleased with last year’s attendance figures for the virtual events held each week in February.
“We were concerned at first, but when we thought about it, we actually realized the online platform would give us the ability to reach even more people, not just locally, but across the country,” Jones said.
As the ongoing public health crisis approached the two-year anniversary of the first local cases of the coronavirus, the “Black Health and Wellness” theme was fitting.
“It just happened to be timely because many people are impacted by COVID-19 right now, and more particularly African-American Black community is at the forefront of being impacted,” Jones said.
Gonzalez added that committee members were charged with selecting “subtopics from that theme that correlate with what’s going on in the world today.”
Committee members strived to appeal to mind, body and spirit as they chose the month’s talking points.
Upcoming panels cover a range of topics including Maternal Child Health on Feb. 9, Mental and Spiritual Health on Feb. 16 and Black Wellness and COVID-19 on Feb. 23.
“So we’re hoping as these programs continue to go on the rest of this month that we have more people in the community reaching out, asking questions, asking for more resources, asking about that,” Gonzalez said.
The discussions take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. each Wednesday in February. To learn more, and register to attend, visit montcopa.org/ blackhistorymonth.com.
“We’re dealing with ‘Holistic Black Wellness,’” Gonzalez said. “Blacks have always been known to deal holistically with their health issues. We had grandparents and parents who had their own home remedies that they would make up for wellness and for us to become better when we’re sick.”
“We have ‘Maternal Child Health’ where Blacks are two times more likely to die during childbirth than white people, and then we have ‘Mental and Spiritual Health. Spiritual health is good,” she continued. “That’s something that Blacks have always leaned on, and said you can go all the way back to the Underground Railroad where they were always singing spirituals, and hymns, and all that, and that’s something that Blacks have always leaned on. That’s why we like prayer, and why we institute prayer and spiritualism into our programs just about every year.”
Organizers also stressed the importance of dismantling preestablished stigmas surrounding mental health.
“In the Black culture, there was a time where no one wanted to discuss mental illness, ok? And even in family situations, it was kind of swept under the rug … families would say, ‘well such and such isn’t OK,’” Sanders said. “However, you were looked upon differently if you were to seek a therapist or to seek counseling, and one of the reasons for me joining the committee was also not (just) educate myself but educate others, and let them know that it’s OK to be dealing with mental health as an example.”
Sanders emphasized how mental health has been impacted over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So for me, and others on the committee, it’s rewarding to know that we are assisting others, we are educating others, we are letting them know, letting everyone know that it’s OK,” she went on to say.
Organizers have found the county’s Black History Month Committee event programming serves as a vehicle for moving conversations forward.
“This program does a real(ly) good job of educating people, and providing awareness on the Black experience, and also internally as a Black man myself, it allows me to pick up knowledge, and education about my own history and about some of the issues that plague our community,” Jones said. “I just think it does a good job of talking about the difficult discussions that sometimes are uncomfortable but necessary. But it also leads towards people willing to work towards solutions.”
Sanders agreed, adding the project has an opportunity to transform into something more permanent like a “community talk on subjects that face the Black community.”
“I don’t think it should actually stop at these programs,” she said. “If anything, I feel as though our platform is a baton shift; bigger and better communication in the community for knowledge, education and resources.”
With more Black History Month programming opportunities planned throughout the month, Gonzalez said she hopes attendees and community members will continue to participate, learn, “ask questions,” and get more information.
“We’re just glad that Black history is being made a priority,” Jones said. “We want to emphasize that Black history is not just in February, but we hope that these programs, and the messages that are received, they stick with people throughout the remainder of the year.”