Self care is revolutionary

To Our Friends & Family, 

With so much heaviness in our world, it is easy to get discouraged.  The magnitude of the work that needs to be done is daunting; in some cases, soul-crushing.  While I find myself wrestling with an overwhelming feeling of despair at times, I am comforted in knowing that we have leaders who are ready to guide us.  As a matter of fact, many have been doing the work all along. 

Much of this leadership comes from women who also shoulder the bulk of the burden during these times. In Atlanta, Black women feel the pressure more than anyone else. We see this in the CCI community; so many of the women we work with fight through their own exhaustion and show up every single day on behalf of our city. 

Issues of injustice are best addressed in community; to us, it is about bringing people together to learn, grow, and build with one another. This summer, we privately reached out to women in Atlanta that we know and respect, those who are literally #dointhework needed to improve the quality of people’s lives. With their guidance and support, we launched CCI’s first Summer of Self-Care: a series of informational sessions that directly address personal and professional barriers to good health and wellbeing.

Over the next three months, we are creating an intentional space to consider how (in the midst of trying to heal the world) we can take better care of ourselves. It is our hope that these sessions will provide an opportunity for shared experiences and resources. We will learn and grow from leading mental health experts and equity-focused businesswomen, such as Rachel Willis and Dr. Rheeda Walker. Rachel is a winning educator and founder of Elevating Equity, and Dr. Rheeda Walker is a psychologist, professor, and researcher dedicated to advancing psychological health awareness and emotional well-being for African Americans and other ethnic minorities. We will explore additional topics that include holistic care, creating a nurturing culture with your team, and how to build a strong and supportive professional network.  While the Summer of Self-Care is a new concept for CCI, there is one thing we know for sure: when the seeds of the person are watered, their work blooms.

Over the next few months, we’ll share some of the learnings that come out of the summer (the women on our staff are also participating!). We hope you’ll follow along and share anything that is working for your own healing during this time. It is time to change the way we think about Black women leaders in this sector. If we want to continue to benefit from their leadership, we need to increase our investment in their work — which includes their personal wellbeing.

"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."  -Audre Lourde

In the Spirit of Community,

Sagdrina Jalal
Senior Director, Programs and Partnerships