Following “OWN and P&G Present: Widen The Screen – A Fuller View of Black Life,” a special two-hour episode of “Black Women OWN The Conversation” premieres TONIGHT at 9p ET/PT which is a powerful conversation around mental health & trauma.
The episode features an audience of Black women in an in-depth conversation regarding mental health and trauma impacting the Black community. Led by media icon Oprah Winfrey, Emmy-award winning host and journalist Adrienne Bankert, and leading social impact strategist Jotaka Eaddy. The discussion will examine issues surrounding mental health & trauma in the Black community with a focus on Black women. Special guests include California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Actor and Comedian Kym Whitley, and Activist, Scholar, and Educator Dr. Dena Simmons. Dr. Gail Wyatt, Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center also joins the special event.
In this new one hour episode, the guests discuss childhood trauma in the Black community, how it affects mental health, and how it manifests in adulthood. This meaningful conversation, which takes place in front of an all black woman audience, will de-stigmatize mental health issues and offer suggestions of how to do the work to heal both individually and as a community, all through the lens of asking “What happened to you?” The critical question is a shift posed by Oprah’s recent New York Times best-selling book of the same name co-written with trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry. The conversation around mental health and wellness is also the topic of “The Me You Can’t See,” the documentary series from Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry which premiered May 21 on Apple TV+. Check out an excerpt of tonight’s program below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6LQXMFgcqY
Airing on the anniversary of George Floyd’s tragic death, “Black Women OWN The Conversation: Mental Health and Trauma” offers resources and key takeaways to start healing from trauma, particularly after a difficult year where the Black community has been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the emotional toll of the ongoing fight for racial justice and equality.
For more information on this special event or to participate in the conversation, follow OWN on social media at @OWNTV and join the conversation using #BlackWomenOWN.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, then contact National Institute of Mental Health’s Crisis Text Line. Text “HELLO” to 741741.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Follow The Burton Wire on Twitter or Instagram @TheBurtonWire.
