Ubuntu: The Healing Power of Us — Supporting Black Youth Mental Health through Culture, Community, and Collective Care

April holds deep meaning. It’s National Minority Health Month, Black Women's History Month, and Counseling Awareness Month — a time to reflect, honor, and act. For me, it’s a powerful reminder that our wellness is rooted in our collective strength. And in this moment, our Black youth need us more than ever.

As a counselor, educator, and Black woman, I lean into the ancestral wisdom that has always sustained us. I lean into Ubuntu, an African philosophy that teaches "I am because we are." This belief — that our humanity is tied to each other — is not just beautiful, it’s essential. It is how we survive. It is how we thrive.

Our young people are navigating a world that often devalues their existence while consuming their culture. They are grieving, resisting, and dreaming all at once. And while individual therapy is important, it is not enough. We need us — our families, our communities, our traditions — to hold them.

We have ancestral tools. We have rhythm, story, prayer, and community. We have elders and aunties, doulas and deacons, barbers and braiders. We have the power of remembrance — of who we are and where we come from. Culture is not just identity; it’s a balm, a mirror, and a map. 

Let’s shift the narrative. Mental health is not weakness — it is liberation. Black youth deserve spaces where their full selves are seen, affirmed, and loved. Let us create those spaces. Let us return to the circle. Let us teach them Ubuntu — not just in words, but in action.

Because when one of us is unwell, we all are. And when one of us heals, we all rise.

We are the medicine.

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