Fighting racism and finding acceptance in the health industry

Reverend Donna Owusu-Ansah joins the show again to discuss racism in the health industry, implicit bias, what we can do about biases in the wellness industry, and how to check ourselves.

Fighting racism and finding acceptance in the health industry

August 25, 2020 Faith, Health, Podcast Comments (0)

A tough conversation on racism

As I shared in last week’s episode on resetting, I am personally on a journey of listening and learning to the Black community to understand their challenges and become an ally in racial reconciliation. I welcome hard discussions here on the Graced Health podcast as they relate to the health and wellness industry.

I invited Reverend Donna Owusu-Ansah, a hospice chaplain and associate pastor in New Jersey, to the show in March 2020 (Season 3) to talk about her health and wellbeing as it relates to being a pastor, mother, wife, and woman. If you haven’t listened to that conversation, I recommend you go back and do so. She brought so much wisdom and grace to that topic.

However, in that episode I felt like I missed an opportunity to dig into something she said, which was “I had postpartum depression and I was also living in a community that was not welcoming of my presence, so I didn’t have friends.” After we saw Breonna Taylor tragically shot to death in March, learned in May of Ahmaud Arberry’s killing while running, and George Floyd breathlessly die under the knee of a police officer in late May, I knew I needed to open that door.

Reverend Donna graciously accepted my invitation to come back and talk about her experiences of not feeling welcomed, and we expanded on that by talking about implicit bias, what we can do about biases in the wellness industry, and how to check ourselves.

Plus a bonus reading…

I also had the pleasure of talking about her brand new devotional book Loves … Regardless. I’m telling you, if you haven’t purchased it, you’re going to want to, especially after she reads one of her devotions. As a white woman, if offers me insight and perspective into the difficult experiences of Black women without asking a Black sister to go through the trauma of explaining it over and over. It’s currently free with Kindle Unlimited, but personally I loved having the hard copy to underline, circle, and make my own notes.

We discuss:

The broad scope of the challenges of living healthy for Black community, especially Black women
Her experiences of feeling unwelcome in the fitness community
How whites can partner together to become allies with the Black community
Implicit bias and how we may be unconsciously exhibiting bias
The implicit bias that can exhibited in the medical community
What we can do about biases we recognize in ourselves
Why am I doing, thinking and feeling what I’m doing, thinking and feeling?
The whiteness of the wellness industry and why more representation is important
The importance of Black Girls Run and other organizations that promote wellness within communities of color
How to make fitness opportunities more available beyond the “ingroup”
Loves…Regardless: A love and spirit offering to Black women

Links and resources mentioned

How to support the show without spending a dime:

Sign up to receive my monthly journal at gracedhealth.com/monthly-updates
Rate and review.
Share the show, this episode, or your favorite episode with a friend.

Click here to join the Graced Health Podcast Facebook Group!

Have a graced day,

Amy