By Denim Fisher, Word in Black

In 2020, as COVID-19 shut down the world, the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd put a painful truth in the spotlight: Black people are never quarantined from racism. Even in a global lockdown, Black communities were forced to confront both a deadly virus and the ongoing trauma of state violence.

That dual reality — public health crises colliding with systemic racism — continues to shape how Black Americans experience healing. And for many, the path forward comes not from institutions, but from each other.

Baltimore resident Aaliyah Nurideen saw this firsthand at one of the Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective’s recent trainings. “Oftentimes, you go to a training and they give you the tools and you think OK, I can use this, but to be able t

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