Honoring National Minority Health Month

April marks National Minority Health Month—a time dedicated to raising awareness about the health disparities impacting Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. This month we acknowledge not just statistics, but lived realities. We honor the sacred labor it takes to be well in systems not designed for our thriving.

A smiling family of three in medical attire, holding a health kit. Pink background and stethoscopes visible, conveying warmth and care.

The Weight We Carry: Health in the Current Climate

The political and social climate of 2025 continues to place an enormous emotional and physiological burden on BIPOC communities. The chronic stress of anti-Blackness, immigration restrictions, erasure of queer and trans identities, and racialized police violence all chip away at our nervous systems and internal sense of safety.

This is more than a moment. It’s a repeated nervous system activation—a hypervigilance our ancestors knew too well. Over time, this kind of unrelenting stress doesn't just live in the mind. It lodges itself in the body: increased blood pressure, disrupted sleep, inflammation, burnout. It manifests in the heart, the gut, and the soul.

Healing Within: Coping Through Internal Family Systems (IFS)

IFS invites us to look inward with compassion and curiosity. It teaches us that we are made up of many “parts,” each doing their best to keep us safe—even when their strategies (like numbing out, perfectionism, or shutting down) aren’t serving us anymore.

Some parts that may feel familiar in this season:

The Hypervigilant Protector, always scanning for danger.
The Achiever, working twice as hard to prove your worth in white-dominated spaces.
The Numb One, who just wants to scroll, eat, or sleep through the pain.

But underneath those parts is your Self—the calm, compassionate, wise center that is not broken or defined by oppression. IFS reminds us: You are not your trauma. You are the healer your parts have been waiting for.

Body-Based Practices for BIPOC Resilience

Because trauma lives in the body, so must the healing.

Here are somatic tools to help return to your body’s wisdom:

Five-Minute Shakeout: Release stored tension by literally shaking it out—feet, hands, hips, shoulders. Let sound or breath move with it.
Boundary Tapping (EFT): Gently tap along the sides of your hands, face, or chest while naming what you're holding. “Even though I feel overwhelmed, I honor my need for peace.”
Grounding With the Ancestors: Sit with feet on the ground, hands over your heart or belly. Breathe deeply and imagine your roots reaching into ancestral soil—where strength and guidance live.

Word for Black & Brown Professionals

To our therapists, educators, healers, leaders, organizers, artists: You’re holding a lot. You are not the wellness plan for your people. You get to rest too. You are worthy of care that doesn’t come with a productivity clause.

Let this month be an invitation—not to do more—but to be more with yourself. Choose softness. Choose breath. Choose joy without needing to justify it.

April Journal Prompts Reflection + Liberation