The Fragmented Whole

In this episode I speak with two Black Women of Durham organizers, Rachel Singley and Brianna Hargrove-Kennedy, about their 10 tips for self and communal care:

1. Say no

2.Take a mental health day

3.Check-in with yourself

4. Five minutes of yoga or meditation

5. Have an organism

6. Aromatherapy 

7. Breathe

8. Journal 

9. Listen to your fav music or podcast

10. Get a massage 

Founded in 2018, Black Women of Durham is an organization that facilitates spaces for Black Women to promote, discuss and expand upon all topics affecting Black women and the Black community in Durham, NC and beyond. Happy listening!

The Fragmented Whole is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play Music, Stitcher, and where ever else podcasts are available. For updates on the show, be sure to follow The Fragmented Whole on Instagram and Twitter @fragmentpodcast.

Founded in 2016, Blackspace is a digital makerspace based in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It offers Black and Brown youth a breathing space to manifest their dreams by any medium necessary. 

In January 2019, I spoke with Mariah M., the Program Director and Slam Master for Blackspace Poetry, and Miranda Stephens, a BlackSpace Youth Artist.  In this episode, I speak with Mariah and Miranda about the significance of black and brown centric spaces for POCs and strategies of self care for artists of color. Happy listening! 

The Fragmented Whole is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play Music, Stitcher, and where ever else podcasts are available. For updates on the show, be sure to follow The Fragmented Whole on Instagram and Twitter @fragmentpodcast. 

In this episode, I speak with Rita Phetmixay, the creator and host of the virtual healing space and podcast, Healing Out Lao'd. Healing Out Lao'd explores Lao diaspora storytelling, healing, and tools for sustainability. For my POCs, reframing intergenerational narratives of trauma begins with dismantling and rebuilding how we see our individual and collective purpose and value today and everyday. Choose joy! Happy listening! 

I began 2019, wrestling with one question: how do you manifest joy and heal from trauma when you're overburdened with societal expectations of resiliency? In this episode, I speak with activists, Desmera Gatewood and Marion Johnson, about the price of toxic resiliency and strategies for transcending and reshaping oversimplified stereotypes. Happy listening! 

According to LearnVest's 2014 Financial Confidence study, even though women's average income increases by more than 50% after age 25, their financial confidence decreases conversely around age 25. In this episode, I speak with financial planner and public health professional, Ashley Stewart, about strategies for gaining financial confidence at any-age by dismantling debt head-on. To learn more about Ms. Stewart's financial independence services, you can contact her at goodriddancedebt@gmail.com. Happy listening! 

Crone (n.): an old woman who is thin and ugly. What happens when that 'old' woman is Black, beautiful, bold, and outspoken? What happens when she's above the age of 40 and still wants bodily, sexual, and professional autonomy? In this episode, I speak with activist and storyteller, Omisade Burney-Scott, about all of this and more. Happy listening! 

In this episode, I process what it means to be an adult by putting it into practice. I speak with Dr. Asani Seawell of Pacific University about how forgiveness positively impacts one's health outcomes. If you get nothing else from this episode, forgive for you. You don't need permission from anyone to forgive. Happy listening. 

In this episode, I speak with Marcus Littles, the Founder and a Senior Partner of Frontline Solutions. Marcus provides strategies organizations can utilize to center equity not just in word, but in action. Happy listening to the entrepreneurs, dreamers, and doers striving to facilitate spaces of production that are equitable and innovative. 

Why are Black people not extinct based on everything we've been through? What factors are contributing to Black women continuing to have full-term births despite experiencing racism across their lives? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Monica McLemore, a reproductive justice nurse, scholar, and activist at the University of California-San Francisco, about potential strategies for reducing the disproportionate rates of Black maternal mortality rates in the United States.