The University of Iowa Women’s Resource and Action Center, or WRAC, hosted a reading and conversation creating a dialogue on personal wellness, the pursuit of joy, and attacks on DEI. 

The event centered around the book “The Black Superwoman & Mental Health: Power & Pain.”  The creators and editors of it, UI journalism and African American studies professor Venise Berry and former UI associate African American studies and gender, women’s and sexuality studies professor Janette Taylor were the main speakers of the event and answered questions from a moderator and audience members.

The event took place at Sacred Collective in Iowa City on the evening of March 31. The moderator of the event, Sacred Collective’s leadership and empowerment programs coordinator Binh Nguyen, said the idea for the event started because of positive word of mouth.

“It was from other women on campus who had told me about this book coming out,” Nguyen said. “I felt like it was important to uplift their messages.”

Nguyen said one of her goals is to create spaces for honest conversations outside of the classroom setting, which was something she wanted when she was a student at the university.

Berry said the idea for the book came to her after began discussing the issue of personal health and how they wanted to give advice to other people, especially the younger generations of Black women, to prioritize their mental and physical health.

Berry said she didn’t want to stick to just research, poetry, or essays in the book, and instead, she decided to incorporate all three. 

“This book, it’s very unique,” Berry said. “We got turned down by probably at least 20 publishers.”

She said that most of the publishers were unsure of how to promote a book as unique as hers, so instead they rejected it.

The book would eventually be published by the publishing company Peter Lang after Berry reached out to a previous editor to discuss her experience with pitching her and Taylor’s book to publishers.

Each section of the book starts and ends with a poem as well as research, essays, and short stories in between.

“We got this wonderful variety of material,” Berry said. “And to me it’s really about joy.”

Berry said the book’s title references the Black superwoman stereotype that dates back to slavery and the Jim Crow era, and has stuck with Black women to this day.

A study by the University of Maryland College of Education defined the Black superwoman stereotype as a “strong Black woman who feels an obligation to present an image of strength, is able to handle problems without help, and puts others’ needs before her own.”

Berry said she wants Black women to read the book and reflect on how they take care of themselves and prioritize their needs. She said this is especially important for young people to do so that they can ensure they have a mentally, and physically, healthy future. She said it is good to help others, but not at the expense of one’s personal health and wellness.

Taylor said the other major purpose of the book is to help readers find sustainable joy in their life. She said it gets easy to get lost in the process of life and one’s work, so she encourages people to keep engaging in things that bring them joy.

Taylor, who enjoys watching YouTube videos, said she sees countless videos of young people seemingly finding joy in their self-care routines.

“They have this joy in taking care of themselves,” Taylor said. “So I think the young folks are doing a better job.”

Berry said the media can play a role in people’s relationships with their wellness and their joy through the images and messages they consume.

Berry said not all media leaves a positive impact, as some forms tend to perpetuate stereotypes that negatively impact people. She said she wants people from all backgrounds to educate themselves on these bigoted depictions and to call them out. 

Once Berry finished her discussion on the impact the event transitioned into a more conversational setting where attendees discussed current issues, including the closure of undergraduate majors, protests in the Iowa City area, and attacks on diversity.

“It was interesting that we kind of veered off into some of the things that we’re going through in relation to the attack on DEI,” Berry said. “It just goes to show you that people need to talk about it.”

Berry said there have been many things that have become overwhelming for people of color, specifically Black students, on campus, and that having honest conversations right now is important.

Berry said it has been tough for her to feel consistent joy recently because of the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, which she described as a dark cloud looming over her. She said she does have hope that Democrats will win multiple elections this November.

Berry said the younger generation needs to realize that diversity is important and understanding that will make everyone’s life better.

“In order to be in a global society, we need to understand each other, we need to support each other, and we need to care about each other,” Berry said. “There’s just so much ugly out there right now because people are not seeing others as human beings and not really paying attention to diversity and the importance of it.”