Introduction to Black Health Black Wealth!
By: Zenobia Bryant, Ph.D.
What is Black Health Black Wealth?
The main focus of Black Health Black Wealth is to disseminate mental health, public health, and financial health stories and information to black and brown women with the hope of giving voice to the issues we face, improving wellbeing, and empowering my sisters. At Black Health Black Wealth we believe that black mental health, black physical health, and black financial health is our wealth!
Our vision is Optimal wellness and true health equity for young black and brown women.
Who is Black Health Black Wealth for?
Black Health Black Wealth is for young black and brown women, who are in college or just beginning their careers.
Black Health Black Wealth is for…
· The one struggling with anxiety or depression
· The one who feels overlooked or forgotten
· The one trying to connect with their personal identity and break away from the labels placed on them by society or religion.
· The one carrying the pressure of being a black woman trying to succeed.
· The one learning to advocate for themselves.
· The one struggling with adulting.
· The one that has an overall feeling of being lost or stumbling through the dark.
· The one learning to validate themselves.
· The one attempting to create financial stability.
· The one dealing with a major loss or losses.
· The one learning to own their story.
About the Founder and CEO, Dr. Zenobia Bryant, in her own words:
My initial instinct is to say that I am basic and a nerd. I am a basic, nerdy, introvert. But I am working on changing my narrative and how I speak about myself. While you may only hear simple adjectives, if you listen closely I am really giving you a warning. I am pointing out everything I feel is negative and giving you a way out before you get too invested. These walls are high and my empathetic ways may suck you in and I will eventually become too much for you to handle.
The truth is, I am not basic. I am far from it. My desire to seek out knowledge and truth, my introspective nature, and my deep empathy are superpowers. My superpowers! For too long I have described myself based on outside labels. Labels placed on me that I took and adopted as my own. Those labels and descriptions are not mine. They are not me at all. I live in the deep end and abhor small talk. I am wild and free at heart. I am fun and easy to be around. I love hard. I love deeply. I am love, grace, truth, soft, hard, and created to reign a little lower than the heavenly angels. I am a goddess!
My personal achievements include a BS degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology with a minor in African American studies from Emory University and a PhD in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from Walden University. I have 7 years of experience as a dedicated public health professional and epidemiologist, with a strong interest in mental health and adolescent health.
I want to inspire others to dream.
I want to inspire others to love.
I want to inspire others to be open and vulnerable.
I want to be a voice for those who find themselves in a dark place and need a glimmer of hope to help them find their way through the darkness.
I know for sure that love wins.
I am here to create Hope, Light, Peace, Love, and a place where judgment is not allowed.
I have decided to no longer dim my light in order to match the hue of what is going on around me.
I am no longer ashamed of my past, my story, or my journey.
I am here because the world has need of me. I did not come into this world to find my purpose. I was conceived and birthed because destiny needed me and called out for me. I came into this world with purpose inside me.
Like Erykah Badu said “I was born underwater, With three dollars and six dimes” meaning I was born in the womb complete and whole. Look it up, three dollars and six dimes equals $3.60, which is 360. 360 degrees is the measurement of a full circle, which is complete and whole.
What inspired the idea for Black Health Black Wealth?
Black Health Black Wealth was conceived from a fiery passion and birthed from frustration. When I first started my career trajectory I was content with working a 9-5 and simply collecting paychecks. The more I worked and the harder I worked, I realized that all my time and effort was going towards building someone else’s legacy. The more my ideas and outputs were used to expand someone else’s vision, the more I realized simply working was not what I wanted for my life. If I were to die suddenly, my position would be filled immediately by someone else. My focus then turned from simply having a successful career to the type of legacy I would leave behind. I begin to think about what I could do to carry on the legacy left by my ancestors and what I would be leaving for my decedents.
In the midst of attempting to figure out my path forward, I faced significant losses and I have had to deal with deep and crippling grief. In the span of 6 years, I had to bury approximately 20 close family members and friends, including all of my living grandparents. I also found myself dealing with severe anxiety and depression. Add all of this on top of being in my 20s and trying to come to terms with who I really was and how I wanted to show up in this world and you can imagine how lost and confused I felt. I am now well into my 30s and I am finally feeling like I am stable and secure. My passion for Black Health Black Wealth comes from the desire to help other young women find peace and stability well before they reach 30 or their next phase in life. I do not want anyone who is coming behind me to have to spend 10 plus years stumbling through the dark before they find Hope, Love, Light, and Peace. Basically, I thought about what I needed in that phase and birthed Black Health Black Wealth with that part of my journey in mind.
It is my desire that Black Health Black Wealth will provide my young sisters with Hope, Love, Light, and Peace for the within and Empowerment for facing the without!
