Black Women and Leadership: Is Self-Care Enough?

    The news headline, "Harvard President Resigns After Mounting Plagiarism Accusations," echoes in my mind as I think about the number of Black women holding leadership roles return to work after the holidays. After having some time to rest away from the responsibility and expectation of being "on" all of the time and given the opportunity to lean into their full beautiful Black selves in spaces that understand their humor, hair, and holiness, I find myself asking the question, "is self-care really enough for Black professional women, especially those in leadership positions?" Covid forced a larger spotlight on mental health needs. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is now a buzzword amongst many educational institutions and going to therapy is no longer a taboo subject in many social circles. And all of these tools are good and necessary. However, what happens when the impetus behind the need for the new years resolutions and self care practices is connected to the very environment that you will return to in the new year? New year, new you, but same environment. What happens is that a dance ensues where you enter the room dressed differently, but the room has never changed. You circle around the center piece of the dance floor...you. Your inner peace, your soul gazes back and watches you dance around them, remaining on beat while it's taking everything inside of you to ignore the agony coming from the pain of dancing all night in the best looking high-heeled shoes. You look good girl, but you are in so much pain. Is self-care enough for the Black woman leader?

    Audre Lorde said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation…” Self-preservation is a holistically intentional way of moving in the world because you are protecting parts of you that are both seen and unseen, yet equally accessible to damage experienced through mental, emotional, and verbal assaults which are often experienced by Black women on a daily basis when holding leadership positions. So if Black women are to preserve themselves against the attacks of the environment they find themselves in, whether out of choice or necessity, they have to move differently than the popularized notion of self-care. There has to be something much more radical in the way that Black women care for themselves, requiring more than just rest, massages, and affirmations in the mirror. Because of the daily experiences of their intelligence being challenged, ideas stolen, integrity questioned, value diminished, and sensitivity fictionalized, their self-care has to be something deeper, something related to tough inner work which involves prioritizing their own inner peace and well-being. The preservation of the Black woman can only be achieved through radical self-care. 

    Dr. Claudine Gay stepped down along with two other women presidents of highly academic institutions, but it was only Dr. Gay's credibility that was questioned, only her academic ability was challenged. Self-care would get you through the hard work needed to achieve that level of visibility, but does it heal you from the wound of constantly hearing the same words at every ceiling you break, "you don't belong here." Radical self-care requires deeper introspection, harder decisions, and sometimes stepping away because the preservation of your life depends upon it. 

    So Black women leaders, as you return to your executive suites and leadership positions with your 2024 resolutions and plans of self-improvement, think radically! Whether the world recognizes it or not, we need you.