Speaker 1: Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, a weekly
Speaker 1: conversation about mental health, personal development, and all the small
Speaker 1: decisions we can make to become the best possible versions
Speaker 1: of ourselves. I'm your host, Doctor Joy Harden Bradford, a
Speaker 1: licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information or to
Speaker 1: find a therapist in your area, visit our website at
Speaker 1: Therapy for Blackgirls dot com. While I hope you love
Speaker 1: listening to and learning from the podcast, it is not
Speaker 1: meant to be a substitute for a relationship with a
Speaker 1: licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, thanks so much for
Speaker 1: joining me for session three fourteen of Therapy for Black
Speaker 1: Girls Podcast. We'll get right into our conversation after a
Speaker 1: word from our sponsors. An observance of Minority Mental Health
Speaker 1: Awareness Month. Therapy for Black Girls, in collaboration with our
Speaker 1: philanthropic organization, the Holding Space Foundation, are teaming up to
Speaker 1: delve into the ways black women from various generations connect,
Speaker 1: foster friendships, and evolve together. Through our campaign Generations of Sisterhood.
Speaker 1: Throughout July, we're gathering Black women from all ages to
Speaker 1: share their experiences, offer guidance, and celebrate the joys of
Speaker 1: sisterhood with the aim of promoting healthy and constructive relationships.
Speaker 1: In this week's episode, we revisit the life and legacy
Speaker 1: of V. B. Moore Campbell, who was instrumental in the
Speaker 1: creation of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Interestingly enough, this
Speaker 1: story is a moving depiction of the power and sisterhood
Speaker 1: and how lifelong friendships can continue even beyond death.
Speaker 2: We actually met at the University of Pittsburgh. I came
Speaker 2: as a freshman student, she was upper classmith, and we
Speaker 2: just met on a campus one day and we instantly clicked.
Speaker 1: This is the voice of doctor Linda Wharton Boyd, the
Speaker 1: convener of the BB Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health
Speaker 1: Awareness Task Force and longtime friend of BB Moore Campbell.
Speaker 1: Linda and BB met on campus in the early nineteen seventies.
Speaker 2: She was such an advocate for black folks. She was
Speaker 2: such an advocate for women and even a bigger advocate
Speaker 2: for black men. So she and I just started talking
Speaker 2: and we became just very very close friends and remained
Speaker 2: that way until her death more than ten years ago.
Speaker 2: Miss her.
Speaker 1: Miss her daily in addition to being amazing friends. Years later,
Speaker 1: the duo would go on to become powerfully motivated to
Speaker 1: shift the existing stigmas around mental health that were prevalent
Speaker 1: at that time in the black community.
Speaker 2: Well, you know BB and I. Whenever she would come
Speaker 2: to the East Coast, she would stay with me. We
Speaker 2: would always be together. And we were sitting in bed
Speaker 2: late one night. You know how girl do girl talk
Speaker 2: late at night? You see your girlfriend in a long time?
Speaker 2: You said, up, you're talking drinking a little wine. Just
Speaker 2: and she and she says, I just wish people knew
Speaker 2: more about mental illness in our community. We have to
Speaker 2: do more than make it away. What else can we do?
Speaker 2: I said, wan wouldn't create a month and just do it.
Speaker 2: So we talked about it. She said, well, how did
Speaker 2: you declare a day? I said, a day a month.
Speaker 2: So we started out with the day started in the
Speaker 2: District of Columbia. We worked with the mayor's administration that
Speaker 2: had a press conference with the Department of Behavior Health
Speaker 2: and we talked about the need for us to really
Speaker 2: get into mental health and bring it to the forefront
Speaker 2: of our issues because so many of us suffer in silence.
Speaker 2: So we talked about that. We named today. We just
Speaker 2: wrote on a plicepaper and then, of course when she
Speaker 2: became a strong advocate, I mean, she just started a
Speaker 2: movement to look at mental health in our communities. Will
Speaker 2: always say your physical health, but you should also add
Speaker 2: that component called mental health all the time. Do you
Speaker 2: can do an annual physical do annual mental health check.
Speaker 2: So we talked about that a lot. I traveled with
Speaker 2: her book Seventy two Hour Whole, in which she talked
Speaker 2: about mental illness, a child's book that she wrote sometimes
Speaker 2: her Mammy gets angry, beautiful beautiful written words to help
Speaker 2: us to understand that mental illness is not anything we
Speaker 2: should be ashamed. And I would travel with her on
Speaker 2: some of her book tours to talk with people, and
Speaker 2: it was just amazing how people would come up and say,
Speaker 2: you're talking about me. I have a loved one in
Speaker 2: my family who's going through the same thing. I mean,
Speaker 2: people would come up almost in tears after she would
Speaker 2: read sections of the book and answer questions. So what
Speaker 2: we realize is that people are suffering in silence because
Speaker 2: of the shame that's associated or the stigma that's associated
Speaker 2: with mental health. And so one of her major major
Speaker 2: objectives was to say, we need to erase this stigma
Speaker 2: so people can get the help that they need. Just
Speaker 2: like we get help with high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol,
Speaker 2: we can get help with our mental state of being
Speaker 2: and live productive lives. And so that became a part
Speaker 2: of who she was. It became a part of her
Speaker 2: desire in life was to make sure that people got
Speaker 2: the help that they needed and that research was being
Speaker 2: conducted as related to people of color.
Speaker 1: With this revelation in mind, BB and Linda set off
Speaker 1: on a path that we are honored to be walking
Speaker 1: in till this day. What we now know as a
Speaker 1: month long commemoration began humbly as a one day event
Speaker 1: birth by two passionate black women who rightfully believed they
Speaker 1: could change how people discussed and understood mental health in
Speaker 1: the black community.
Speaker 2: It was July tenth we had for that date, and
Speaker 2: I was so happy. The mayor of Washington, DC at
Speaker 2: that time, I think Anthony Williams allowed us to have
Speaker 2: a press conference and we kicked it off. That was
Speaker 2: the first city, and then it was kicked off in Maryland.
Speaker 2: Then it went to Philadelphia, then I think it went
Speaker 2: to Ohio, and people start picking it up. In the
Speaker 2: midst of all of this, we were doing this, she
Speaker 2: became ill with her own health and I went out
Speaker 2: to California to be with her during this time. I'll
Speaker 2: never forget her calling me telling me about this diagnosis
Speaker 2: the doctors gave her. And I used to tell her,
Speaker 2: I said, just sleep with your head on the Bible.
Speaker 2: This my grandmother's saying. We think about what to do,
Speaker 2: but we would talk all the time, so we would
Speaker 2: always just talk about different things. And she just wanted
Speaker 2: her loved one to be well. She wanted those that
Speaker 2: she knew to be well, and she warned the group
Speaker 2: in California. One of the many things she did while
Speaker 2: she was alive, she started what was called a Nomi
Speaker 2: Urban Los Angeles, and that is a very viable organization
Speaker 2: today that is designed to help people who are impacted
Speaker 2: by mental illness. Her advocacy was just relentless, as she
Speaker 2: would with any issue that she was she took on,
Speaker 2: she would be relentless with it.
Speaker 1: B be More Campbell's ferocity for change never dwindled, despite
Speaker 1: the fact that the candle of her life slowly began
Speaker 1: to dim. B be More Campbell transitioned from the physical
Speaker 1: realm to the spiritual realm in two thousand and six,
Speaker 1: at the powerful age of fifty six. At this time,
Speaker 1: Linda picked up Bbe's fire and carried the torch to
Speaker 1: see BB's vision shown in its brightest light. Linda, however,
Speaker 1: wasn't working alone, as there were many helping hands that
Speaker 1: wanted to join in to bring bb dreams of a
Speaker 1: month long recognition to fruition.
Speaker 2: So when I called Albert on the phone, I said
Speaker 2: I need your help, and he said, okay, what is
Speaker 2: it now.
Speaker 3: One of our close friends brought to my attention that
Speaker 3: one of her dying wishes was to raise awareness of
Speaker 3: minority mental health. And our friend, doctor Linda Wooden Boyd,
Speaker 3: came to me and said, Albert, I'd like you to
Speaker 3: do this and see if you could get a resolution fast.
Speaker 1: This is the voice a former member of the US
Speaker 1: House of Representatives, Albert R. Wynn and longtime friend of
Speaker 1: BB Moore Campbell.
Speaker 3: I actually went to college withold b Be More Campbell
Speaker 3: and was a big admirer of hers. I think she
Speaker 3: was a year ahead of me, but she was one
Speaker 3: of those people on campus that everybody listened to, what
Speaker 3: they call an old soul, mature for her age.
Speaker 4: However, you want to describe it.
Speaker 3: She was that type of person, and so I was
Speaker 3: always an admirer from a distance. So that's how I
Speaker 3: came to get much more intimately involved in the issue.
Speaker 3: And so it was an honor for me to do
Speaker 3: something and memory of being more Campbell because she'd made
Speaker 3: a great contribution in terms of moving us from that
Speaker 3: old way of thinking to a more enlightened and accepting
Speaker 3: approach that was actually helpful to people.
Speaker 2: So I said, we need to get this passed as
Speaker 2: a national month to be observed, and we need to
Speaker 2: bring attention to this problem in our community, and I
Speaker 2: need your help in doing that. And so he asked
Speaker 2: with us, said, can what do you do? Y'all do resolution?
Speaker 2: I didn't know what? Did I say? Y'all do resolutions?
Speaker 1: Do?
Speaker 4: Y'all do?
Speaker 2: What do you do?
Speaker 4: Well?
Speaker 2: We want to claim this month as July. And so
Speaker 2: I remember during his last month in August, he devoted
Speaker 2: a lot of time and effort to helping us to
Speaker 2: get a bipartisan passage of this resolution, which was unheard
Speaker 2: of at that time because you know, different factions in
Speaker 2: the Congress. Diane Watson and all joined his effort to
Speaker 2: name that month of July as BB Moore Campbell National
Speaker 2: Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.
Speaker 1: Despite doctor Boyd singing, Representative Albert Winns praises, he shares
Speaker 1: that it was doctor Boyd that really brought this month
Speaker 1: to life.
Speaker 3: Please give her all the credit because a lot of
Speaker 3: people have good ideas, but if there's not a driving
Speaker 3: force behind that.
Speaker 4: Good idea, it doesn't happen.
Speaker 3: And let me tell you, doctor Wooden Boyd was an
Speaker 3: incredible driving force. He was shortly before I was going
Speaker 3: to leave Congress, and so I had a lot of
Speaker 3: things on my plate. But her persistence on a weekly,
Speaker 3: sometime on a daily basis to make this happen was instrumental.
Speaker 3: She worked not just with me but with my staff.
Speaker 3: And I said, doctor Boyd called and she said, you've
Speaker 3: got to get this done.
Speaker 4: Or what do we need to do? Do we need
Speaker 4: to talk to et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 3: So she deserves a tremendous amount of credit for her
Speaker 3: leadership in this effort.
Speaker 1: It seemed to say that doctor Boyd in Representative win
Speaker 1: were champions of this effort in their own rights. Where
Speaker 1: doctor Boyd provided the guided leadership and initial setup, Albert
Speaker 1: Wynn and his team came in with the follow through
Speaker 1: to pass Minority Mental Health Awareness Month as a resolution
Speaker 1: through the US Congress in two thousand and eight.
Speaker 3: Well, there are a lot of resolutions, non controversial resolutions
Speaker 3: advocating everything from national days to recognize rare cakes, to
Speaker 3: recognize women's sports. Recognitions are an important part of our culture.
Speaker 3: It is actually a way of raising awareness. So if
Speaker 3: you have a Congressional resolution, it says that Congress has
Speaker 3: heard about this issue, has been presented with information, and
Speaker 3: has voted to make this designation. I mean, we designate
Speaker 3: everything from post offices, as I said, to National.
Speaker 4: Hot Dog Day.
Speaker 3: So that's how it happens people interested in raising awareness
Speaker 3: the resolution we started with the Congression resolution. Then that
Speaker 3: was a president for a resolution by the DC City Council,
Speaker 3: and it's my understanding that other cities and counties have
Speaker 3: also taken up this cast.
Speaker 4: So it has that effect of.
Speaker 3: Creating some awareness momentum, and that helps keep the ball moving.
Speaker 3: I was very fortunate my staff did all the work.
Speaker 3: They researched the issue, and it was not a terribly
Speaker 3: controversial issue from the standpoint that people were denying it
Speaker 3: or saying it was not a worthwhile endeavor. The question
Speaker 3: was did we have the time to get the language
Speaker 3: drawn up in the proper way to get it through
Speaker 3: commit and then you got to get it to the floor,
Speaker 3: and then you got to pass it on the floor.
Speaker 3: We were able to do all of that from a
Speaker 3: research standpoint. There are a lot of people who provided
Speaker 3: input and letters of support and endorsement and that sort
Speaker 3: of thing, But this was the issue whose time had
Speaker 3: come quite frank and it was ironic because I didn't
Speaker 3: know it at the time. But in subsequent years I
Speaker 3: came to find out the significance of this issue through
Speaker 3: my own family, as I had a family member who
Speaker 3: was and is currently suffering from mental illness, and I
Speaker 3: begin to really appreciate the challenges and also how much
Speaker 3: information people didn't have. Well who do you talk to
Speaker 3: if you want to help somebody, if you want to
Speaker 3: stop just putting them in the back room? Well, well,
Speaker 3: how do you get them help? Under what circumstances can
Speaker 3: people get help? Voluntary help is always easy in terms
Speaker 3: of the person's willingness to engage with medical professions, But
Speaker 3: what about a person who's unwilling It is not accepted
Speaker 3: that they have a problem is unwilling to get treatment.
Speaker 3: How do you get help for them? How do you
Speaker 3: get appropriate help? Sometimes, sadly, a lot of these people
Speaker 3: end up in the criminal justice system, and they've been
Speaker 3: involved in minor skirmishes, incidents things like that that don't
Speaker 3: really merit a criminal justice response. But that's the only
Speaker 3: institution we really have to address these issues. And so
Speaker 3: I learned a great deal. But that was the biggest
Speaker 3: thing about how people were not aware of what was
Speaker 3: available or how to deal with it, and also how
Speaker 3: to deal with people before they get into the criminal
Speaker 3: justice system.
Speaker 1: Because the Minority Mental Health Awareness Month resolution passed in
Speaker 1: Congress after BB Moore Campbell's death, there was much to
Speaker 1: be celebrated in her honor and more importantly, more work
Speaker 1: to be done to keep her legacy alive.
Speaker 3: There was a lot of jumping up and down and
Speaker 3: steering and screaming and what have you. And then within
Speaker 3: a few days she was called me and said, well,
Speaker 3: you know DC's getting ready to past. There is the
Speaker 3: DC City Council. Can you come down and talk about
Speaker 3: So yeah, it was a big celebration. We felt that
Speaker 3: we had not something for the minority community and an
Speaker 3: issue that wasn't a criminal justice issue, or it wasn't
Speaker 3: a social services issue in terms of we need housing
Speaker 3: or education and things like that. It's a new area
Speaker 3: where we had some significant problem in the community and
Speaker 3: we now had a vehicle to promote awareness of the problem.
Speaker 2: At the time that it passed, people were just happy.
Speaker 2: We got emails from all over the country. People just
Speaker 2: oh wow, this is great, this is great. So we
Speaker 2: just kept it moving. We just said, we got to
Speaker 2: keep this moving. It's almost like she's in my ear.
Speaker 2: It's just one way of not only honoring her memory,
Speaker 2: but honoring the work and the movement that she started.
Speaker 2: There are those who would like to rename this month
Speaker 2: Biparch month, and I started a campaign with those of
Speaker 2: us on the task force called Erase the Stigma, not
Speaker 2: her Name, And so we're going to keep that campaign
Speaker 2: going because this is a black woman who started a movement.
Speaker 2: That movement has helped thousands and thousands of people, and
Speaker 2: why should we take her name. No more than we
Speaker 2: would remove colored from the NAACP, would I remove minority
Speaker 2: from National Minority Mental Health Month. So we're working with
Speaker 2: those who may not understand and may not know that
Speaker 2: this movement was representative of a woman who dedicated her
Speaker 2: life to the day she died to help those who
Speaker 2: may be impacted by mental illness, and so we work
Speaker 2: today in her honor. We've been working with different congress
Speaker 2: persons who were approached by some mental health groups who
Speaker 2: feel that the title minority is outdated, feel that it
Speaker 2: is no longer appropriate. But I can tell you that,
Speaker 2: you know, once we talk to various groups about the history,
Speaker 2: and that's why it's so important to understand our history
Speaker 2: so we don't repeat this. So once we talk with
Speaker 2: them about the history of this movement and the fact
Speaker 2: that a black woman gave her all in all to
Speaker 2: her last dying days to make sure that people understood
Speaker 2: what was available to them so they do not continue
Speaker 2: to suffer in silence. If you remember the movie Soul Food.
Speaker 2: Do you remember that movie Soul Food that came out.
Speaker 2: I loved that movie. It was a family movie. Everybody
Speaker 2: went to the mother's house on Sunday, but Uncle Pete
Speaker 2: stayed in the back room, remember, and at the end
Speaker 2: of the movie and people would push him to the back.
Speaker 2: You know, whenever the company came up, just close the door.
Speaker 2: A piece in it and at the end he came
Speaker 2: out with the television and dropped the television. All this
Speaker 2: money came out. He wasn't as crazy as they thought.
Speaker 2: He wasn't. That wasn't so he knew save his money.
Speaker 2: The point is that we would hide him as opposed
Speaker 2: to getting him the treatment and help that he needed.
Speaker 2: So I choose that as a starting point for me.
Speaker 2: That movie just brought out to me how we in
Speaker 2: our community have to address mental illness, not hide it,
Speaker 2: not put it under the carpet, not close the door
Speaker 2: and let nobody know that. So and so it's got
Speaker 2: some mental problems. No, let's get the help that they
Speaker 2: need so they can live full lives again and do
Speaker 2: what's necessary. There are a lot of people who are
Speaker 2: suffering with mental illness, whether it's paranoid, bipolar, schizophrenic, dual diagnosed,
Speaker 2: whatever the diagnosis is, but there is help, there are resources,
Speaker 2: and we must seek that help and resources so people
Speaker 2: can be made whole. This July, we will be hosting
Speaker 2: our second annual bb More Campbell National Minority Mental Health
Speaker 2: Month Symposium on Thursday, July seventh, and the title of
Speaker 2: this time is called We Wear the Mask. The Alarming
Speaker 2: rate of suicide in communities of color. If you remember,
Speaker 2: Lanxon Hughes wrote that poem, we wear the mask, and
Speaker 2: we do wear the mask. We know how to take
Speaker 2: it on, we know how to take it off. But
Speaker 2: we need to remove the mask of mental illness, remove
Speaker 2: the stigma, and get the help that we need so
Speaker 2: we can live productive and meaningful lives for our families
Speaker 2: and for ourselves.
Speaker 1: More from our conversation after the break, building on doctor
Speaker 1: Boyd's point, in order to aid folks in their mental
Speaker 1: illness needs, we not only need to bring awareness to
Speaker 1: these issues, we also need the financial support to get
Speaker 1: people what they need.
Speaker 4: What we need is money appropriations.
Speaker 3: Because you've got agencies, both public agencies and private agencies,
Speaker 3: and the nonprofit agencies that want to help, most of
Speaker 3: them are underfunded.
Speaker 4: Most of them don't have the necessary employees.
Speaker 3: There is not an abundance of psychological counselors or workers.
Speaker 3: I'm not qualified to say where it's a cute shortage,
Speaker 3: but I can definitely say from just my experiences in
Speaker 3: the community, we need more.
Speaker 4: We need a lot more.
Speaker 3: So that's the thing that I would emphasize at this point.
Speaker 3: The other thing that I would mention in that regard, though,
Speaker 3: is efforts now to look at this issue and intervene
Speaker 3: in the criminal justice system more appropriately. In other words,
Speaker 3: instead of just relying on law enforcement officers who have
Speaker 3: to break up a fight or intervene in a trespass
Speaker 3: situation and are required to charge. Now people are saying, well,
Speaker 3: maybe we need to bring in a social worker, a
Speaker 3: mental health counselor someone of this nature to look at
Speaker 3: this situation and not immediately send this situation into the
Speaker 3: criminal justice if it can be avoided. I mean, if
Speaker 3: there's an assault, there's an assault, you have to deal
Speaker 3: with that. But if it can be avoided and the
Speaker 3: person directed to necessary resources and assistance, that's a better
Speaker 3: way to go. And as a part of the police
Speaker 3: reform movement that's taking place in this country, a lot
Speaker 3: of people are focusing on that and saying, look, people
Speaker 3: are getting shot because they have mental illness. If someone's
Speaker 3: walking down the street naked, that's a male illness issue,
Speaker 3: not an issue where you got to rush in a
Speaker 3: whole bunch of police officers to respond. So the thinking
Speaker 3: has changed, and I think that's absolutely critical. I think
Speaker 3: at the state and local level, let me emphasize that
Speaker 3: at the state and local level changes are being made.
Speaker 3: People at least talking about changes, and that's where I
Speaker 3: think we need a lot of hyphstance as opposed to
Speaker 3: just saying, well, we need another federal law. First of all,
Speaker 3: federal laws are very difficult. This was a resolution, not
Speaker 3: a statutory law. So I think there's the awareness is necessary,
Speaker 3: but at the end you've got to put necessary resources
Speaker 3: and assistance.
Speaker 4: That's a better way to go.
Speaker 1: Doctor Boyd weighed in on the issue as well with
Speaker 1: what else is needed in the fight for mental health
Speaker 1: awareness and what other sectors of the black community can
Speaker 1: be a positive influence.
Speaker 2: Think we need more stakeholders to talk about this issue.
Speaker 2: I think the faith community can play a pivotiful role
Speaker 2: in this because, for many times, to us, as it
Speaker 2: come out of slavery or whatever, it was our God
Speaker 2: that we went to when we had problems. We go
Speaker 2: to our pastor, and we go to the deaconess of
Speaker 2: the health ministry and the church. We need to get
Speaker 2: more training for them so that they can recognize the illness.
Speaker 2: We need to be able to point our people in
Speaker 2: the right direction. I would like to see some very
Speaker 2: hands on, simple tools. It's like we have a tool
Speaker 2: with the home test for the COVID, the androgen test.
Speaker 2: I would love for us to have a home test
Speaker 2: for our mental illness, so that any sign you can say, oh, oh,
Speaker 2: I might need some help, I need to talk to somebody.
Speaker 2: There is no shame into talking to somebody. Some of
Speaker 2: our greatest people in the world talk to psychologists and
Speaker 2: people that they need to get help. And so again,
Speaker 2: we got to erase the stigma. That is a starting
Speaker 2: point for me. It's okay that you're feeling that way today,
Speaker 2: let's talk about this. I have a friend whose son
Speaker 2: has been suffering mental illness. He did not find out
Speaker 2: until his son was in college and his son was
Speaker 2: walking around the campus with his pajamas on, and he
Speaker 2: was like, what in the world, What in the world.
Speaker 2: And he realized that his son was suffering with bipolar disorder,
Speaker 2: but he didn't have a clue his son would be agitated.
Speaker 2: It wasn't the same son that he sent the school.
Speaker 2: What happened. So there's some things that happened during that
Speaker 2: time that triggered that response. And so he has been
Speaker 2: there for his son from day one, helping him. They
Speaker 2: need to know that someone is there for them, and
Speaker 2: that's what we really need to work on, making sure
Speaker 2: that we listen and making sure that we can refer
Speaker 2: and help people along the way. I worked with a
Speaker 2: group a couple of years ago in San Francisco and Oakland,
Speaker 2: and it was a church group and they had a
Speaker 2: health ministry. We actually went out on the street for
Speaker 2: three days in a row in the market area where
Speaker 2: people were telling them one on one about getting mental
Speaker 2: health services what's available to them, and had them to
Speaker 2: take a simple written test on a piece of paper
Speaker 2: and just tell them if something is wrong or if
Speaker 2: you fool such and such, get some help. That was
Speaker 2: just a very simple way that this group of women
Speaker 2: in the ama Zion Church was pulling together to help
Speaker 2: those who may be suffering and mental illness that don't
Speaker 2: want to talk about it, and so that's one of
Speaker 2: the things that they have done. We're seeing more organizations
Speaker 2: like the Divine Nine taken on this issue. We need
Speaker 2: to get as many organizations and stakeholders and partners and
Speaker 2: collaboratives as we can to talk about this issue so
Speaker 2: that people will feel free and not feel stigmatized if
Speaker 2: they need help.
Speaker 1: In light of the recent pandemic and the many other
Speaker 1: trials and tribulations of simply existing in today's world, the
Speaker 1: need for mental health resources is compounding. More and more
Speaker 1: people are living with mental health struggles that can often
Speaker 1: be under deeble. Unlike physical illnesses, there isn't a clear
Speaker 1: cut sign of how someone will look if they need
Speaker 1: mental health assistance.
Speaker 2: Well, what I see now is that you have more
Speaker 2: and more people and organizations that are now talking about
Speaker 2: mental illness. And it may be because and I've seen
Speaker 2: it more since the COVID pandemic, that public health emergency exists,
Speaker 2: so that people are feeling a little more comfortable about
Speaker 2: talking about it. But most people want to know where
Speaker 2: to get help. That seems to be the number one issue.
Speaker 2: How can I get help for my loved one? How
Speaker 2: can I learn more about this? What can I do
Speaker 2: to help them? So people are more in the posture
Speaker 2: of talking about mental illness and not feeling so embarrassed
Speaker 2: by it, but able to share information and to seek help.
Speaker 2: I see that's happening as gradually. I think it's more
Speaker 2: and more as we look around and more cases are
Speaker 2: being pronounced in news media. The young lady who was
Speaker 2: miss America who took her life in New York City.
Speaker 2: Her parents have read the recent interview that she had
Speaker 2: talking about her daughter and how I mean these people
Speaker 2: look nord We said, well, I never would have thought that.
Speaker 2: She doesn't look like she's upset to me. She doesn't
Speaker 2: look disturbed to me. Well, if middle illness had a
Speaker 2: certain look, we would probably better far down the road.
Speaker 2: But it doesn't have a particular look. It can happen
Speaker 2: to anyone at any time, and so we have to
Speaker 2: be very conscious and aware of this situation and what
Speaker 2: it means to people, and how we can recognize the
Speaker 2: science when people telling you they're having a problem, Listen,
Speaker 2: people say, oh, I don't feel that this day is done.
Speaker 2: I ain't trying to live this life anymore. Listen and
Speaker 2: get them the help that they need, because there is
Speaker 2: help and there is life after the silence.
Speaker 1: In the case of VB. Moore Campbell, it was her
Speaker 1: transparency of her life threatening physical illness that allowed for
Speaker 1: her friends and family to show up and support her,
Speaker 1: a testament to the value in not suffering in silence.
Speaker 1: Linda recalls a tankford friends that are symbol to take
Speaker 1: care of Bb. In her final days.
Speaker 2: This is funny how we got this name. Just the
Speaker 2: DCD was just came up. When BB was diagnosed with
Speaker 2: her illness. I did not want her to have to
Speaker 2: go into a nursing home, assistant facility or anything like that.
Speaker 2: I just wanted her to be around her friends and
Speaker 2: I just believe that if she just could feel the
Speaker 2: love that we all had for her. So we set
Speaker 2: up times. I set up a little schedule. I would
Speaker 2: go out for a week, come back. Another friend would
Speaker 2: go out for a week and come back another. We
Speaker 2: did that so every four weeks I would be I
Speaker 2: would go to California to spend a week or two
Speaker 2: with her. But each of us had a certain responsibility,
Speaker 2: and I would give everybody their responsibility. You're responsible for
Speaker 2: making sure the house is clean, blah blah. You're responsible
Speaker 2: making sure she's got her last waller test me, you're responsible.
Speaker 2: So we did that over and over again from February
Speaker 2: to her death in November, because we wanted to be
Speaker 2: there to help her husband and her mother with the
Speaker 2: care for her as a caregiver. And we just called ourselves.
Speaker 2: I said, we divas, we devas, we can do this thing.
Speaker 2: So that's how we got this thing called the DC Divas.
Speaker 2: It's not a real club or anything. We just labeled
Speaker 2: ourselves DC Divers. But it was all out of friendship
Speaker 2: in love because we had so much in common. But
Speaker 2: the main thing we had in common was our relationship
Speaker 2: would be be more Campbell. Whenever she came to Washington,
Speaker 2: we would all get together and stay up all night
Speaker 2: long just talking, giving people a solution to problems. That's
Speaker 2: not a problem. You ain't got a problem, girl. You
Speaker 2: know you got to do this, you know, Oh, girls,
Speaker 2: that ain't nothing. I mean. So it was just a
Speaker 2: kind of fellowship and in friendship that women have that she
Speaker 2: highlighted and made sure that it was a part about
Speaker 2: inspirational living. And so we look forward to her coming
Speaker 2: every year to Washington, to Baltimore, war to rich Men,
Speaker 2: wherever she was on the East Coast. We were there
Speaker 2: to support her and to be with her. Her transition
Speaker 2: was very hard for us. I only remember grieving her
Speaker 2: death about eight or nine years after she was gone,
Speaker 2: because it was so busy just trying to make sure
Speaker 2: that her legacy remained and that people knew that the
Speaker 2: work that she started would continue. I was looking at
Speaker 2: some of the letters and things that she had written
Speaker 2: while she was here. I have a whole box of
Speaker 2: stuff of bbing More Campbell stuff. But she was such
Speaker 2: a true spirit. She just really was. But she was
Speaker 2: serious about people and helping people. She would start an
Speaker 2: organization in a minute on campus. We must have started
Speaker 2: about three or four different organization. They all are thriving today.
Speaker 2: So her legacy lives on. I would do all I
Speaker 2: can while I'm here to push out her legacy and
Speaker 2: make it a part of the lifestyle that we live in.
Speaker 2: Understanding what mental illness is, how it impacts the family,
Speaker 2: but know there is hope, there is cure, there is help,
Speaker 2: and so we just have to make sure that our
Speaker 2: community is well aware of what's available to them.
Speaker 1: More from our conversation after the break. Despite the tremendous
Speaker 1: pain of losing a beloved friend, doctor Boyd reassures us
Speaker 1: all that those living will still maintain the cherished memories
Speaker 1: that were shared.
Speaker 2: We used to go to Martha's vineyard. She had a
Speaker 2: place in Martha's. We used to go up there every
Speaker 2: summer and spend a week together as women, just in
Speaker 2: one house and just talk about everything and all we
Speaker 2: said That was probably the source of a lot of
Speaker 2: her writings. We would just come together talk about our
Speaker 2: own personal problems. We talk about our problems with our
Speaker 2: own family and our children. Outside our career is what
Speaker 2: we wanted to do, how we wanted to leave a
Speaker 2: legacy in life, how we were going to sit on
Speaker 2: the porch and rock and gm when we got old.
Speaker 2: Of course, Beebie was always very pretty, you know. It
Speaker 2: wasn't about being old with her. It's like, we're gonna
Speaker 2: be young forever. So we would talk about issues and
Speaker 2: I think that helped to shape a lot of her writings.
Speaker 2: But most importantly, she always wanted to uplift women. Always
Speaker 2: uplifting women. That's what I can remember about her all
Speaker 2: the time. And she always wanted us to know who
Speaker 2: we are. She wanted us to be who we were.
Speaker 2: She wanted us to get the best out of fulfillment
Speaker 2: in life. And that's just the type of person she was.
Speaker 2: That's just who she was. And she was true to
Speaker 2: herself and wanted everybody else to be true to themselves.
Speaker 2: She was just a great, great woman that did a
Speaker 2: lot for a lot of people.
Speaker 1: In addition to being a prolific writer, a cherished friend,
Speaker 1: a college graduate, a mother, a wife, and a trailblazer. B. B.
Speaker 1: More Campbell was an individual who wholeheartedly believed in the
Speaker 1: gift in us. All for this, B. B. More Campbell
Speaker 1: is the gift that has kept on giving.
Speaker 3: I like people remember her as one of the first
Speaker 3: voices in the wilderness. She's a pioneer of a different
Speaker 3: sort because we really were in bad shape at the
Speaker 3: time she was writing about it. She was a lonely
Speaker 3: voice talking about it at a time when our community
Speaker 3: at by and large stigmatizing well meaning people, not just
Speaker 3: people who didn't care, but people who cared.
Speaker 4: But man, you won't talk about that, or they spoken
Speaker 4: whispers about it.
Speaker 3: We have a lot of pioneers in the African American
Speaker 3: community people are just becoming aware of. I want people
Speaker 3: to identify beaving More Cammel as minority mental health. Certainly
Speaker 3: want people to recognize her as a pioneer in advancing
Speaker 3: minority mental health.
Speaker 2: Well, she already has a legacy. Her legacy has been
Speaker 2: her work with women. Her books is a lot that
Speaker 2: she's written about women and of old, of women in
Speaker 2: the lives of their families, or her legacy. In addition
Speaker 2: to her writing or women, and her writing was just
Speaker 2: so profound. She could get into the inner stuff of somebody.
Speaker 2: She must be talking about me. I mean, she was
Speaker 2: such a great prolific writer. But her legacy as it
Speaker 2: stands today is her work with women, her writing with
Speaker 2: women and black families, and how she could get those
Speaker 2: characters be so real. So you had to understand it.
Speaker 2: And I guess we should understand about her anyway, because
Speaker 2: she would always have these little boot meetings. We could
Speaker 2: be anywhere on campus and stop and have a little
Speaker 2: boot meeting, three or four of us talking about issues,
Speaker 2: and she would take those issues and next thing we know,
Speaker 2: she's written expose about it and not call about our names.
Speaker 2: But I mean, but she got into the human spirit.
Speaker 2: She got into the human side of people and presented
Speaker 2: a mirror for you to see yourself, a mirror. Baraka
Speaker 2: once said, if the beautiful see themselves, they will know themselves.
Speaker 2: So I always like to think that BBI was the
Speaker 2: type of person who allowed people to see themselves in
Speaker 2: her writing, and they began to know themselves and then
Speaker 2: they can begin to move to action. And so her
Speaker 2: legacy was one of just mirroring who you are, so
Speaker 2: that you can understand who you are and what you
Speaker 2: need to do to improve yourself, if self improvement is necessary,
Speaker 2: if not, what you need to do to help others.
Speaker 2: Her work was always about other people, helping other people
Speaker 2: and helping other people to have fulfilled lives. And she
Speaker 2: was always about that. I guess she got that from
Speaker 2: her mother. We call her mother Gigi. Gigi was the
Speaker 2: same way. A couple of years ago, we were at
Speaker 2: the home in la and we took out some of
Speaker 2: BB's old writing. She would write letters, and we would
Speaker 2: pull out those letters and read those letters again. It
Speaker 2: was just amazing. She had a gift. God had given
Speaker 2: her a gift to tap into the human spirit, to
Speaker 2: tap into the heart of a person, the soul of
Speaker 2: a person, and let you see yourself and write about it.
Speaker 2: It's a gift. She was a gift.
Speaker 1: Since two thousand and eight, Congressman Winn and doctor Boyd
Speaker 1: have stayed connected to this important work and remained passionate
Speaker 1: about the memory of BB Moore Campbell.
Speaker 3: I am a lobbyist and I do some consulting, and
Speaker 3: I work for a variety of firms, but I do
Speaker 3: have some clients who have an interest in this area
Speaker 3: in the social service area, so do some work. I
Speaker 3: follow it from that standpoint, particularly the social service area,
Speaker 3: people who deal with Medicaid managed care companies, which is
Speaker 3: one of my clients, who are very concerned about this.
Speaker 3: They're concerned about this in the context of social determinants
Speaker 3: of health because when you drill down and do an
Speaker 3: in depth health analysis and you say, okay, I've got
Speaker 3: a diabetic here, but are they in an environment where
Speaker 3: they can keep their insulin cold or refrigerated?
Speaker 4: That's an issue.
Speaker 3: We have people who have mental health needs and that's
Speaker 3: why they don't make their doctor's appointments. That's significant because
Speaker 3: we have to deal with their mental health issues if
Speaker 3: we want them to be able to take advantage of
Speaker 3: the free programs that are available to them, keep their appointments,
Speaker 3: or find the necessary transportation.
Speaker 4: So it's tough enough if you don't have a mental illness.
Speaker 4: If you have a mental illness, you're trying to access
Speaker 4: social services, Medicare, Medicaid, those types of things, it becomes
Speaker 4: very very challenging and it is easy.
Speaker 3: To fall through the cracks. Well they didn't make their appointment, Well,
Speaker 3: someone's got to go behind and see, well, why didn't
Speaker 3: they make that appointment? Was it a transportation issue, was
Speaker 3: it a lack of follow up, whatever the case may be.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I think we've got those challenges out there
Speaker 3: that we need to deal with.
Speaker 2: I currently serve as the Chief Communication Officer and Director
Speaker 2: of External Affairs for Obamacare. I've worked with community groups
Speaker 2: in most of my career. I always like working with people.
Speaker 2: My degrees are in communication and always say you cannot
Speaker 2: not communicate, And he said, what do you mean? I said,
Speaker 2: you cannot not communicate? So I'm always gonna have a job.
Speaker 2: I'm always gonna have something to do because we cannot
Speaker 2: not communicate. And so we in time looking at that.
Speaker 2: So a lot of the work that I've done, having
Speaker 2: worked for three different mayors here in the Nation's Capital,
Speaker 2: put me in touch with a lot of community groups,
Speaker 2: faith based organization, professional organizations, and I try to infuse
Speaker 2: some of this work in that outreach so that whatever
Speaker 2: I do, whether it's with the faith based community, which
Speaker 2: I have them very deeply involved in mental health awareness
Speaker 2: and others, I bring that to the table at all times.
Speaker 2: I bring it to the table because it's just a
Speaker 2: part of life. It's a part of who we are
Speaker 2: and we must address it. I just every chance I
Speaker 2: get to talk about it. I told you my campaign
Speaker 2: erase the stigma, not her name. Let's keep the big
Speaker 2: picture in front of us, and let's help out people
Speaker 2: get the help that they need. So the work that
Speaker 2: I do, I also consult with a number of different
Speaker 2: prominent figures across the country with my work that I've
Speaker 2: done in communications and strategic communications, outreach and engagement. Even
Speaker 2: when I went to school in Africa, some of these
Speaker 2: things with me as well. So it's just a part
Speaker 2: of who I am. A guest, just to share this
Speaker 2: is what I believe. Don't take it to the graveyard.
Speaker 2: Share that information with others. Share your gifts with others.
Speaker 2: That's the best thing you can do. Whatever God has
Speaker 2: blessed you with, whatever gifts he has blessed you to have,
Speaker 2: you have to share it with others. It's not for
Speaker 2: you to keep to yourself, but it's for you to
Speaker 2: give and to help others. And so I've lived by
Speaker 2: that philosophy. My mother taught me that growing up. My dad,
Speaker 2: so we all have two sisters, we all are very
Speaker 2: much into helping others in whatever way. Is possible. My mother,
Speaker 2: I'm blessed, turned ninety two years old last week. She
Speaker 2: is still living on her own, She's still independent, she
Speaker 2: still has her memory, she knows who she is, she
Speaker 2: kind of name, and she still drives. So I am
Speaker 2: very thankful for that. And she has taught us at
Speaker 2: all times always give back. We say pay it forward,
Speaker 2: She say give it back so that other people can have.
Speaker 2: Your gifts are not meant for you to keep. Your
Speaker 2: gifts are for you to share.
Speaker 1: In many ways, that core philosophy is what tied Bbe,
Speaker 1: Linda and Albert together all those years ago at the
Speaker 1: University of Pittsburgh, a burning desire to speak up to
Speaker 1: help others and voice their truth. The question now remains
Speaker 1: who in the younger generation will carry this philosophy into
Speaker 1: the future.
Speaker 3: As I was thinking about our program today, that I
Speaker 3: wanted to comment on is the role of our young
Speaker 3: athletes and changing perception. People like Simon Bios have had
Speaker 3: a tremendous impact non minoriti athletes.
Speaker 4: Is well.
Speaker 3: The fact that the athletic community, which people follow for
Speaker 3: various reasons, those are high profile individuals and when they
Speaker 3: speak out or when they say wait a minute, I'm
Speaker 3: not perfect. I may be the greatest in my athletic endeavor,
Speaker 3: but I'm not perfect and I've got some issues.
Speaker 4: That's a big deal.
Speaker 3: And the fact that several of them were superstars from
Speaker 3: the minority community, I think made it even more impactful
Speaker 3: because some own bios they don't want to sick. Okay,
Speaker 3: people say, all right, now it is becoming mainstream, which
Speaker 3: is like a dream for us in two thousand and
Speaker 3: eight because now someone at that level says, wait a minute,
Speaker 3: I have a mental health issue that I want to
Speaker 3: deal with, and you should make sure you're dealing with
Speaker 3: health issues that you may have. That has a tremendous
Speaker 3: impact on very young people who are coming up into
Speaker 3: a very complicated world.
Speaker 1: In the fourteen years since its creation, Minority Mental Health
Speaker 1: Month has impacted the lives of thousands of people. In
Speaker 1: addition to this resolution, maybe Mary Campbell and those that
Speaker 1: work beside her have also left countless resources to aid
Speaker 1: those in need and educate those looking to support others.
Speaker 2: I would also encourage people to really visit NOMI Urban
Speaker 2: Los Angeles sites for additional information. We have upcoming seminars
Speaker 2: that the staff is put together. They're virtual soone in person,
Speaker 2: but most of the virtual, so no matter where you
Speaker 2: are across the country, you can get some help from them.
Speaker 2: We encourage you to go to that website, Nomiurbanlos Angeles
Speaker 2: dot com and get information off of that site on
Speaker 2: what we're doing and how we are seeking to help others,
Speaker 2: and there's a contact on the site, and you contact
Speaker 2: us through that site and they will and I encourage
Speaker 2: everyone to join us on July seventh for the BB
Speaker 2: Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Month Symposium. We wear
Speaker 2: the mask the alarming rate of suicide and communities of color.
Speaker 2: We have some very fantastic speakers, and we also have
Speaker 2: individuals who have lived the experience of mental health and
Speaker 2: have been saved. We have some who were given their
Speaker 2: life stories. One is George Foreman's granddaughter will be sharing
Speaker 2: with us her experiences. She lost her mother to suicide.
Speaker 2: So I think that people will be helped by hearing
Speaker 2: the experiences that others have lived, so that will help
Speaker 2: them and we encourage you to join us for that.
Speaker 2: It's a virtual quot shop one o'clock Eastern Standard time,
Speaker 2: eleven o'clock specific time, so we ask for you to
Speaker 2: join us and be a part of that discussion. Then
Speaker 2: b B More Campbell. All you gotta do is google
Speaker 2: b be More Campbell National Minority Mental Health Months, impose
Speaker 2: them and it all pops up. And so register and
Speaker 2: join us on Thursday, July seventh at one o'clock Eastern time.
Speaker 1: We would like to extend a huge thank you to
Speaker 1: doctor Linda Warren Boyd and Representative Albert Wynn. Thank you
Speaker 1: for sharing your incredible stories with us and for the
Speaker 1: life changing work you all have done and continue to do.
Speaker 1: We also want to send a special prayer and love
Speaker 1: to the remaining family of Bbmore Campbell as mentioned in
Speaker 1: observation of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. We'll be hosting
Speaker 1: a variety of events and conversations to celebrate generations of sisterhood.
Speaker 1: So stay tuned to our website at Therapy for Blackgirls
Speaker 1: dot com and to our social media channels to get involved.
Speaker 1: If you're looking for a therapist in your area, check
Speaker 1: out our therapist directory at Therapy for Blackgirls dot com
Speaker 1: slash directory. And if you want to continue digging into
Speaker 1: this topic or just be in community with other sisters,
Speaker 1: come on over and join us in the Sister Circle
Speaker 1: it's our cozy corner of the Internet, designed just for
Speaker 1: black women. You can join us at Community dot Therapy
Speaker 1: for blackgirls dot com. This episode was produced by Frida
Speaker 1: Lucas and Elise Ellis and editing was done by Dennison Bradford.
Speaker 1: Thank y'all so much for joining me again this week.
Speaker 1: I look forward to continuing this conversation with you all
Speaker 1: real soon. Take it care,