Featured
Movement is the Medicine and Dance is the Healing – Critical Reframing for Black Mental Health
By Daktari Shari Renée Hicks, Psy.D.
It is seldom directly recognized that rhythmic harmonious movement is the natural state of being. Evidence of this fact is demonstrated at birth. While the outcome is filled with joy and fulfillment, “birthing” is a moment of stress, strain, difficulty and imbalance. To address this condition, it has become common practice to place the newly born infant directly onto the mother’s chest. In so doing, a rhythmic harmonious movement connects heart-to-heart and breath-to-breath. In fact, rhythmic balance is an indicator of wellbeing. The mother-child movement is the first divine dance.
In recognizing the significance of movement (dance) and sound (drumming), several members of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) have identified dance and drumming as a critical healing framework for African American wellness. Dance is a conceptual natural language with intrinsic and extrinsic meanings, a system of physical movements, and interrelated rules guiding performance in social, religious, and healing situations. Curative properties of African dance include cathartic release, connectivity, wholeness, communion, empathy, tranquility, problem-resolution, sublimation, bliss, altered states of consciousness, emotional expression, and enhanced sense of self/community. Dance may be utilized as a more effectual mode of communication than talk therapy.
The healing capacity of dance should in fact be un-coded for application in the therapeutic relationship. Dance does arouse and invoke multi-layered and multi-dimensional healing at the spiritual, psychological, emotional, behavioral, and physiological levels. As a member of the Bay Area Chapter of ABPsi, a lifetime dancer, founder and artistic director of the Daktari Dance Medicine Collective, and as a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, I recognize the link between healing and dance. African dance has served as a form of medicine for Africans and their descendants for thousands of years and has created optimal conditions for healing by integrating the mind, body, and spirit. Through the medium of expressivity, African dance allows for transition, transcendence, transformation, and integration. Dance does and can play an essential role in reviving and treating symptoms of psychological distress.
The geometry of dance can actually translate movement into specific formulas that direct life’s energy to address specific tasks, i.e., love, war, healing, etc. For instance, Afro-Haitian dances and rhythms calling to Papa Legba activates the opening of the gate between the living and the mysteries found in the invisible realm. The BaKongo Nganga, Ya Fu-Kiau taught that as spirit beings, we vibrate and radiate (move) in seven directions as we traverse the four moments of the sun (cf. Fu-Kiau, 2003). The seven directions (upward, downward, rightward, leftward, backward, frontward, and inward) are coordinated and synchronized as a harmonious rhythmic impulse in dance. Each of the seven directions of the BaKongo has meaning and intention inscribed in dance movements.
In discussing the seven directions, Dr. Nobles (2017) has elaborated on Fu-Kiau’s teaching by noting that each of the seven directions or movements activate or has the intentionality to activate particular energies. For instance, “leftward” motions or direction activates the contact with or intention to continue to become and counter the negative (enemies). The “rightward” motions or direction activates the contact with or intention to belong as family, and love. The “upward” motions or direction activates the contact with or intention to go beyond and have access to the cosmic sea, dreams and creativity. The “downward” motions or direction activates the contact with or intention to be and see what energy is found in the earth (futu). The “forward” motions or direction activates the contact with or intention to behold and prepare our future for our children. The “backward” motions or direction activates the contact with or intention to begin by discovering our collectively accumulated wealth by uncovering our past and ancestral veneration as grounding for new beginnings. Finally, the “inward” motions or direction activates the contact with or intention of being and self-healing.
As I have in other venues, I will be sharing the connection of dance to mental health at the ABPsi’s 50th Annual International Convention (Go to http://www.abpsi.org/convention/index.html) June 27th-July 1st, 2018, at The Marriott Oakland City Center, in Oakland, California. This will be a further opportunity to share the healing power of movement (dance) and sound (drumming). Please join the ABPsi gathering of psychologists, university professors, healthcare professionals, educators, researchers, students, and everyday folks.
It is my opinion that movement is the medicine and dance is the healing. Ashe…Ashe…Ashe.
References
- Fu-Kiau, K.K.B. 2003. Self-Healing Power and Therapy: Old Teachings from Africa. New York: African
Tree Press. Nobles, W.W. 2017. Personal Communication/Teaching, July 20, 2012. N=718
Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
By California Black Media
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).
“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.
“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.
The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.
Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.
“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.
Community
Financial Assistance Bill for Descendants of Enslaved Persons to Help Them Purchase, Own, or Maintain a Home
California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) vice chair Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) introduced new legislation related to reparations to the Senate Committee on Housing on April 2 in Sacramento. Senate Bill (SB) 1007, “establishes the Homeowner’s Assistance for Descendants of Enslaved Persons Program to make financial aid or assistance available to descendants for the purposes of purchasing, owning, or maintaining a home,” the legislation states.
California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) vice chair Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) introduced new legislation related to reparations to the Senate Committee on Housing on April 2 in Sacramento.
Senate Bill (SB) 1007, “establishes the Homeowner’s Assistance for Descendants of Enslaved Persons Program to make financial aid or assistance available to descendants for the purposes of purchasing, owning, or maintaining a home,” the legislation states.
The Senate Housing Committee advanced the bill with an 8-1 vote. It will be re-referred to the Appropriations Committee for consideration.
Sen. Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) was the only member who voted against the bill.
“SB 1007 is about starting a long process of paying back a debt that is not only owed, but that was also promised, and is 160 years overdue, to African Americans,” Bradford told the committee chaired by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). “It is the first step in closing the wealth and equity gap created by centuries of slavery and racial discrimination policies.”
The bill aligns with one of the 115 recommendations listed in a two-year study conducted by the California reparations task force, of which Bradford was one of nine members.
Bradford said the report reveals that, in the state of California, a typical Black-owned home is 22% less valuable than a White-owned home.
Various advocacy groups from around the state attended the hearing held at the State Capitol Annex Swing Space. The California Housing Partnership, Bay Area Regional Health and Inequities Initiative, Coalition for A Just and Equitable California, Disability Rights of California, the American Civil Liberties Union of California, and California Community Builders all voiced their support of the bill.
Arts and Culture
Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
By Barbara Fluhrer
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.
One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.
At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.
Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.
Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”
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