Black women are often referred to as “goddesses,” “magical,” and possessing other supernatural qualities. Usually, out of admiration and as a joke. But ultimately, this mythological status is taken seriously and relied upon so much that it harms their well-being.
This leads black women to feel the need to meet these unrealistic standards at the expense of their health, showing higher rates of breast cancer at a young age, diabetes, stroke, depression, anxiety and of self-silencing than any other demographic.
The goal of Eukela Little’s ’22 Lumen Scholar is to ensure that Black women prioritize self-care and rethink what it means to be a strong Black woman. Her project centers around the strong black woman schema and raises the question: can women still be the “strong black woman” and take care of themselves?
“We’re finding out they can,” Little said. “But certain things have to happen for that to happen.”
“It starts with realizing that you’ve been passed over and that you see yourself as a strong Black woman,” said Buffie Longmire-Avital, an associate professor of psychology and Little’s mentor for her Lumen Prize research. “But what does that mean and how can you still be a strong, self-centered, self-care focused Black woman who recognizes that you’re only human? »
The Lumen Prize awards researchers a $20,000 grant to support a chosen research project and allows them to work closely with an academic mentor on that project for two years. Each year, 15 emerging juniors are named Lumen Scholars and conduct research that often results in presentations and publications at conferences.
Through her research titled “Strong, Black and Selfish: Recading the Strong Black Woman Persona to include Self-Care through a Mobile Health Intervention,” Little created an eight-week intervention aimed at encouraging and reframing self-care, self-compassion and self-compassion. -contemplative practices – the three pillars of the schema of emerging black adult women academics.
She interviewed numerous experts in the field, both at Elon and elsewhere, as well as former Longmire-Avital students. She filmed these interactions and divided them into understandable videos with prompts and activities for nearly 30 participants.
Each week of the intervention, Little introduced participants to a different concept – understanding self-care, mindful mediation and other topics – to focus on and turn intention into action.
“There was a point where I was trying to push Eukela into this typical search box, and she was like, ‘That’s not what I wanted to do.’ I want to create workshops and help people immediately. I don’t just write the research. She wanted to spread this information. It wasn’t about generating research for his consumption or that of a select few,” Longmire-Avital said.
“It woke me up to how I was following a certain pattern and gave me the courage to let that go.” Eukela is a wonderful example of how you step back and let a student’s creativity and innovation guide you,” she added. “I am grateful for his vision and unwavering belief in wanting to be the change, not just documenting what needs to happen.”
Little created the Instagram page, SOI Project (Self-empowering and Loving Formation), a platform that merges her interests in Black women’s studies and self-care. It is a space to share information, while highlighting your journey by prioritizing well-being.
By documenting her journey, she empowers herself by practicing what she preaches.
“I use the Instagram page in a lot of the talks I give,” Longmire-Avital said. “It’s a source of recruitment, but it’s also a way to reflect on your experiences and break down barriers at each stage.”
Longmire-Avital was Little’s mentor during the four years she was a student at Elon.
As a freshman, she presented at the Black Solidarity Conference, and following that presentation, she sought out professors on campus to help her continue her research on important topics in black community. Several students and professors in attendance suggested Little and Longmire-Avital connect.
They did, and from there, Longmire-Avital offered her a position as a student researcher. They began working together formally during Little’s sophomore year, during which they prepared for the Lumen Prize nomination.
“I had two other research mentors before Longmire-Avital, and she was my first black female mentor. That in itself created a sense of security for me to show up as myself in difficult times,” she said.
Little is currently looking for graduate programs to continue her community-centered research and eventually earn a doctorate. Her postdoctoral plans are to continue working with the Black community on topics related to mental and physical health.
“My biggest complaint about academia is that we’re going to do community research and then write this big elaborate paper and present it to other people in academia. Well, the people you studied for six months don’t know all these lectures,” Little said.
In the conversations Little had with attendees and subject matter experts, a recurring theme of community was continually exhibited, even with different topics and at different times. Establishing a sense of self is essential. But it’s just as important to create a strengthening base around you.
Knowing that other Black women have similar feelings when it comes to fostering strong environments with other Black women was as rewarding as it was surprising, Little said.
“Being able to be in a space and confide in someone and feel safe shows the importance of black sisterhood that a lot of women explained,” Little said. “It’s been really eye-opening.”
The topic of reframing the strong black female schema and prioritizing self-care did not take much convincing from the participants, as they had a genuine desire to obtain the information that Little’s research helped provide .
“We always talk about ‘black girl magic.’ We’re all trying to be magical black girls. But it was very interesting to see that the conception of the magical black girl was on the level of a goddess. It was worrying to me because we are human. We must always be mindful of where trends are going and how those trends may initially appear as one thing… but if we are not careful, they can also be a source of great pressure,” said Longmire-Avital. “Eukela’s research sheds light on this.”
Learn more about the Lumen Prize and its winners here.
