Labor Day and Embracing Rest: A Necessary Connection
With Labor Day approaching, we have been contemplating the intricate relationship between work, rest, and the American identity. In a country that idolizes productivity and progress, the value of rest often finds itself overshadowed by the constant hum of achievement. While Labor Day is often pinned as a time for barbecues and a farewell to summer, we believe that it emerges as a timely occasion to reevaluate this dynamic, inviting us to explore the historical, cultural, and social dimensions that underscore the importance of rest in the United States – especially for Black women.
Earlier in August, around Women’s Equality Day, Time magazine published an essay titled, 60 Years After March on Washington, America’s Progress Hinges on Liberating Black Women, written by Arndrea Waters King and Jennifer Jones Austin.
In this essay, we all are reminded of how historical systems of oppression continue to bare down on non-white women:
“Today, while no longer restricted solely to domestic labor, Black and Brown women remain significantly segregated in the labor force: severely underrepresented in professions that typically pay more and overly represented in occupations with lower average salaries. The latter of these jobs—roles such as childcare workers, social workers, and substance abuse counselors—are critical to a healthy and functioning society, yet their wages don’t even begin to cover basic living expenses.”
The immense contributions of Black women underscore this stark reality and fuel the righteous rage that we value in prioritizing their liberation and well-being.
“Despite centuries of having their worth diminished, Black women have boldly and unapologetically led and contributed to the development and progress of America. From reformers like Mary Ann Shadd Cary and Mary Church Terrell leading the early universal suffrage movement, advocating for the 15th and 19th Amendments, all the while being excluded from both Black men’s and white women’s suffrage movements, to Black women today such as Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, whose work as a immunologist led to the development of the vaccine to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and end the global pandemic. Denying Black women’s worth robs not just their families but the nation.”
Black women are the backbone of many communities, yet our contributions often go unrecognized and our needs unmet. This is something that we are working daily to remedy through our Legacy Leadership program, as we deeply honor the truth that the liberation of Black women is necessary for the progress of everyone. However, we face unique stressors and challenges that make rest and self-care particularly important.
With the reality of navigating racism, sexism, and classism on a daily basis, both in our personal and professional lives, Black women are vulnerable to higher levels of stress and burnout, making self-care and rest essential for the entire experience connected to our well-being – physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.
So while Labor Day commemorates the efforts made to gain workers' rights and create the 8-hour workday, it also serves as a reminder of a powerful act of resistance: rest.
Reflecting on Rooted Liberation: Recharge and Renew
Earlier this summer, SageD Consulting partnered with Farmers Market Coalition to run a digital awareness campaign for Juneteenth. Titled “Rooted Liberation”, we created a week-long campaign supporting the historical interconnection between food and social justice. We covered topics like the Pigford case and Black farmers’ fight for agricultural justice, the Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit, the reclamation of foods from the African Diaspora, the 2023 Farm Bill, and my favorite – the power of rest in impact work.
Rooted Liberation
A Juneteenth Digital Awareness Campaign created by SageD Consulting in partnership with Farmers Market Coalition
“Rooted Liberation, our Juneteenth campaign, has represented trauma and pain, as well as joy and celebration. Restoration is critical. We honor the pure exhaustion that Black folk feel at a cellular level and recognize the fatigue endured by anyone who is truly committed to effecting systems-level change. Rest is imperative to sustaining impact-driven work, and today, we invite you to rest.”
For Labor Day this year, we invite you to embrace restoration and explore the resources we curated during Rooted Liberation, guided both by the wisdom of our elders and the voices of contemporary champions like Tricia Hersey, Tracee Stanley, Dr. Rheeda Walker, and Mary-Frances Winters.
Honoring “Black Fatigue” with Mary Frances Winters
“Black fatigue” is a term that has recently become more mainstream but has been long understood by Black Americans. As shared by Mary-Frances Winters, the author of Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit, the problem is not with the individuals experiencing oppression but with systemic racism and its many forms.
Embracing Restoration: Self-Care for Impact
We have a rest-based roadmap to follow, passed down to us from those who stood in the fire before we did. In our ancestors’ remarkable voices, we are reminded of the transformative relationship between self-care and impact. By embracing restoration and promoting a culture centered around rest, we increase our individual capacity to collectively contribute to creating sustainable progress.
Nurturing Well-Being: Rest Resource Library
To support and nurture your practice of rest, we have curated a Rest Resource Library, complete with helpful insights and tools that can help you embrace the practice of restoration.
Created by Tricia Hersey, this deck of 50 powerful rest practices helps you embrace rest as a form of radical communal care and personal liberation.
Written by Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, this book illuminates our complex relationship with rest in imagining and dreaming our way to a future where rest is exalted.
Written by Dr. Rheeda Walker, this book offers important information on how to combat stigma, how to practice emotional wellness, and how to get the best care possible in a system steeped in racial bias.
Tracee Stanley draws on over twenty years of experience as a yoga nidra teacher and practitioner to introduce the history of yoga nidra, mind and body relaxation, and the surprising power of rest in our daily lives.
Rest for Sustainability: Continuing the Journey
In closing, this Labor Day, we invite you to embody your own practice of Rooted Liberation and restoration. We recognize that sustainable impact begins with nurturing our own well-being and honor that, in order to sow the seeds of transformation, we must first cultivate fertile soil that nurtures those seeds in growth. By resisting burnout through embracing rest, we give ourselves the necessary nutrients for sustainable impact and future regeneration.
