This year our youth voice initiative, Authoring Our Own Stories, will continue to explore the theme of mental health. There will be a specific focus on the emotional wellbeing of young Black and Brown women. We will be co-producing research that explores the concept of resilience and what it means to be ‘A Strong Black Woman’ in 21st century London. Resilience has been a recurring theme in our work for several years. It is one of the most distinctive facets in the character development of the young people that we work with – particularly those from minoritised communities.
Cultivating resilience is vital for everyone. However, the personal stories shared by some young Black and Brown women through previous year’s research, strongly suggest they are socialised to cope with systemic inequalities, quietly, through their ‘strength of character’.
‘The ‘Strong Black woman’ stereotype is harming our mental health,’ (Cole, 2018)[i].
We want to address the potentially negative impact ‘pushing through’ can have on the mental health of young Black and Brown women. Our research will investigate youth-led strategies that support the personal strength of young Black and Brown women, whilst also looking to structural factors that compel them to routinely bounce back from racial and gender-based stereotyping.
We aim to challenge ‘the struggle mentality’ (peer researchers and participants, Authoring Our Own Stories, 2024) and celebrate what it means to be strong.
If you are an organisation that would like to work with us in 2025 and/or work with young women who identify as being Black or Brown and may wish to become peer researchers, please contact sandra.vacciana@cityoflondon.gov.uk
[i] Cole, M. (2018) ‘The ‘strong black woman’ stereotype is harming our mental health’, The Guardian, 20th July.
Available at: The ‘strong black woman’ stereotype is harming our mental health | Marverine Cole | The Guardian
(Accessed: March 2024)
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