Urban Expressions: Summary and After Thoughts

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Dr. Deshawnda Williams, a Wheaton graduate who double majored in Sociology and Religion visited Wheaton and held an event titled "Urban Expressions: Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Health Disparities in US Urban Communities". Her stories were motivating, compelling, and full of emotion.

I think it is important to include that I am a person who was born with inherent privilege since I am white- so listening to these types of events and educating myself constantly about these disparities that communities of color face are valuable and insightful experiences.

Deshawnda Williams 
Dr. Williams began by laying a foundation for her personal journey, giving the audience a brief outline of her perspective and how that perspective reflects that of her community. She talked about how we have an urge to understand why the universe came into existence, and a deep impulse to understand our world. The way she solves these sorts of questions is through her spirituality, the importance of God, the Creator of All Things. Dr. Williams related this back to how those in slavery used this knowledge - of their God - to shape their identities, culture, and spirituality by giving back power to a race that was deemed powerless.

This is where Dr. Williams began to talk about how the church became a safe haven for the community, a source of strength completely free of oppressive white power. This led to her personal experiences and how she established and persists with her relationship with God. She also noted that people of color do have a stigma about mental illness and she advocates for that to change.

As somebody who is a mental health expert, she knows the difference between a serious issue and a relationship with God. She told the audience stories of times when she heard the voice of God and knew that it was something beyond illness or a hallucination. I feel that connection is powerful and even otherworldly to somebody like me who doesn't associate themself with any religion in particular.

Comments

  1. Jonathan Brumberg-KrausMarch 17, 2020 at 12:44 PM

    Do you see any connection between what she spoke about and "the sensual dimension of religions"?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Karen IizukaMay 3, 2020 at 2:04 PM

    I really admire you for taking the time to educate yourself on the discrimination and disparities that marginalized communities face. I think it's beautiful that some places (church, school, a friend's home, etc.) can be a safe haven for people to escape oppression or really any form of hardship.

    I went to this event held at Wheaton called "The Voices of Psychosis". Reading your blog post reminded me of what the guest speaker talked about, which is that in India and Africa, hearing voices is not associated with mental health like it is in the United States, but associated with spirits, magic, and God instead.

    ReplyDelete

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