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Reframing Black Wealth This Black History Month

Black History Month often asks us to remember what was taken from us. This year, I’ve been thinking about what has always been ours. Before we talk about money, property, or status, we have to talk about something far more foundational: the ways we were taught to survive that are now quietly costing us our lives.


For many Black families across the diaspora, burnout is not a modern problem. It is an inherited survival strategy. On plantations, overwork meant survival. In America, perfection meant protection. In society, being “twice as good” was not ambition - it was defense. And although slavery ended, the patterns of mental slavery did not. It evolved into hustle culture, respectability politics, the pursuit of perfectionism, and the constant, exhausting pressure to prove our worth in systems that were never built with us in mind.


Today, we call that “success.” But our bodies tell a different story.


Research on allostatic load - the wear and tear that chronic stress places on the body - shows clear links to hypertension, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, anxiety, and shortened lifespan, conditions that disproportionately affect Black women (McEwen & Stellar, 1993). At the same time, research by Julianne Holt-Lunstad shows that social isolation increases mortality risk at rates comparable to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015). And Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory confirms something our ancestors never needed a study to validate: rhythm, movement, singing, gathering, and collective joy regulate the nervous system and restore a sense of safety (Porges, Polyvagal Institute).


This means that the cookout was never “just a cookout.” Carnival was never “just a party.” Dancing together was never “just fun.” It has always been medicine. The very things our culture has always done are not distractions from wealth - they are pathways to it.

Dr. K teaching Girlfriendism's SoKh Caribbean Dance Class on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands .
Dr. K teaching Girlfriendism's SoKh Caribbean Dance Class on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands .

Over the past year, I made a major shift in my own work. I transitioned from a movement fueled by a fashion brick-and-mortar into a global holistic wellness ecosystem for women. And in that transition, I noticed something striking: Women will easily spend $200, $300, $400 on a dress or a handbag, but hesitate to invest that same amount into their learning, their healing, their growth, their community and their spirit. This is not judgment - it is observation; because fashion is powerful. Style is cultural expression, identity, storytelling, pride, and visibility AND it has also been absorbed into classist systems that teach us to invest in how we look and portray ourselves to others before we invest in how we actually live and experience ourselves. And for disadvantaged communities - Black people, women, colonized people - this mindset quietly widens the wealth gap in ways we don’t always recognize not just financially, but emotionally, spiritually, and communally too.

True wealth requires believing...in fact it requires KNOWING: I am worth investing in.

This is where Girlfriendism shines light...as a response...as a reframing...as a gentle yet firm rejection of the historical isms that are slowly killing us - capitalism (without wellness), perfectionism (which doesn't exist), classism (without community), individualism (without love). Truth be told, however, is: If burnout is killing us, it cannot be the path to wealth. If isolation shortens our lives, it cannot be the price of success. If we are too exhausted, too sick, too disconnected to live long enough to enjoy what we are building, then what exactly are we building exactly?


We were taught that money comes first, and wellness comes later but the truth is the opposite. Wellness creates longevity. Longevity creates capacity. Capacity creates legacy. And legacy creates wealth. And...none of that happens alone.


We have been told that it’s lonely at the top. But it is not success that reduces friendships - it is unwell success. Burnt-out 'success'. Isolated 'success'. True success is self-defined (so you don't have to take our word for it!) and our definition of success is not one of isolation but rather, intentional circles. It does not have to be lonely at the top when you build the top with your circle. When we do: Love, then, becomes a rebellion. Community becomes a strategy. Movement becomes medicine. Friendship becomes infrastructure.


This is what it means to live a liberated life - not one consumed by comparison, hustle pressure, proving and peforming. A liberated life is one centered in joy, connection, wellness, and peace as the foundation of everything we create.


And this is why we invite Black women to reframe Black wealth during Black History Month by becoming a girlfriend of this global love and liberation movement in simple, intentional ways.


First, through the $1 Girlfriendism Global Pledge - a commitment to becoming a girlfriend to yourself and then to others. A decision to center wellness as your wealth infrastructure and to challenge the isms in your own life with love and accountability.


Second, through Weekly Membership where we gather virtually for Manifesting Mondays and Embodied Wellness Wednesdays - because when we move together, our bodies remember what our ancestors always knew. We manifest through health first, and we learn together through girlfriend masterclasses that center growth without sacrificing wellness.


And third, through Organizational Wellness Membership for groups that are ready to lead differently - liberation-led, wellness-centered experiences that understand success does not have to come at the expense of humanity.


This Black History Month, perhaps reframing Black wealth is not about acquiring more, but remembering more. Remembering that our greatest assets have always been wellness, movement, joy, and each other.


Love is the revolution. Liberation is the goal. And intentional friendship through Girlfriendism is how we get there.

References


About The Author:

Dr. Khnuma Simmonds - aka ‘Your Girlfriend, Dr. K’ is the Founder and SHE-EO of Girlfriendism International, LLC - a global love and liberation movement created to elevate women’s wellness through culture, creativity, consciousness and a community of ‘girlfriends’. With 20+ years of experience in entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, mental health counseling, the arts and advocacy for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, she creates safe spaces for women to connect, heal, and thrive through Girlfriendism retreats, wellness memberships, and travel experiences. She is also the Founding Executive Director of Girlfriendism’s non-profit: H.O.P.E. Incorporated, a best-selling author and international speaker.


 
 
 

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