The Effects of Racism on the Mental Health of Black MMNDS Militants

Abstract

This article discusses the consequences of racism on the mental health of black women members of the Dandara of Sisal Black Women Movement (MMNDS), which acts in the territory of Sisal, Bahia. The intersection of race and gender has fostered the movement’s creation due to the gender impacting racism and the race affecting the sexism; as well as the fact that black women are victim of racism and sexism since the period of slavery. The methodological approach was qualitative and descriptive, with data collection methods by semi-structured interviews with six black women activists and participant observation of the Dandara of Sisal movement actions and activities. The women reported the racism, racial discrimination and prejudice that they suffered in their lives in different spaces and social institutions: family, school, university, job market, public health mechanisms etc. Being victim of such violence reflects negatively on the black identity, self-esteem, subjectivity, and mental health of these social actresses. They described the psychic suffering of social exclusion and the importance of being in the movement as strategies for mental empowerment and fight against the racism. Psychology is understood, as science and profession, as important in the anti-racist cause, since the deleterious effects of racism threaten the mental health and the subjectivity of black women and people.

Keywords:
Mental health; Black women; Racism; Black women movement; Territory of Sisal