ABSTRACT
Black and brown communities suffer disproportionately in the wake of catastrophic events. The COVID-19 crisis is no different. Healthcare inequity continues to surface, in terms of physical health and mental health and well-being. Higher comorbidity rates have been rightly attributed (in part) to oppressive social, political, and economic structures. Less discussed, however, are the underlying historical and cultural narratives that have traditionally justified and propped up structures of systemic oppression. These controlling narratives—often hegemonic and internalized—tend to benefit the psychological health of white communities, while simultaneously undermining the psychological and emotional health of black and brown communities. This can lead to a sense of personal and communal hopelessness and nihilism, the onset of cultural trauma, and further exacerbate health disparities in black and brown communities. This essay reflects on how black religion, viewed as a therapeutic container in the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis, can yield indigenous psychological resources that enable persons and communities to construct counter-narratives in a way that is accretive to black mental health and curtails hopelessness and nihilism.
