By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — It’s been 17 years since Black Women for Wellness Los Angeles hung out its shingle with a mandate to promote education, advocate for health screenings, increase awareness about sexually transmitted diseases and provide tips on everyday nutrition to Black women in the community.
The organization’s programming grew out of the life experiences of its original mentors.
In 1997, Janette Robinson Flint and five of her friends agreed to look after 22 pregnant women as a hedge against African-American infant mortality.
That gesture paved the way for Robinson Flint (executive director), Claudie Kiti Bustamante, Ndoni Forbes, Shquestra Sitawi, Akua Jitahadi and Moyofune Deas Bilewa, to start a nonprofit that now helps the greater Los Angeles community of Black women achieve better health.
Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center conducted a Black women’s health study in 1995, which showed that Black women have higher rates of many illnesses, such as hypertension, breast cancer at young ages, diabetes, stroke and lupus. The study, still ongoing with 59,000 participants, revealed that Black women are more likely to develop certain health problems than white women.
The study, which aims to save the lives of Black women around the country, also determined that there needs to be a better understanding of the causes of these illnesses and determinants of good health.
The study tracks weight, nutrition, body mass index, reproductive history, smoking and alcohol use, physical activity, and disease incidence.
Black Women for Wellness Los Angeles is doing its part. Determined to be proactive in addressing the most pressing health issues affecting Black women, the organization believes in the strength and wisdom of the community and its allies. The organization believes it has the solutions, resources and responsibility to create the shifts and change needed to make an impact on the community’s health status.
The organization also believes that everyone must contribute to the survival and growth of a community.
Black Women for Wellness Los Angeles programs include civic engagement, environmental justice, Sisters@Eight, Sisters in Control: Reproductive Justice and Sisters in Motion.
Today, the organization has upwards of 100 members working toward a common cause.
Since January 2024, Los Angeles native Myeisha Essex, 36, has been the organization’s communications manager. A natural storyteller, she attended Bennett College and Columbia University for grad school where she majored in journalism with the intent of becoming a magazine editor.
After a stint at Essence magazine, the television program, “The Real,” the position of senior editor at “Entertainment Tonight,” and a senior editor position for the marketing team behind the sleep meditation app, CALM, Essex wanted to “shift” her focus to uplifting the Black community.
“I wanted to give back,” she said.
I recently spoke to Essex about the work Black Women for Wellness Los Angeles is doing in the community.
DD: Tell me in your own words, what Black Women for Wellness Los Angeles is about.
ME: We were founded in 1997. We are a California-based nonprofit. We are committed to the health and well-being of Black women and girls. Our organization seeks to empower our communities with a lasting change in reproductive health.
DD: For people who don’t know, what does your organization do exactly?
ME: All of the work we do is in service for them to live a healthy life. We have a Sisters in Control Team, which is our reproductive justice team. Supporting policy and programs to secure reproductive justice. Black maternal and infant health, breast care help, sex education. There are fierce aunties — our advocates — and a rites of passage program for girls 12-17. We teach them about their bodies.
Our civic engagement program was very active. The goal for this election season was to connect with 25,000 Black men to get them registered and involved. Our environmental justice program helps to build a healthy community.
Sisters in Motion is our wellness hub. The program is designed to provide programs, experiences and resources around food access, racial healing, mental health, physical wellness, sisterhood and culturally relevant cooking demos and offerings that nourish the mind, body and soul.
We also have wellness Wednesdays. Every third Wednesday of the month a virtual meeting on breast health is held.
Kitchen Divas teaches families how to prepare healthy meals. Many chronic diseases can be prevented or slowed down by a good diet and regular exercise.
There is a bi-weekly food distribution program at our office in Leimert Park. We give away produce — organic and in season. We also have a diabetes prevention program
Our Sisters@Eight is bi-weekly. It’s where we discuss hot topics on health and wellness. We share resources and tools. It’s a space to air out our grievances. We hit all of those hubs.
DD: What has been the impact on the community?
ME: That’s a big question. Everyone in the community has different responses. If I’m talking to a young mother, I’ll hear Jan Robinson Flint helped her get housing while she was pregnant. I’ll hear stories of women going through menopause. There are stories of women who have grown up in the organization. They are part of our rites of passage program. We’re a nonprofit that serves the community. We’re also a part of the community. It’s personal work for a lot of us.
DD: What is the state of Black women’s health and wellness?
ME: With the election’s outcome, we know time is of the essence. We are still committed to fighting for their health and safety. We still want to be advocates.
DD: What is the main issue with Black women’s health and wellness?
ME: A big bulk is reproductive justice work. It’s women who have had complications. They need help advocating for themselves.
DD: What is the best part of your job?
ME: I love being able to be hands-on with the women we work with. We work closely with the community, especially the women in South L.A. We get instant feedback, which is fulfilling for me. We hear immediate results. We immediately hear how the resources they received helped them. We change people’s lives. That’s a big part of Black maternal health. We are advocating to the community how they can advocate for themselves in medical situations. We want them to be an active participant in their health lives.
DD: It sounds like a great job. What is it like to work there every day?
ME: Our work every day is different. We might do food distribution, or work on the election. The work we do is vast. We cover a lot of different avenues across the wellness spectrum. It’s very fulfilling. The organization is intergenerational. It’s a beautiful melting pot of wisdom.
Black Women for Wellness Los Angeles can be reached at 323 290-5955 or bwwla.org.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com
