National Day of Rest for Black Women| When Strength Meets Exhaustion

Too many Black women carry the weight of families, careers, communities, and expectations while ignoring the signals their bodies are sending. Fatigue, headaches, dizziness, burnout, these are not weaknesses. They are warnings.

---

Rest is not a luxury. It is survival.

National Day of Rest for Black Women

March 10 is recognized as the National Day of Rest for Black Women, a day meant to remind us of something many of us have been conditioned to ignore.

Rest.

Black women have long been known for our strength. We build, lead, nurture, organize, advocate, and often hold entire communities together. From our families to our workplaces to the movements we help lead, we are frequently the ones everyone depends on.

---

---

But somewhere along the way, many of us were taught that rest had to be earned.

That slowing down meant we were falling behind.

That exhaustion was simply the price of responsibility.

I know that mindset well because for most of my life, I lived it.

As the publisher of The Chronicle News, a single mother, and a community leader, my work rarely stops at the end of a day. While Lansing will always be home, the work itself now reaches far beyond one city. Through digital media, collaborations, and team members who support the work from different parts of the country and overseas, the Chronicle has grown into something much larger than a local publication. The relationships built through this work run deep, and the pace of responsibility rarely slows.

For years, I pushed forward on very little rest.

And like many Black women, I ignored the signs my body was giving me.

The fatigue.

The headaches.

The moments of dizziness.

The nausea that would come when my body was simply overwhelmed.

Even now, I have to remind myself to keep a steady pace and not push too hard. Recovery does not happen overnight. Some days require slowing down in ways I once would have refused to allow.

This is the part people do not talk about enough.

Burnout is not just about being tired. When stress and exhaustion build over time, they can begin to affect every part of the body. Heart health, immune function, mental clarity, and emotional well-being can all be impacted when we live too long in survival mode.

In other words, constantly running on empty is not sustainable.

The National Day of Rest for Black Women exists to remind us that rest is not a reward.

It is care.

It is protection.

It is preservation.

Black women are educators, entrepreneurs, caregivers, artists, leaders, and culture bearers. Our influence stretches across families, communities, and generations.

But none of that work should come at the cost of our health.

Sometimes we have to teach ourselves how to rest, especially if we were raised in environments where endurance was praised more than balance.

I am still learning that lesson myself.

But if there is one thing I hope other women take from this day, it is this:

Your health matters.

Your peace matters.

Your rest matters.

Because when Black women take the time to restore themselves, the strength we bring back to the world becomes even more powerful.

And perhaps the greatest act of strength is not how much we can carry, but knowing when to finally set some of that weight down.