Yolo Akili Robinson is the founder and executive director of BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective), a nonprofit organization that creates affirming, radical, and transformative spaces for Black mental health. Under Robinson’s leadership, BEAM has become a leading force in funding mental health initiatives in Black communities, recently hosting the Black Masculinity (Re)imagined Summit in Atlanta.

Robinson, an award-winning writer and healing justice worker, has received numerous accolades including recognition from the U.S. Surgeon General and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Award.

What makes BEAM different from other mental health resources?

One of the things that makes our mental health work interesting and different is that, unlike other spaces that don’t want to talk about racism and the history of mental health in this country, that don’t want to talk about the unique nuances of how Black women experience mental health and health systems differently. That don’t want to hold the ways in which Black queer, trans, and also Black immigrants are impacted by mental health.

We hold all of those nuances and bring it into the space and provide opportunities for healing, affirmation, and strategies to navigate the world through those lens. Because Blackness is not a monolith. Blackness is also Caribbean, it’s also African, it’s also trans and queer and women, and so we have to make sure all those nuances get in there and people feel seen and heard around how they’re experiencing mental health.

How does the Black Masculinity (Re)imagined Summit help Black men and masculine folks unlearn patriarchy and embrace emotional wellness?

I have a belief, and we at BEAM believe that when we talk about masculinity and Black masculinity, there are many things that are a part of Black masculinity that are beautiful. The swag, the comedy and joking, the style, all those pieces. We want to honor those aspects of masculinity, and then we also want to name that there are some things that many masculine folks and men have been taught that have not been helpful to help create connection in our community. That a lot of Black men and masculine folks have been taught that the way I define my manhood is by dominating and controlling women in ways that are not about cooperation and care.

With Black Masculinity (Re)imagining Summit, what we’re trying to do is create a space for all folks to come together and be like, what are the things we want to keep that we’ve learned in our lineage from our folks around masculinity? What are the things we get to reimagine? How do we get to say that masculinity can be soft and also be supportive and strong? Really encouraging and creating a space for Black men and masculine folks to heal around the ways in which Black men have been taught that they don’t have their full humanity, but just this corner of their humanity is okay.

What do you define as healing justice, and why is it important?

Healing justice, I always give credit to the term, which is created by Cara Page and the Kindred Healing Justice Collective. When I think about healing justice, it’s talking about how we cannot heal until we actually address the systemic and structural and psychological issues that exist in our culture. For example, if we know that there are policies that are creating healthcare inequality, if we know there are policies that are creating the inability for Black people to get access to homes, to get care, to get education, those things impact our mental health.

So Healing Justice says it’s not just about the individual piece, it’s about how is this culture designed? Is it designed to help us be well? Or is it designed to keep us constantly spending and working and overworking and tired and underpaid and under-resourced? So Healing Justice says we have to redesign even the broader system. It’s getting to the structural, the spiritual, the ancestral, and the individual.

What specific changes do participants experience after completing your Black Mental Health and Healing Justice training?

A lot of folks leave realizing that some of the things they had learned about people living with mental conditions were really not accurate, and didn’t really fully represent the ways in which Black people may show up. For example, we’ll talk about the unique ways for many Black people, depression doesn’t always show up in, oh, I’m in a gloomy mood, I’m sleeping all day. Sometimes it can show up in rage and irritability.

They’re also leaving the space learning that they can show up for people in their community in ways that help them cultivate mental health. That it’s not just about the therapists and the social workers, but it’s about how are we supporting each other and our families, and our relationships. They’re learning how to listen to understand and not listen to fix. How to affirm people’s feelings, even when we don’t always agree with the stories. How to partner with people, as opposed to coming in trying to say that we know what to do.

In a climate where mental health care remains inequitable, how do you ensure sustainable pathways for emotional well-being?

Some of the things that we’re focused on right now is really strategizing with our partners. We are grantmakers, so we fund about, we’ve given out more than half a million dollars to about 60 organizations across the world, so in the United States, in Haiti, as well as in South Africa. We know right now that the healthcare system may become increasingly more hostile towards Black people. That it may become increasingly less affordable for us as the economic climate changes.

So we’ve been strategizing with our partners about how we share collective resources? How do we fuel and support what I call the Underground Wellness Network to make sure that people are still getting care, from all the nonprofits and the therapists and practitioners.

For community members who might be hesitant to engage with mental health resources, what would you want them to know about the spaces being created?

The thing about BEAM spaces is, if you come to Black Masculinity (Re)imagined, or you come to Heart Space, which is our healing circle, you don’t always have to speak. Sometimes you can come and observe, and witness. You’ll come into those spaces, and you get an opportunity to just kind of see if it feels good for you.

We have virtual opportunities, so you can be off-camera and just listen. Don’t feel like you’re scared to come to the healing space, that you gotta come in there and tell everybody your business, you do not have to do that. You can have boundaries and say, I’m just here to listen and learn.

How do you see BEAM continuing to transform how Black and marginalized communities access and experience mental health care?

Looking forward, I see that what this moment is calling for us to do is to lean even deeper into collective care strategies. We have our healing circles, which are collective. That means your mom and your cousin, your best friends, we’re all together, and we’re being led by a practitioner. When you teach collectively in big groups, people start reinforcing those things.

I think that collective care is what we need to lean more deeply in. It is rooted in talking circles and healing circles and ritual and ceremony. The future of healing is collective care. I think it’s the future, and it’s also the past, because the past, when it comes to African and Black folks, has always been about collective care. We’re just coming back around to it and realizing we need to be in drumming circles together. We need to be in writing workshops together. We need to be in faith spaces together and processing and naming the hard things together.

How can people support BEAM and find you?

Our website is beam.community. On the website, you can find a list of events. We put events out monthly, virtual and in person. You can follow us on Instagram @_beamorg. If you want to follow me, I’m on Instagram @yoloakili. I really encourage you to visit our website. You can find a lot of free tools and videos that you can share with your family and friends. We have a podcast you can listen to to learn more about the people we’re interviewing, from psychologists to therapists.