Rest as the Way Forward: Black Women Reclaiming Rest in the Big Easy

December 16, 2024

By Rachel Leonidas

A month before the elections, the Black women and femmes of the Fellowship for Liberated Futures (FFLF) gathered in New Orleans to delve into the elusive concept of rest. Our second in-person retreat, Rest and Freedom Dreaming, was more than just an escape—it was a deliberate act of reclaiming sleep for these fellows working at the intersections of gender, racial, and environmental justice. 

As the nation stood on the brink of transition, this retreat became a precursor to what we now know is an urgent need for restoration and resilience to continue to fuel the path forward.

Centering Physical Rest

The retreat focused on physical rest, one of the foundational elements of Fellowship’s broader curriculum exploring the seven forms of rest coined by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. The group was guided by facilitator Gina Bernal, a skilled wellness practitioner, who led an immersive two-day workshop to deepen the fellows’ understanding of physical rest and its critical relationship to restorative health and well-being. 

Through this workshop, fellows confronted a shared truth: for many, getting quality sleep was a persistent challenge. Black women and femmes, navigating the intersection of race and gender as justice leaders, already face compounding systemic challenges. The work is exhausting, and without rest, these struggles intensify, threatening their well-being and capacity to sustain progress and impact. 

The workshop wove together lived experience, expertise, and practical strategies to help contextualize sleep’s deep relationship with one’s personal and professional thriving. Participants explored techniques to support better sleep, including a restorative 20-minute “snore-fest” to demonstrate the power of even brief rest periods. 

But the retreat went beyond technique and aimed to inspire freedom dreaming. Rest was not just framed as an individual act of self-care but as a collective practice and a foundation for imagining new possibilities for liberation. Society has conditioned us to normalize and  extract labor especially from Black women and femmes in a way that makes rest and well-being feel like a luxury or privilege. Yet we know that rest is not only a birthright but an essential foundation to thriving. ProInspire recently released Thriving Leaders and Communities (TLC), surfaces the importance of dedicated and safe spaces for BIPOC leaders that fosters  connection and loving accountability among peers to practice and embody strategies to cultivate individual and community thriving. 

Understanding the Barriers

Before diving deep into the science and strategies for sleep, the group began with laughter, setting an authentic and relaxed tone for the retreat. The facilitation infused humor into the conversation, easing the fellows into an honest conversation on barriers to rest. The fellows reflected on their relationship by sharing song titles and lyrics that summarized their current relationship with sleep. 

Some of the themes that emerged included:  

• Anxiety serving as a barrier to proper sleep 
• Sleep feeling like a rare but cherished getaway
• Difficulty with building and sustaining good sleeping habits and
• Navigating the competing priorities between the need to work and the need to rest 

As laughter filled the air the group delved into the barriers to proper rest, including overworking, stress, overstimulation, and poor sleep hygiene. The fellows examined how external pressures—such as systemic inequities and cultural narratives around productivity—challenge their ability to achieve restorative sleep. 

Sleep as a Way Forward

As the retreat concluded, the fellows walked away with practical tools to improve their physical rest and an understanding of its importance. Physical rest, they learned, is more than a personal act of love—it’s a radical  and personal  act of resistance and a foundation for sustainable change. The workshop empowered the fellows to prioritize physical rest in their daily  lives without  exception. 

Fellowship for Liberated Futures is committed to supporting leaders of color in reclaiming rest as a path to justice and liberation. Together, we aim to create spaces that fuel resilience, innovation, and collective reimagination. 

Watch the retreat video recap to experience how we embraced and explored rest in the Big Easy.

About Fellowship for Liberated Futures – Fellowship for Liberated Futures (FFLF) is an 18-month transformative program co-hosted by Dr. Chera Reid, The Chisholm Legacy Project, and ProInspire to support and empower Black women and femmes  in the social sector. FFLF centers rest and  provides space for healing, creativity, and thriving for leaders working at the intersections of climate, racial, and gender justice. Through virtual gatherings, retreats, and coaching, the fellowship fosters collective care by championing rest and well-being as essential for sustaining leadership and advancing justice.

For more information, visit www.liberatedfuture.org