After Earth Arts Center initiated Reparations Clinics NYC in 2018. MetaDEN took over organizing them in person and later virtually during the height of the pandemic. Ebony at Design for the Commons started a free herbal medicine cabinet in her neighborhood that offered free medicine and sliding scale holistic healing services. She was also organizing wellness pop-ups in the city and had been dreaming about running a sliding scale clinic. When she learned about the past Reparations Clinics, she was inspired to use the grant received from the Laundromat Project to start hosting them again in NYC.
With the micro-grant, a few individual supporters, and mutual aid we were able to host the clinic on June 5th at Playground Coffeeshop in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. We invited local Black healers to share their gifts of sound & womb healing, tarot reading, Thai & Swedish massage, mental health support, herbal medicine, and organic plant-based food to the Black diaspora for free.
The chef incorporated staple Black ingredients like jackfruit/black-eyed peas into collard green wraps and transformed the classic Southern slaw with Jicama, purple cabbage, and orange tahini dressing. We quenched our thirst with herbal infused sorrel and kombucha. With the help of the space and a local community garden, we were also able to make this a zero waste event. Someone said receiving a Thai Massage and sound bath at the same time felt like a "psychedelic experience." Women learned how to honor and care for their womb space, herbal medicine was shared, relationships were woven, and so many more experiences of embodiment, joy, and rest.
Much Gratitude To:
-The Laundromat Project for the micro-grant -Robin for fundraising and the individual allies that redistributed money in the last week -Playground Coffeeshop for allowing us to use the space on a pay as we could basis
-All the healers for being of service even within a small budget
-Christine at Obeah Wombn Botanicals for the deeply nourishing food *Everyone that visited the clinic whose energy co-created a Black sanctuary for healing.*
