LOS ANGELES – OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today a new episode of the Emmy award-winning OWN Spotlight series “Black Women OWN The Conversation” premiering on Tuesday, May 25 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
The special episode features an audience of Black women in an in-depth conversation regarding mental health and trauma impacting the Black community led by Oprah Winfrey, Emmy-award winning host and journalist Adrienne Bankert, and leading social impact strategist Jotaka Eaddy featuring special guests California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and Activist, Scholar, and Educator Dr. Dena Simmons. Dr. Gail Wyatt, Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center also joins. Airing on the anniversary of George Floyd’s tragic death, “Black Women OWN The Conversation: Mental Health and Trauma” offers resources and key takeaways to start healing from trauma, particularly after a difficult year where the Black community has been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the emotional toll of the ongoing fight for racial justice and equality.
In this new one hour episode the guests discuss childhood trauma in the Black community, how it affects mental health, and how it manifests in adulthood. This meaningful conversation will distigmatize mental health issues and offer suggestions of how to do the work to heal both individually and as a community, all through the lens of asking “What happened to you?” The critical question is a shift posed by Oprah’s recent New York Times best-selling book of the same name co-written with trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry. The conversation around mental health and wellness is also the topic of “The Me You Can’t See,” the upcoming documentary series from Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry premiering May 21 on Apple TV+.
Through this conversation Oprah, the panel, and the audience will educate, inspire, and help others feel less alone and hopeful for the future. Expert panelists will suggest resources and key takeaways for those who are looking to start examining and healing from trauma.
This special is a part of OWN’s popular eye-opening, topic-driven series “Black Women OWN the Conversation” which first premiered in 2019, and is the first of several episodes planned for 2021 focused on health in the Black community, in conjunction with OWN’s first-ever health initiative, OWN YOUR HEALTH. The Emmy award-winning series features intimate conversations about important issues with honest opinions and surprising solutions that put Black women first.
“OWN Spotlight: Black Women OWN The Conversation: Mental Health and Trauma” is produced by Critical Content for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Jennifer Ryan serves as showrunner and executive producer along with Critical Content executive producers Jenny Daly, Tom Forman, and Jon Beyer. OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network executive producers are Tara Montgomery and Brian Piotrowicz.
About OWN YOUR HEALTH
View the OWN YOUR HEALTH Launch Spot HERE featuring the song “Stand Up For Something” by Grammy and Academy Award-winner Common and Academy Award-nominee Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday) and voice-over by Ms. Day.
OWN YOUR HEALTH aims to bring awareness, education, resources, and a sense of community to address the unique health concerns facing Black women today. This multi-platform campaign is designed to inspire and encourage the OWN audience to put herself and her health and well-being first. OWN YOUR HEALTH expands on the success of OWN’s first ever pro social campaign OWN YOUR VOTE, a bipartisan registration and get-out-the-vote initiative that partnered with national and local grassroots and voting rights organizations during the 2020 elections.
OWN YOUR HEALTH leads with powerful narratives and actions exploring the full range of mental, physical and social/emotional well-being by launching new initiatives quarterly. The goal is to provide messaging and tools that are informed, educational, relevant, and up to date with the latest developments as it relates to health and wellness. The campaign also provides opportunities for OWN brand partners to support with resources and promote healthier lifestyles.
OWN YOUR HEALTH focuses on three key pillars affecting Black women’s health:
- Proactive Prevention – including routine screenings, nutrition, physical activity, health education and accountability.
- The Unspoken – including fertility, motherhood, sexual and relationship health, trauma, financial health, and treatment options.
- Superwoman – source of pressure many Black women regularly experience – the obligation to project an image of strength and to suppress emotions, to resist accepting help or admitting vulnerability and prioritizing caregiving to others and community to the detriment of self.
Link to OWN YOUR HEALTH Website: www.ownyourhealth.tv