This blog post was inspired by key Takeaways from ‘The Radical Act of Rest: Self-Care as Resistance in a World Built on Our Exhaustion’ Masterclass featuring Teresa C. Younger, Manuela Thamani and Rhaea Russell-Cartwright. Moderated by Dr. Nokuthula Mchunu.

1. Rest as a Radical Reclamation of Power: Rest stands as an act of defiance in a world that thrives on the exhaustion of Black women. Choosing to pause, restore, and prioritize well-being becomes a reclamation of power and humanity. Rest transforms from an act of recovery into a declaration of resistance and a pathway to liberation.

2. Redefining Productivity and Success: The traditional metrics of productivity; speed, visibility, and constant doing, no longer serve the fullness of Black women’s leadership. Rest invites a reimagining of success rooted in sustainability, joy, and alignment rather than exhaustion. By redefining what it means to achieve and contribute, rest becomes an entry point to more purpose-driven systems of work and leadership.

3. Healing as a Collective Practice: When communities of Black women commit to shared rest, care, and replenishment, they challenge the norms of isolation and overextension. Collective healing builds solidarity and nurtures ecosystems where thriving replaces surviving, and rest becomes a shared strategy for transformation.

4. Dismantling the Myth of the ‘Strong Black Woman’: The glorification of resilience often masks systemic harm. Rest interrupts the myth of the “strong Black woman” by honoring softness, stillness, and boundaries as valid expressions of strength. Liberation begins when strength no longer requires suffering.

5. Building Rest-Conscious Workplaces and Movements: Embedding restorative practices in organizational cultures through equitable workloads, flexible structures, and community accountability creates environments where Black women can thrive.

6. Reimagining Time as a Site of Freedom: Time itself has been shaped by colonial and capitalist values of extraction and urgency. Slowing down, pausing, and reclaiming unstructured time opens space for creativity, interconnection, and self-determination redefining time as a resource of liberation, not oppression.

7. Rest as Visionary Strategy: Rest is not an endpoint but a visionary practice. It fuels imagination, allowing Black women to dream beyond systems of depletion and envision new models of leadership, community, and care. To rest is to rehearse freedom to practice the world we are striving to build.

Watch the full recording on our YouTube channel for a comprehensive overview.