Quotes of Resilience in the Time of Chaos
Dr. Chioma Anah (EdD, ATR, LCPC-S, NCC, ACS)
Baltimore, MD
Making Space: Art and Social Justice Advocacy with Dr. Anah is a regular column in Envisage. Dr. Chioma Anah is the Founder & CEO of PerceptA Therapeutic & Training Center, LLC in Maryland, USA. She has over 15 years of counseling and art therapy experience, specifically using art with clients as part of a healing approach and intervention for cultural and racial oppression. Dr. Anah’s research interests are in social justice advocacy, racial microaggressions, psychology of racism, art and creativity as tools for healing. She is a founding member and the first president (2018-2019) of Maryland Counselors for Social Justice (MCSJ), and a co-founder of @BlackInMH. She is a proud alumna of the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Dr. Anah is on Twitter @DrChiomaAnah and on Instagram @drchiomaanah.
“For while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.”
My fellow artists, art therapists, counselors, and activists: 2020 was an extremely challenging, difficult, painful, unexpected, and impossible year for many of us. The COVID-19 pandemic raged, and continues to rage on, affecting many of us directly and indirectly. Many lost loved ones, homes, jobs, and their sense of purpose. Many lost their footing, inspiration, motivation and creativity. For many, it was even hard to get out of bed. The year 2020 also highlighted political divisions, economic inequality, and racial unrest. The barrage of reports highlighting human rights violations, the ongoing attack on truth, diversity, racial justice and equality continued. Sadly, these attacks disproportionally affected historically oppressed groups, and communities living on the margins. In my practice, I experienced an increase in clientele in need of counseling services for social trauma and psychological distress. In short, the year 2020 was awful. In this very short article, I just wanted to share some quotes of resilience embedded with my art, which have helped put things in perspective for me, and have helped me through these incredibly difficult months.
The artwork represented here are reflections on resilience:
To all my fellow social justice advocates out there, the year 2020 was a remarkable period of history, which consequences will affect each of us for decades to come. However, we must continue to tell our stories: stories of pain, suffering, resilience, survival and triumphs. Our stories have to be told because it is our way through the darkness and into the light. I wish everyone continued hope, strength, and resiliency, to help navigate through these challenging times. Thank you.