This year’s Black History Month theme, “African Americans and Labor,” encourages us to reflect on the transformational work of Black people in all facets of society. At Calm, we celebrate the commitment and work of Black psychologists, authors, artists, and creators to support people in the Black community struggling with mental health challenges amid continued inequities and disparities. For organizations, strengthening Black mental health support can include expanding access to culturally relevant mental health support that acknowledges lived experience and workplace realities.
Quick takeaway for organizations: Supporting Black employees’ well-being often requires a dual focus—reducing workplace stressors (such as discrimination and microaggressions) while improving access to culturally responsive mental health resources.
Black mental health inequities and disparities
One in four people in the Black community have experienced discrimination at work; for example, microaggressions or exclusion. Experiencing discrimination repeatedly over time significantly increases the risk for mental and physical health challenges. These ongoing workplace microaggressions can be a meaningful driver of stress and anxiety for Black employees.
Black people who experience microaggressions at work often expend energy to defuse the situation rather than call out racism, out of concern that their response could appear angry and reflect poorly on them. Research has shown that the effort to restrain one’s responses can have a significant negative impact on mental and physical health that accumulates over time. As a consequence of responding to constant stressors, Black people experience poor health at earlier ages than do white people, increasing the risk of stress-related conditions, such as anxiety, depression, hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. For organizations, this underscores why prevention-oriented culture work and accessible support resources both matter for employee well-being.
At the same time, due to barriers to care such as stigma, bias, and a shortage of culturally sensitive mental health providers, Black people are only half as likely as white people to receive mental health treatment. Today, only one in three Black adults with mental health challenges receives treatment. This gap highlights the importance of expanding mental health support for Black employees and their families with options that feel relevant and accessible.
At the same time, due to barriers to care such as stigma, bias, and a shortage of culturally sensitive mental health providers, Black people are only half as likely as white people to receive mental health treatment. Today, only one in three Black adults with mental health challenges receives treatment.
Culturally relevant mental health support
To support the mental health and well-being of Black employees and their family members, we’ve curated a selection of content on Calm for stress, anxiety, sleep challenges, and building resilience. These culturally relevant programs are developed and/or narrated by Black psychologists, authors, artists, creators, athletes, and mindfulness leaders. This approach is intended to provide culturally relevant mental health support that can help meet people where they are.
Wisdom
Dr. Rheeda Walker, a licensed clinical psychologist, tenured professor, and author, has dedicated nearly two decades to helping people in the Black community combat stigma, practice emotional well-being, build resilience, and get the best possible care in an unequal system. She wrote The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health and The Unapologetic Workbook for Black Mental Health to help people understand and overcome the impacts of racial trauma.
- The Black Self-Worth at Work by Dr. Rheeda series on Calm is designed to equip Black employees with strategies to thrive in the face of workplace challenges, including microaggressions, exclusion, and other forms of racism. This type of content can support organizational efforts to improve day-to-day coping skills while longer-term culture change work continues.
- In the Minding Your Black Mind with Dr. Rheeda series, she offers insights and shares strategies to help Black people handle daily challenges and assaults on their humanity with grace.
Collections
Cynthia Erivo, LeBron James, Idris Elba, and Tabitha Brown are some of the many Black voices featured in Celebrating Black Creators, a collection of Wisdom programs, Sleep Stories (for adults and kids), music, and more on Calm.
Meditations
Lama Rod Owens is a meditation teacher, author, and activist specializing in helping people care for themselves. He’s the author of bestseller Love and Rage and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation.
- Caring for Your Grief is a nourishing meditation series to support listeners through times of loss and change.
Kaira Jewel Lingo is a mindfulness meditation teacher, author, and mentor who has a lifelong interest in blending spirituality and meditation with social justice.
- We Were Made for Times Like These is a series of guided meditations to help listeners meet life’s challenges with more resilience and ease.
Sleep Stories
Timothy Alexander White is a voice-over artist, graphic designer, videographer, and photographer. He has voiced thousands of TV and radio commercials nationwide and photographed singers, TV stars, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
- In The Artist: Basquiat in New York, written by Faith Adiele, White transports listeners to 1980s New York to learn about Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the most important American artists of the 20th century.
Anika Noni Rose is an American actress and singer best known for voicing Tiana, Disney’s first African-American princess, in The Princess and the Frog.
- Calm and Disney launched a series of stories and meditations in 2023, including Daddy’s Front Porch, which is narrated by Anika Noni Rose as Princess Tiana. Tiana is a courageous young woman and a visionary who learned the joy of sharing good food with others from her father.
Marcellus Shepard, aka “The Man with the Voice,” is a voice actor best known as the character S.A.C. Gordon Johnson on HBO Max’s We Own This City and as the co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show the Cool Jazz Countdown.
- In The Glow Within, Shepard takes listeners on a little jaunt to the land of creativity, where they’ll be inspired to let go, open their minds, and discover that their imagination and ideas flow just beneath consciousness.
Reducing workplace microaggressions and discrimination is a long-term effort that requires training executives and managers to lead by example, foster open and honest discussion, and create a culture of belonging in which every employee feels safe to be authentic and vulnerable. Sustained progress on workplace microaggressions can support healthier day-to-day experiences for Black employees.
What this means for organizations:
- Pair culture initiatives (manager training, accountability, belonging) with practical, everyday mental health resources.
- Make it easy for employees to find culturally responsive content for stress, sleep, and resilience—alongside clinical care options when needed.
- Review access barriers (time, stigma, navigation) so support is not only available, but usable.
To bolster that effort, employers can turn to Black voices to help support the mental health and well-being of Black employees. Calm features diversity and accessibility in both the Calm and Calm Health apps, with 40% BIPOC representation across 350+ narrators worldwide. This helps broaden the range of Black mental health content on stress, sleep, and resilience.
FAQ: Black mental health support at work
What is culturally relevant mental health support?
It generally refers to support that reflects people’s lived experiences, identity, and context—so resources feel relatable, respectful, and easier to engage with.
How can workplace microaggressions affect well-being?
Over time, repeated experiences of exclusion or bias can contribute to chronic stress and may increase risk for mental and physical health challenges.
How can organizations strengthen mental health support for Black employees?
Many organizations focus on reducing workplace stressors while also expanding access to on-demand resources—such as stress management, sleep support, and resilience content—alongside pathways to higher levels of care when appropriate.
