The following article was orginally published in The BluePrint: A Spelman Spotlight Publication
In April 2015, Makeba Reed-Johnson founded Black Girls Box. ReedJohnson, a Spelman College professor is a fitness coordinator/coach and mental health advocate. Coach Reed-Johnson’s purpose for launching Black Girls Box was to develop a community that exposes Black women and girls to boxing and educates them on mental and physical benefits.
After competing in the boxing amateur circuit in 2005, she met women who shared that boxing was a form of therapy. “There is a sisterhood among women boxers that is independent of race, sexuality, gender and socioeconomic status. The one thing that women boxers have in common is that we all realize the mind-body connect that boxing forces you to have,” said Reed-Johnson.
When Reed-Johnson met with fellow female boxers, they agreed that depression and anxiety are conversations absent in the Black community, which helped her foster Black Girls Box to help those dealing with depression, anxiety and other mental health disparities. According to a 2004 study by NAMI Multicultural Action Center, in the last 15 years suicide rates in African-Americans increased 233 percent between age 10 to 14 compared to a 120 percent increase in Caucasians in that same age group.
Unlike other types of exercises, you can never daydream or zone out while training. Boxing forces individuals to be present with their feelings and address those feelings, which can be difficult when battling depression or anxiety.
When Reed-Johnson began teaching boxing classes, students often told her it helped them alleviate anxiety, stress and anger. “It became a safe channel for physical aggression,” Reed-Johnson said. “Through Black Girls Box students are allowed to address their fight against depression, negative body image, or poor self-esteem; or their fight for happiness, self-acceptance, or a sick relative.”
Coach Reed-Johnson said, “Getting on a treadmill for an hour cannot compare to being able to wrap your hands, gloving up and training with other women. Boxing is a great tool for Black women because getting into shape is residual. Women boxers train in sweats, hoodies, baggy clothes and long shorts, allowing women to focus on their training and to begin to break the preoccupation with self-criticism and constantly analyzing their bodies.”
Reed-Johnson says often times students are reluctant, and recalls a student who voiced that she didn’t feel “tough enough.” Reed-Johnson convinced her to bring her “troubles” to the gym and then “work them out” on the pads or punching pads. Since then the student has been boxing for over a year.
Black Girls Box meets Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at Spelman’s Health and Wellness Center. Students can enroll in individual sessions. To learn more about Black Girls Box, visit blackgirlsbox.com and connect on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at BlackGirlsBox.