UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE

On Black college campuses,
we strive to be...

Free to achieve our dreams
with curiosity and purpose.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE

Free to lean on those we love
in safe, caring spaces we create.

Free to be whole
seen, heard and respected.

Free to decide our future
carrying on a bold legacy.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY.

Sign up your institution to participate in the Healthy Minds Study

HBCUs and PBIs are coming together as a community to better understand and respond to student mental health needs.

Working with the Healthy Minds Study that deploys, the longest-standing, most comprehensive survey on mental health for college students, we developed specific questions to capture the perspectives and experiences of Black college students.

To administer the survey this spring, your institution must sign up and complete the onboarding process. To learn more, contact Victoria Smith at victoria.smith@uncf.org.

Centering Mental Health on Black College Campuses

The United Negro College Fund, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Steve Fund are partnering with Black colleges and universities to center mental health for their students, faculty and administration.

The Steve Fund, a premier nonprofit promoting mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color, is leading the programming of UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE workshops and conferences.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE
Student Mental Health Conference

Facilitators:
The Steve Fund and the United Negro College Fund

Dates:
Tuesday, April 11, and Wednesday, April 12, 2023

We want to welcome Black students to embrace their identities and show up as their full selves to center their mental health and wellness. Through a series of conference sessions, we will unpack what binds us to work together, heal our community and be free.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE
Student Mental Health Conference

In April of 2023, we hosted a virtual student mental health conference in collaboration with The Steve Fund. Through this conference we welcomed Black students from 58 PBI/HBCU institutions to embrace their identities and show up as their full selves and to center their mental health and wellness.The conference provided a safe and empowering space for attendees to explore various critical topics. Participants heard from and engaged with our dynamic panelists in discussions focusing on being “free” in different aspects of their lives. We touched on important subjects like self-care and community care, authenticity at work, how to navigate being free at home as well as on their college campus, the importance of allowing themselves to grief, and how to ask for help without fear. Through thoughtful and insightful conversations, the conference promoted mental well-being, resilience, and personal growth for students on Black College campuses.

Facilitators: Rahje Brach, The Steve Fund and Victoria Smith, United Negro College Fund

Co-hosts: Ednesha Saulsbury and Kimberly M. Moore, Co-Creators, Black Women Be Whole

Speakers: Dr. LaWanda Hill, Owner/ CEO, Hill Psychological and Consultation Services

Dr. Meag-gan O’Reily, CEO/ Co-Founder, Inherent Value Psychology, Inc

Dr. Rae Lundy, Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Delane Casiano, President, Global Health Psychiatry, LLC

Dr. James Lee, Jr., Medical Director of Adult Services, Springbook Behavioral Health

Dr. Steve Mobley, Jr., Associate Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs, Morgan State University

Free Virtual Workshop for Faculty and Staff:

My Student is Having a Mental Health Crisis. Now What?

Facilitator:
Dr. Jan Collins-Eaglin

Black students too often are struggling with their mental health and aren’t given guidance to resources or support that could make their college experience less stressful. This workshop provided an opportunity for educators and college faculty to become well-equipped mental health advocates with proper resources, insights and tools to mitigate a student’s mental health crisis.

WATCH

Reimagining Thriving Communities
for Girls and Young Women

Free Virtual Workshop for Students:

Facilitator:
Tiana Brawley

In this Women’s History Month workshop, we explored how Black women and girls can not just survive, but thrive in their mental wellness journey. In doing so, we also acknowledged the Black women in history who helped lay the groundwork for Black women to prosper in today’s society.

Watch

Free Virtual Workshop for Students:

Racial Healing: Creating Space for Wellness Throughout College

Black college students are uniquely susceptible to race-related stressors that too often are internalized and go unaddressed. This workshop provided an opportunity for Black students to learn how to maintain physical and emotional well-being by monitoring their health and seeking assistance and available resources that work best for them.

Facilitator:
Dr. Batsirai Bvunzawabaya

Watch

“I want to be free to live in my truth.”

—Black College Student
“I choose my own path to fulfillment.”

—Black College Alum
“To be free is being able to make decisions to soar in safety.”

—Black College Champion
"Freedom is knowing when I ask for help, I won't be dismissed.”

—Black College Student
“Safe spaces let me show up as my full self.”

—Black College Alum
“I want the freedom to think.”

—Black College Student
“I trust resolutely that peace and joy are abundantly mine.”

—Black College Champion
“We need to break that stigma of young men being afraid of being viewed as weak to express themselves.”

—Black College Faculty
“I am walking with grace, purpose and wisdom.”

—Black College Alum
“I embrace and express my beliefs, choices and individuality with no excuses.”

—Black College Faculty
“Safe spaces are student-led.”

—Black College Student
“We need safe spaces where we can try out new ideas.”

—Black College Partner
“A safe space is where I am valued.”

—Black College Alum
“We are Unapologetically Free in all our intersectionalities.”

—Black College Students
“Free means that society holistically affirms my overall well-being.”

—Black College Administrator
“Valuing our whole self is not negotiable.”

—Black College Alum