Keke Palmer: Healing, Joy, and Pleasure Are Powerful Acts of Resistance for Black women

BLD PWR's Juneteenth celebration in Houston explored why wellness and advocacy are essential to the collective liberation of Black women

By: Tierra Smith

Healing, joy, and pleasure are often treated as luxuries for Black women. Yet, multihyphenate entertainer Keke Palmer said they are essential practices for survival and powerful acts of resistance.

Live-streaming at BLD PWR's The Slab Juneteenth celebration in Houston, Palmer urged Black people to reconnect with themselves through wellness practices that regulate the nervous system.

"We spend so much of our time trying to fight against people's preconceived notions about us that it becomes so difficult for us to even rest in our own nervous system and just purely enjoy," Palmer said.

Palmer joined Houston native and actor Kendrick Sampson and Monica Raye, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, for an intimate living room-style conversation exploring Black collective power, reproductive justice, and healing.

Raye underscored the urgency of protecting Black women's health, pointing to the disproportionate maternal mortality crisis facing Black communities.

"Black women are dying at a rate four to five to six to seven times the rate of white women in childbirth. We are seeing our babies taken away from us. Our bodies are constantly under attack. The abortion bans across this country are making it impossible for people to get the healthcare they need. This is real."

When asked what the phrase "Trust Black Women" means in today's political climate, Palmer pointed to the persistent dehumanization of Black women and the ways harmful stereotypes continue to shape public perception.

"I think it means undoing a lot of propaganda," Palmer said, citing the treatment of former First Lady Michelle Obama as an example of how damaging stereotypes ripple beyond public figures and into everyday life.

Undoing that harm to Black women, Palmer argued, requires more than agreement—it requires advocacy.

"Black women, we fight for a lot," she said. "We fight for our dignity. We fight for people to simply respect us and recognize our worth just by existing. If you really want to support a Black woman, speak on her behalf."

Palmer believes reconnecting with the body is one way to reclaim that sense of safety. Too often, she said, stress keeps people mentally disconnected from the present moment, preventing them from fully experiencing joy, intimacy, and rest.

"You have to do practices that help you calm your nervous system," she said.

That philosophy inspired Practice by Palmer, her wellness platform centered on on-demand workouts like Pilates and dance cardio, journaling, community, and mindfulness.

She said the goal is to help people become reacquainted with themselves so that "when it does come to the moment where you can have pressure and pleasure, you feel safe enough to enjoy it."

For Palmer, pleasure is more than self-care—it's a source of Black power.

"Pleasure is directly connected to our power," she said.

She also challenged the idea that Black culture is merely entertainment or celebration.

"We're taught that culture is a luxury," Palmer said. "But culture is actually how we pass our power to each other, how we take care of each other."

Sampson illustrated Palmer's sentiment, describing joy itself as a form of resistance and community care.

"Laughing, making each other feel good, and dancing are connected to our power," Sampson said.

Despite the continual demand for more, Palmer reminded that Black women possess an extraordinary capacity to give, share, and invest.

"Black women have such large capacity," she said. "If people stop taking from us, there is so much that we could add economically, spiritually, just across the board. It is crazy how we are being treated when there are so many places we add value."