The Black Graduate and Professional Student Association hosted Dr. Nadia Richardson- founder of No More Martyrs and Valenrich Wellness- as a part of their Dr. Juan Gilbert Distinguished Lecture Series.
Richardson graduated from the University of Alabama Birmingham with a BA in communications management and international affairs in 2001. She would eventually go on to earning a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy, both from the University of Alabama. During her years as a graduate student, she advocated for a student diversity center, and even looked to Auburn’s program as a model to follow for the eventual creation of this program.
The main theme of Richardson’s lecture was “Excellence in Academics: Understanding Mental Health in Minority Students”. The question “What does black excellence look like to you?” was repeated frequently by the speaker to remind the audience of this idea.
Richardson started the lecture by discussing the expectations that every person deals with on a daily basis and how they can either live up to said expectations or defy them. To emphasize her point, she mentioned a quote by Audre Lorde that said, “If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive,”.
“I feel like I’ll share quite a bit about myself,” said Richardson, as she delved into her discussion. Richardson is a first-generation American with a background with countless cultures, including Jamaican and African. She described how every time she got together with her family, she would hear such a variety of opinions on several different issues. In addition to having such a diverse family, Richardson was a military child and lived in a plethora of areas around the world.
“I loved being the new girl,” Richardson said. “I could lose myself in the crowd and I didn’t feel like anyone knew me.”
Richardson herself was born in Enterprise, Alabama. She made sure to point out that she was proud to be from Alabama, but that did mean carrying a stereotype around with her. She admitted that when she would be in other cities, such as D.C., people would form an opinion of her even before hearing anything else besides her hometown.
“When I step out the door, I’m a black female from Alabama,” said Richardson.
Throughout her early school years, Richardson was an admirable student, but simultaneously very uninterested. During her lecture she talked about how in elementary, middle and high school, she felt as if she was simply regurgitating information instead of actually learning.
College became a whole new world for her. Richardson felt as if she was actually gaining knowledge in her day-to-day life. She was also extremely involved in her school in activities such as a resident assistant, hall director, and study abroad. Regardless, she still had the same “post-graduation fear” that the majority of students deal with.
Richardson’s mother saw where her was going before anyone else, including Richardson herself.
“Nadia, you’re going to end up doing something that doesn’t exist,” said Richardson’s mother.
Richardson, who was interested in diversity in a university setting, decided to research black, female college students with mental disorders, who also attended a predominately white campus. This research at first made others hesitant, but soon after starting Richardson was bombarded with women who wished to participate in her study. In fact, her study became so popular that she began to be asked to give presentations and hold training sessions. Richardson loved this work so much, that a friend had to inform her that she wasn’t making any money- thus Valenrich Wellness was formed.
“It didn’t exist, I created it,” Richardson said, just like her mother had told her years ago. In addition to Valenrich, in 2014 Richardson created No More Martyrs, a mental health campaign to support/raise awareness for black women and their mental health concerns.
“Mental health isn’t always someone being broken down in bed… it’s someone that manages their challenges in silence,” Richardson said.
No More Martyrs began as a small Facebook page and because of popularity grew to what it is today. In addition to the abundance of responses from grateful women, Richardson also received messages from mental health professionals. This was amazing since Richardson’s background wasn’t even in mental health.
Richardson was very appreciative for the support she received due to the fact that her background wasn’t even in mental health. She was then able to provide further resources for women, including the Minority Mental Health Awareness Summit- a program where all the affiliated women could gather together with not only mental health professionals, but also others who had dealt with the same issues as themselves.
Along with talking about her work, Richardson preached concept she called “Pick up the phone and never stop asking questions,”. She conveyed how because she wasn’t afraid to continuously contact people, she has been able to study abroad, gain job experience, and notably, get in contact with the Congressional Caucus of Black Women and Girls.
One time when Richardson was going to D.C., she decided to fill her free time by talking to important, influential people, one being Robin Kelly of the Congressional Caucus of Black Women and Girls. After one meeting with the organization, Richardson made an impression on Kelly, and the two continued to keep in touch.
To conclude her lecture, Richardson went back to her original question: “What does black excellence look like to you?”.
“For me there’s a number of things that come to mind,” Richardson said.
Richardson mentioned several qualities of excellence including: persistence in struggles and challenges, humility, and leadership. She also emphasized the importance of not living in a black and white world, meaning that in today’s day and age, there is so much more opportunity than just one option or the other, otherwise known as the gray area.
“Learn to live in the gray,” Richardson said.
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