• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Opportunities
      • Legals
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Opportunities
      • Legals
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

Black Business Spotlight: Reviving Roots Therapy and Wellness

by Tiffany Johnson
December 1, 2022
89
SHARES
1.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
Submitted photo Marlee James

A ‘Black centered, Black serving, Black affirming space’

Reviving Roots Therapy and Wellness is a Minneapolis-based resource whose mission is “to create a Black centered, Black serving, Black affirming communal space, conjuring a legacy of health, wealth and healing,” according to its website. 

Founded by Black mental health therapist Marlee James in 2019, Reviving Roots offers individual therapy services as well as professional counseling services that help organizations improve employee mental well-being. 

James is a Minnesota native who carries a strong personal dedication to health and wellness, especially within the Black community. Before becoming a fully licensed therapist in 2019, she spent a considerable amount of time working in wellness programs, mainly within collegiate communities. 

“I had worked in about five different organizations at that point,” said James. “They made sure that I was on each of those websites as the one token Black person at the organization. But then a lot of the things in the way that they operated did not match. I knew once I was fully licensed, I was going to leave. And so that’s what I did.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

In early 2020, James was prepared to open a new space in South Minneapolis. She recalled scrambling to get her space ready as COVID numbers rose. “I had a big green couch and beautiful chairs and beautiful art,” reminisced James. 

Due to quarantine mandates, James needed to postpone the opening and quickly pivoted to telehealth as a way to provide services to the community. Soon after, the murder of George Floyd shook the city of Minneapolis. James lived only a few blocks from the 38th and Chicago Ave. intersection, the epicenter of the George Floyd Memorial. 

“We were told to be ready if someone was breaking into our home. But at the same time, I’m doing therapy with people,” explained James.

Because of the trauma that Minnesota’s Black community faced in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, there was a massive influx of people who needed Reviving Root’s specific service offerings, like culturally specific individual therapy and professional counseling. “I had at least 100 referrals, and they were all Black folk wanting only a Black therapist because of what had happened,” said James.

James was a participant in Finnegan Brewery’s entrepreneurship program called Finnovation Lab. As a Finnovation Fellow, James was provided with the support and resources to envision a different future of Black wellness in the Twin Cities through Reviving Roots. This future would be inclusive and provide the care, services and tools that the Black community actually needs, yet too often does not have access to. 

- ADVERTISEMENT -

“I did a lot of community research, surveys and interviews,” said James. “I realized my original thought was that Black folks didn’t want to go to therapy, and they didn’t want to take care of their mental health. But then I realized through this work that we just don’t like the options that we have.”

James explained how her research findings unveiled how there are a number of common barriers that prevent Black people from participating in health and wellness resources, like White practitioners who are disconnected from cultural issues, premium price points for services, and lack of Black providers: “This field has only 5% of people of color…so there’s not a lot of representation.”

Reviving Roots is working to fill this gap by providing a plethora of services to our local Black community like yoga, mindful fitness, mental health therapy, cultural wellness workshops, and much more. The brick-and-mortar space will begin offering services in the spring of 2023 and will serve as a new beacon of Black wellness in the Twin Cities community. 

“Part of finding the solution for me is centering Blackness, and being very intentional about what that looks like,” shared James. 

For more info about Reviving Roots, visit revivingrootstherapywellness.com.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Accolades attest to retiring Coach Stringer’s impact

Next Post

Threats to our children’s mental health are on the rise

Tiffany Johnson

Tiffany Johnson is a contributing writer at the MN Spokesman-Recorder. She can be reached at tjohnson@spokesman-recorder.com.

You Might Also Like

No Content Available
Next Post
People in mental health crisis need healthcare pros, not cops

Threats to our children’s mental health are on the rise

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

The Latest News

Bees can learn, remember, think and make decisions

Bees can learn, remember, think and make decisions

Black woman shopping for produce

The impact of food insecurity on Black women’s mental health

Plenty of action at St. Paul City Conference track and field meet

Plenty of action at St. Paul City Conference track and field meet

 Lynx rookie forward finds much to learn

 Lynx rookie forward finds much to learn

Call of the wild: Hunting for edible mushrooms is not just a White man’s hobby 

Call of the wild: Hunting for edible mushrooms is not just a White man’s hobby 

One Minnesota’s transformative budget

One Minnesota’s transformative budget

Minneapolis
◉
88°
Fair
5:30 am8:51 pm CDT
ThuFriSatSunMon
90/68°F
86/66°F
88/68°F
90/66°F
91/66°F
Weather forecast Minneapolis, Minnesota ▸
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Apr 6
April 6 @ 7:30 pm-June 3 @ 9:00 pm Recurring

Wit by Margaret Edson

Apr 14
April 14 @ 9:00 am-August 12 @ 5:00 pm

Paper Is People: Decolonizing Global Paper Cultures

May 31
10:00 am-4:00 pm Recurring

Preserving Nature Photos by Walter Griffin: REFLECTIONS

Jun 1
5:00 pm-7:00 pm

Metro State University one 1 Open House

View Calendar

Read our latest e-Edition!

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 

Loading Comments...