Getting Honored by BET
BET Awards 2022 - Los Angeles, California
This post was initially done on June 23 as an announcement, updated it on July 3rd to include events I attended during BET Awards weekend
Good evening beautiful people,
If you made it to this side in one piece, Happy Second Half of 2022 to you.
I am still at the border;
Half of me is in this half,
and the other half is still in the last half.
…still holding onto the exciting moments that summed up my first BET Experience.
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BET Award…how?
Well, that was my initial reaction.
I know that back in the day, I was a kick ass spoken word artist, ran the first independent spoken word night in Nairobi and Nakuru…and my platforms nurtured the likes of Tear Drops in Kenya….but that was a long time ago. And even though I did a Spoken Word Album, I never got to release it because my health went South…so a BET Award, how?
Well, to understand how we got here, we have to go back,
back to when I did not know where to get support after an assault, and subsequent diagnosis,
back to when I started writing for personal healing,
back to why I really started doing spoken word gigs and providing platforms for people to express themselves,
back, way way way back,
back to when my advocacy journey began,
a journey that has had loads of ups and downs, and despite it all, has seen me get a Google Award, speak at the UN, work in policy and this past weekend, got me a BET Award.
L.A here we come
After I had gone through all the emotions, done my thanksgiving prayers and given my acceptance statement (see below)…it was time to prepare for the LA trip. (Learn more about the Award, a summary of my work and BET in this Press Release)
“The silence and stigma around mental health has unfortunately been part of the African, and subsequently the Black Community's culture. By putting a global spotlight on mental health, BET is paving the way for these conversations to move from taboo topics that are not talked about in our culture to conversations we can have on the dinner table. By recognizing me and the work I have done so far, BET is affirming me, and those struggling with their mental health, to keep talking about their personal experiences. This recognition is also a testimony for all the female African innovators who have solutions for their communities but are afraid to bring them to light because of the statistics and factors that do not favor female innovators,” says Wafula
This was my second time in L.A.
My first trip was in 2016 when I was on a US speaking tour which saw me;
Grace a panel at Mental Health America’s annual conference in Washington DC,
Speak at a pop up event Pollination Project put together for me in San Francisco (check them out if you are looking for a micro grant),
Share part of my journey as a Spotlight Health storyteller during the annual Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen (watch my talk here) PS: This is the year Caityln Jenner transitioned and we had a brief conversation about how she takes care of her mental health - Kenyan media did a piece or two about our conversation.
With Caityln Jenner Aspen Ideas Festival 2016
For the LA leg of that tour, I had a sit down with Prof Elyn Saks who is a professor at USC. Her work is at the intercession of mental health and law, and we discussed policy and culture (Learn more about her mental health journey from her TED Talk)
Poster for the U.S Tour
In conversation with Prof Elyn Saks
Photo Op
BET Weekend
During this second trip to L.A, I attended three BET related events;
A BET International event where we danced our shoes off (see my speech below reminding people to seek help and not feel shame about it).
2. On the second night, after recovering from the dancing and being up and about L.A, I attended a dinner hosted by Taraji P. Henson; this year’s BET Award host. The mental health advocate part of me thinks this was the best night; I had an in-depth conversation with the head of BET International and met some interesting people in the mental health space in the U.S.
At Taraji P. Henson’s Dinner
With Taraji P. Henson
Taraji used the event to share about the Boris L. Henson Foundation which has teamed up with BET to do the Joy Challenge. The challenge aims to provide 1 Million hours of free mental health services to the Black Community. The Foundation, which is in honor Taraji’s dad who struggled with his mental health, works with culturally competent therapists to provide mental health services to underserved people of color.
I am curious to see how this model will work, specifically from the service provision side given the workforce gap (this gap is part of the reason I started my mentorship program - which has a class on July 19th)
3. The last night was Dday - red carpet walk, tens of interviews and then the main show. I mentioned all the performances/moments I liked in a Post BET IG live I did with BET Africa (posted the interview at the end of this post). Over and above who was there, I was intrigued by the production. I had a front row seat and it was amazing to see how they utilized the space and the transitions (this is the logistics and project manager side of me talking).
Post BET Note
That was an amazing experience.
The BET team from Africa, UK and US, was phenomenal.
I had good conversations and met some amazing souls that I pray to continue interacting with in the coming days.
As I said in my statement, this was very affirming. It has been a good boost especially for the work I do with the next generation of mental health champions…looking forward to seeing them on greater platforms (Nobel Peace Prize, hello).
Until the next post, take good care of yourselves, do not be ashamed to ask for help…and if my way, way back journey has inspired you start something in your community, check out my ‘Intro to Design Thinking for Social Change’ class.
Sending love and light,
Sitawa
