When I was 16 years old, I was prescribed Xulane to regulate my menstrual cycle. At that time, birth control felt like a right of passage for teenage girls. So, when I noticed that my cycles were irregular, birth control being the treatment wasn’t too alarming. However, years later at 21 I realized that unless I used Xulane, my period wouldn’t come. I eventually became frustrated with the medical industry. How come no one could tell me why my monthly cycle wasn’t even yearly? Visiting dozens of doctors, some would tell me that I should lose weight, some told me I need to eat more, and some told me that the patch was the only way. I was even prescribed Metformin despite not being diagnosed with diabetes. Overall, my health journey has been tumultuous and after years of disappointment, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I gave up on western medicine. After researching alternative healing methods I came across traditional Chinese medicine and learned about acupuncture. I found an acupuncturist in my area who specialized in joint pain but I was going for hormonal regulation. I loved acupuncture, I got it for a few months before I stopped because my doctor was a man and I started wearing the hijab. I’m still looking for a female acupuncturist. During that time I did a lot of research on acupuncture and found out that during the 1970s, revolutionaries used acupuncture as an alternative to methadone.
In 1970, the Young Lords and other revolutionary groups founded Lincoln Detox, a drug treatment program at the Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx. They specialized in holistic medicine not just as an alternative to western medicine but also as a means of self determination. Acupuncture carried sociopolitical motivations for them. Employing acupuncture in their “tool-kit”, they were able to act as mobile and efficient first responders to Black and Brown communities who have historically been excluded or mistreated by the medical industry. This topic is extremely interesting and I advise anyone who has read this far to also read “Use of Acupuncture by 1970s Revolutionaries of Color: The South Bronx ‘Toolkit Care’ Concept” By Eana Meng. This is an incredible text and provides a great deal of context for the history of acupuncture and even the relationship between the Chinese government and the Black Panthers during the 1970s.
Now my question for you today is what’s in your toolkit? Based on the understanding of how the Black Panthers incorporated their toolkit care, we can define a toolkit as a method of self actualized healing using affordable, accessible, and most importantly holistic tools and ingredients. The medical industry has not been the easiest to navigate especially when you are trying to heal a chronic illness. I am still on the journey of healing myself, but I have an ever-growing list of remedies. My toolkit obviously consists of sea moss, I have found immense benefit consuming sea moss daily. Recently, my sister friend Munira brought me back Senegalese hibiscus leaves and I have been enjoying that as a tea. Toolkit. Lastly, I would include onion. Anytime I am not feeling well I take a cut onion and place it in my sock overnight. These are just a few but I’m sure there are many more remedies I can add to my toolkit. I encourage my community to build a mental list of items and remedies they would add to their tool kit.