Why the Movement 'Rest Is Resistance' Has Everyone Talking

Emily Laurence
·6 min read

In a culture of working long hours, the simple act of resting is a power move.

Rest is a basic right. At any job, you would expect to be granted a lunch break. If you work Monday through Friday, you look forward to the weekend—two blissful days of relaxation. Yet despite this basic right, not everyone has equal access to it.

Research has shown that not only are people of color less likely to be afforded adequate rest than white Americans, but this lack of rest could exacerbate racial health disparities.

Chronic stress has long been known to lead to wear and tear on the body. In addition, race-related stress has been directly linked to heart disease. In a peer-reviewed study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers surveyed more than 3,000 adults across three racial groups—African Americans, Latinos and whites—to determine their "vigilance levels," ie., the level to which they anticipate and prepare for instances of racial discrimination. The study found a direct correlation between high vigilance and heart disease in the African American subjects.

Work of this kind has led to a racial justice movement gaining momentum, coined “rest is resistance” by The Nap Ministry founder Tricia Hersey, who recently released a book about the movement. Thanks to Hersey, more people are talking about the basic right to rest—particularly for Black people—and how to ensure it’s something everyone in this country is able to do. 

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What Is the “Rest Is Resistance” Movement?

While it's true that every human being needs and deserves adequate rest, the rest centered around the "rest as resistance" movement is less about burnout and is rooted in Black liberation. Dr. Aisha Dixon-Peters, Psy.D, a licensed clinical community psychologist and a senior adjunct psychology professor at the University of La Verne, explains that people of color are disproportionately affected by the need for rest because of added layers of race-related stress. 

While people of all races can experience chronic stress and the negative physical and psychological effects of it, Dr. Dixon-Peters asserts people of color are disproportionately affected. "All people, regardless of race, experience stressors, and people of color have additional stressors—on top of the common stressors all humans may experience—that are the result of navigating anti-Blackness and related racial and intergenerational trauma," she says. She points to the work of Dr. Kenjus Watson, PhD showing that experiencing racism-related stress—including microaggressions—puts Black people at a higher risk for diseases and lowers life expectancy.

She explains that it takes more energy to exist as a person of color in the U.S. than it does to be white. "BIPOC navigate anti-Blackness as well as racial trauma that white people do not have to navigate. These are, in addition to other work, financial, relational, health stressors that all individuals may experience over the course of the lifetime," she says. 

Anti-racism educator Monique Melton, who again credits Hersey for leading the “rest is resistance” movement, explains that the idea for a Black person to ask for rest is radical because it’s something their enslaved ancestors were unable to do. “They were forced to engage in unpaid labor day in and day out for endless hours. It didn’t matter if they had just given birth, if they were starving, or if they were tired,” she says.

Melton says that part of rest as resistance is defining for oneself the pace they will work at and demanding rest when they need it. “This is a way to reclaim our bodies and energy,” she says. “It’s a way to fight the system.”

“Resting is taking back one’s own power, and declaring that he, she or they will no longer be used and abused by a system reluctant to acknowledge our humanity,” says activist and anti-racism educator Michelle Saahene. “Resting requires the system to look for other ways to produce without exploitation, and forces an acknowledgment of one’s worth.” She adds that resting is an acknowledgment of one’s own humanity; being able to rest is social justice.

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What Rest as Resistance Looks Like and How To Support Those Most in Need of Rest

Unfortunately, resting is not available for everyone who needs it. Many people of color must work without ample rest just to survive or to support their families. Melton explains that this is exactly why the system needs to change, in order to give rest to those who need it.

If you are a white person and want to help support Black people in need of rest, Saahene says to make a conscious effort to support Black-owned businesses and services. Melton says to find ways in your community to offer rest to those who need it—this could look like dropping off dinner for a neighbor who is working two jobs, offering to watch someone’s kids after school, or offering to sit with an elderly parent they are a caregiver for so they can take a shower. She also says to support opportunities that allow for reparations and fair wages that truly support Black people in tangible ways. Melton explains that when changes like these are made, everyone benefits. For example, ensuring that workers get paid fairly benefits all workers.

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If you are a person of color in need of rest, Melton says to rest when you can. She says that even taking a five-minute nap can be an act of resistance. “Rest as resistance looks like joy, relaxation, happiness, achieving higher levels of wellness, stressing less, feeling a sense of no longer feeling the need to fight, and enjoying the fruits of one’s own labor. It feels like finally feeling enough,” Saahene adds.

Mack emphasizes that we must unlearn the idea that our value is connected to restlessness. It isn’t lazy or unproductive to ask for rest. Particularly for people who have historically been denied rest in this country—and who continue to be denied it due to unfair wages—rest is a powerful way to demand to be seen as a valuable human being. Humans are not machines. And humans need to rest. 

Next up, get some ideas for how to rest with this list of 30 self-care ideas.

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