Neutrality is often upheld as a key tenet in clinical spaces. Yet as Rachel Wang illustrates in this piece, the pernicious dogma to “stay out of politics” causes tremendous harm to folks who fall outside the dominant eating disorder narrative. After all, one’s identity and culture are inextricable from their relationship with food. Rachel thus underscores the importance of anti-racism and cultural humility for providers and reminds us of our collective duty to dismantle the treatment barriers faced by Asian Americans.

What does it mean to be a BIPOC with an eating disorder? How does a BIPOC navigate the tricky waters of receiving an eating disorder diagnosis and subsequent treatment? In this brave story, we are reminded that all individuals have the capacity to develop an eating disorder; we are held accountable to the fact that we need to do better to support BIPOC with eating disorders.

In honor of BIPOC Mental Health Month, Project HEAL’s CEO reflects back on a year of learning and action following our pledges in the summer of 2020 to do better for the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the eating disorder community. Here, Rebecca “shows our receipts” so that we may remain accountable for the work we promised to do and continue to do.