About the Project
The Day Black Women Decided to Take a Four-Year Vacation is both a documentary and a national research initiative examining the emotional, psychological, and social impact of rest, resistance, and recovery among Black women in the United States.
The project was conceived in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, a moment that carried deep symbolic weight for many. As the nation reflected on leadership and identity, many Black women found themselves confronting their own exhaustion, political, personal, and collective. This project emerged as both a question and a response: What happens when Black women decide to pause? What new forms of strength might surface when rest is treated not as retreat, but as resistance?
Led by Dr. Jasmine Ross, a licensed psychologist and filmmaker, the project is anchored in two parallel components:
The Documentary captures intimate stories of Black women as they navigate a shifting national and emotional landscape. Through visual storytelling, it explores how self-care, rest, and redefinition become acts of protest and survival.
The Research Study gathers empirical data through interviews and surveys to document how Black women across the country experience political stress, racial fatigue, and the ongoing process of healing. This research extends beyond the film, building a broader archive of voices and lived experiences that might otherwise go unrecorded.
Together, the film and the research form a complete portrait — one that moves between personal narrative and collective truth. The documentary brings the data to life, while the research ensures that the emotions and stories on screen become part of a lasting, evidence-based record.
The Day Black Women Decided to Take a Four-Year Vacation invites reflection on what it means to take the “cape” off, to rest without guilt, and to reimagine productivity as peace. It documents a moment in history when choosing to pause became a radical decision , and a necessary one.
