Yasmin on mental health stigmas: “As black students and as black women, we’re taught that we need to be better than our white counterparts. We need to be resilient and strong. We need to be everything they are as far as grades, AND some. We can never show any signs of weakness. And I think that’s where that stigma comes along with mental health, and I think the first step is a willingness to speak openly about our struggles.”

Yasmin Bellew is the president of Alpha Phi Omega, Cornell’s largest service fraternity, but she’s also a member of pre-law organizations KAPi and Black Ivy. Listen to her conversation with Daniel James II about growing up in California’s Central Valley, the impact of her black women mentors, the inaccessibility of therapy for people of color, the difference between structural reform and victim advocacy in the criminal justice and incarceration systems, and so much more.