The Coping Tax: How High-Effort Coping Drains Black Health and Joy

I’m Ama-Robin, host of You Ain’t Imagining This — the storytelling sanctuary where we name the chaos of living Black in white spaces and remember that we don’t have to carry it alone.

In this episode, we sit on the porch with the fictional character, Mrs. Alberta Jenkins, a retired teacher and elder in our community, as she names something many of us know but rarely say out loud: the coping tax.

The coping tax is the high-effort coping we pay every day just to exist in spaces that weren’t built for us. It’s the price that shows up in our bodies, our spirits, and our peace of mind.

You’ll hear stories, reflections, and a simple ritual for shaking a little of it off. Together, we’ll explore how to recognize unhealthy coping — and begin reclaiming the practices that restore us instead of draining us.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What the “coping tax” is and how it shows up in daily Black life.

• Real examples of high-effort coping:

  • Working twice as hard for half the recognition.

  • Smiling or laughing when something isn’t funny to avoid being labeled “angry.”

  • Pushing through illness or exhaustion to prove you’re reliable.

  • Code-switching until you barely recognize yourself.

• The illusion of “paying the tax” — and the true cost to our health, rest, and family.

• A small ritual from Mrs. Jenkins’ porch to help you release some of the day’s weight.

And this is just the beginning. Starting next month, we’ll step fully into YAIT Town — a sanctuary of porches, gardens, rivers, and libraries where our stories and healing practices live. In this episode, you’ll catch the first glimpse of that place.

Because coping is survival. But survival isn’t the end of our story.