Founded and facilitated by two Black women with distinctly different backgrounds, GUTT (Gaining Unity Through Transformation) Healing Circle designs a safe space for Black men and women to personally develop, to establish community, and to support one another in building consciousness in a holistic way.
Both LaTanya Ward and Raven Morgan understand and leverage that Black people are not a monolith. Raven, hailing from Baldwin Hills (“Black Beverly Hills”), up the hill, is a college graduate of Howard University. While LaTanya, a successful business owner, hails from Baldwin Village (“The Jungle”), down the hill, where there is a long history of gang violence and poverty that she has had to work hard to overcome. The bond of LaTanya and Raven exemplifies the infinite and impactful possibilities that can actualize when Black people from different backgrounds unite.
“I feel like there is a positive mental shift happening where Black people want to do better for themselves. We want to break generational curses, we want to be able to communicate better with ourselves and each other, and break the hold of systems that suppress our potential. Black folks of all backgrounds deserve and desire to be free through exposure to information and environments they can trust. GUTT Healing circle, is that,” Raven Morgan, Co-Founder of GUTT Healing Circle
GUTT is dedicated not only to the healing of Black communities but also applies the science of healing through meditation, breathwork, team building, therapeutic exercises and so much more. GUTT encourages all participants to dig deep into their personal and familial history to carve out ways for a more positive path forward.
According to a study from McLean Hospital, statistics say that about 25 percent of African Americans seek mental health treatment. Meanwhile, 40 percent of White Americans seek mental health treatment and resources. Unequal access to health care is one major contributor to this disparity. Nearly 10 percent of Black people in the U.S. do not have health insurance, compared to 5.2 percent of non-Hispanic White people.
Despite their differences, both ladies have come together to create something really profound for their community. The bond of LaTanya and Raven exemplifies the infinite and impactful possibilities that can actualize when Black people from different backgrounds unite.
LaTanya started Filthy Rich Banana Pudding in 2014 so she could fund her social justice work in the community.
She makes 200 pudding containers at a time and has six main flavors. The process takes her ten hours, but she does it for a special reason.
“It’s near and dear to my heart because I come from a background of being system impacted,” said LaTanya.
Because she was formerly a part of a gang, she wants to use her work to help stop violence and to show others your life is what you choose to make of it.
“I’ve been to jail, prison and it’s important for me to basically galvanize the other people who still live in that lifestyle, in that mindset, to know that you know we don’t have to operate in our circumstance and that we can choose,” Ward said.
LaTanya also has her own nonprofit W.A.R.F.O.A. which stands for We Are Responsible For One Another.
When her friend Nipsey Hussle was killed back in 2019, LaTanya organized the Nipsey Peace March, bringing several rival gangs together to walk in unity in his honor.
“Over 500 gang members from about 40 something different gangs in South Los Angeles to honor Nipsey,” LaTanya said.
Through this special work, GUTT Healing Circle is strategically altering the way the larger Black community feels about its past in order to create a brighter, more healthy future for generations to come!
She sells her pudding in popup locations Fridays to Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and posts her pop-up location on her Filthy Rich Banana Pudding Instagram page.