Generational and Historical Trauma in African Americans and Police Interaction
One of the hottest and most controversial topics today in law enforcement, media, trauma, and race relations is that of the black American experience and, in particular, how it relates to modern policing. This has permeated not only our news, it has seeped into our popular culture. And while police violence against blacks is the peak of this story, it would lack much greater emotional power and context for victims without looking at the effects (including systemic) of intergenerational trauma. As stated in a study by Bryant-Davis, Adams, Alejandre, and Gray “There is a history of violence against racial and ethnic minorities that contextualizes the traumatic experience of police violence” (2017, pg. 1). “Finally, survivors of police violence targeting racial and ethnic minorities are often persons who have been exposed to multiple traumas resulting in a cumulative effect” (Bryant-Davis, Adams, Alejandre, and Gray, 2017, pg. pg. 1).. Historical trauma is defined as a form of intergenerational trauma “… caused by events that target a group of people. Thus, even family members who have not directly experienced the trauma can feel the effects of the event generations later” (Jones, 2012, pg. 16). This trauma runs deep and, additionally, it is both “…cumulative and collective. …[and] manifests itself, emotionally and psychologically, in members of different cultural groups” (Ross, 2011, pg. 3)
The question of post-traumatic stress induced via racism is a hot one. Center for Mental Health Disparities director Monica Williams states that black Americans may experience “race-based trauma” (Corley, 2015, para. 2) and that instances such as publicized instances of police brutality, accidental killings, and so on trigger not only recent events but the long-time institutionalized suffering undergone by black and African Americans, many of which are still alive and able to recall the days of segregation, lynchings, and even conversations with those who have endured slavery. Williams goes on to state that while an individual may not have experienced a shooting by a law enforcement officer for instance “…maybe we’ve had uncles or aunts who have experienced things like this, or we know people in our community [who have], and their stories have been passed down. So we have this whole cultural knowledge of these sorts of events happening, which then sort of primes us for this type of traumatization” (Corley, 2015, para. 5). This, in addition with persistent instances of micro-aggressions and acts of bias real and imagined, and the sense of helplessness to change or the feeling of being oppressed or not being heard in spite of virulent action, can indeed cause trauma which may result in anger, stress, and so on. So as we can see, this legacy of trauma, racism, violence, and institutionalized oppression have led to current negative social problems today which influence and inform modern day interactions and responses to police and instances of reported police brutality.
Bryant-Davis, T., Adams, T., Alejandre, A., & Gray, A. A. (2017). The Trauma Lens of Police Violence against Racial and Ethnic Minorities. Journal of Social Issues,73(4), 852-871. doi:10.1111/josi.12251
Corley, C. (2015, July 02). Coping While Black: A Season Of Traumatic News Takes A Psychological Toll. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/07/02/419462959/coping-while-black-a-season-of-traumatic-news-takes-a-psychological-toll
Jones, B. (2012). Legacy of Trauma: Context of the African American Existence. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/che/projects/infantmortality/session2.2.pdf
Ross, K., PhD. (2011). Impacts of Historical Trauma on African Americans and Its Effects on Help-seeking Behaviour. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from http://www.umsl.edu/services/cps/files/ross-presentation.pdf