The Intersectionality of Race and Trauma in Children and Teens Who Are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)

Children in America are suffering from an abundance of trauma that many bring to school with them daily. Children, teens, and their families, who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), may have experienced historical racial trauma which is unique to students of color. Professionals working with students of color (SOC) must develop cultural competency around racial trauma in their understanding of trauma informed pedagogy to meet the needs of student populations that are becoming increasingly diverse. The overall purpose of this chapter is to provide professionals working with BIPOC children and teens the necessary skills to meet their needs.

Racial Trauma-Informed Pedagogy Strategies for Educational Professionals

In order to address the racial trauma that teens who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) may face at home, and potentially experience in school, educational professionals must equip themselves with the specialized skills to meet students' academic, emotional, and social needs. School leaders must begin this task by examining their own personal racial biases as they lead their staff in the task of reviewing data, rules, policies, and the school environment to examine practices that support and promote institutional and systemic racism.

Not a token! A discussion on racial capitalism and its impact on academic librarians and libraries

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of racial capitalism in the context of academic libraries.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on Leong's (2013) extended theory of racial capitalism and identifies how neoliberalism and racial capitalism are tied as well as how it is manifested in academic libraries through tokenism, racialized tasks, consuming racial trauma, cultural performance demands, workload demands and pay inequity.FindingsThe article ends with some suggestions in how to address these problematic practices though dismantling meritocratic systems, critical race theory in LIS education and training, and funding EDI work.Originality/valueThe article explores a concept in the academic library context and points to practices and structures that may commodify racialized identities.

The Traumatic Mark in Invisible Man

Invisible Man is the representative work of Ralph Ellison, a famous contemporary American black writer, which mainly describes the growing process of a black man. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the racial trauma that the protagonist experienced at school, in the factory and political group, the three kinds of symptoms after the trauma-hyperarousal, intrusion and constriction, and the result that the protagonist cannot recover from his trauma due to racial discrimination.

Manifestations of Racial Trauma in Bereaved Middle to Older Aged Black Adults

Black adults have a higher likelihood of experiencing bereavement and increased negative implications of systemic racism compared to other groups. The effects of racism have also been suggested to have an impact on how bereaved Black individuals conceptualize their loss and the deceased. However, there is limited literature on how direct and indirect childhood experiences with racial violence and viewing racially violent deaths impact bereaved Black adults later in the lifespan. The current study seeks to explore the impacts childhood engagement with racial violence might have on bereaved middle to older Black adults. 103 middle to older aged Black adults (M=44.72, SD=5.48, 67% male) from a larger online grief study were probed about factors including somatization, depression, affect, grief, and the prevalence and intensity of exposure to race-based violence during their childhoods. Linear regressions and bivariate correlations were used for data analysis. Childhood racial violence significantly predicted grief (F=6.348, p=.013). Additionally, experiencing childhood racial violence was significantly associated with somatization (r=.197, p=.047), depression (r=.198, p=.045), and negative affect (r=.256, p=.010). Endorsed intensity of racial violence was significantly associated with depression and negative affect (r=.464, p=.000; r=.440, p=.000, respectively). Bereaved Black middle to older adults seem greatly impacted by childhood experiences of racial violence. It is important to consider the role outside cultural influences such as racial trauma might have on other deleterious mental health experiences such as bereavement. Furthermore, in the assessment of ACEs among Black and other people of color, it could be important to include childhood racial violence.

Measuring the biological embedding of racial trauma among Black Americans utilizing the RDoC approach

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative aims to understand the mechanisms influencing psychopathology through a dimensional approach. Limited research thus far has considered potential racial/ethnic differences in RDoC constructs that are influenced by developmental and contextual processes. A growing body of research has demonstrated that racial trauma is a pervasive chronic stressor that impacts the health of Black Americans across the life course. In this review article, we examine the ways that an RDOC framework could allow us to better understand the biological embedding of racial trauma among Black Americans. We also specifically examine the Negative Valence System domain of RDoC to explore how racial trauma is informed by and can help expand our understanding of this domain. We end the review by providing some additional research considerations and future research directives in the area of racial trauma that build on the RDoC initiative.

Black Lives Matter on Screen: Trauma of Witnessing Police Brutality in Contemporary American Cinema

In the years following the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, American cinema was looking for a way to appropriately address the issue of police brutality against people of color. Filmmakers, often inspired by real-life events, began developing stories focused on the trauma of witnessing lethal police violence. Three films released in 2018 – Blindspotting (dir. Carlos López Estrada), Monsters and Men (dir. Reinaldo Marcus Green) and The Hate U Give (dir. George Tillman Jr.)– emphasize how the aftermath of such experiences affects young people of color and their communities. This article aims to explore the role of witness testimony in trauma-centered narratives and examine how the contemporary American cinema visualizes racial trauma. To achieve that, the films will be analyzed within the context of trauma studies, including theories regarding both individual and cultural trauma. Moreover, studies focused on the socialization of Black children will help demonstrate the transgenerational impact of trauma. All three films share common motifs: they represent the psychosomatic aspects of trauma through similar cinematic techniques and see value in witness testimony, even if it requires personal sacrifices from the protagonists. They also portray parents’ worry about their children’s future within a prejudiced system and the struggle to prepare them for it. All these issues have been previously addressed in the public and academic discourse and are now being reflected in cinema. Film proves to be a suitable medium for representing trauma of witnessing police brutality and cinema will most likely remain a vital part of the debate about dismantling racist systems for years to come.