White-body supremacy is always functioning in our bodies. It operates in our thinking brains, our assumptions, and mental shortcuts…But it operates most powerfully in our lizard brains, inciting the fight, flee, or freeze response … (Menakem p.6)
As part of Unconditional Education’s commitment to ongoing growth and development, staff have spent time diving into the work of great leaders in the field of healing centered approaches to community care. As part of this process, we are hoping to ground our relationships with students, families, and each other in ways that acknowledge and address a more holistic and culturally grounded view of trauma and healing.
One guiding text has been Resmaa Menakem’s My Grandmother’s Hands, which invites readers to take a voyage through the historical perpetuation of racialized trauma, diving into the history of white body supremacy and its impact. Menakem evokes his readers to acknowledge, understand and heal from the somatic effects of this racialized trauma. He recognizes the role of these somatic responses in one's ability to protect themselves from historical and ongoing harm and suggests that this kind of perpetual harm and the associated somatic impact require a different type of healing than may be traditionally applied in mental health work. The reading explores the somatic responses racialized trauma can have on both the “black-body”, “white-body” and also presents an array of healing practices. The book provides a balance of both theory and practice, asking the reader to slow down, reflect, and engage in specific healing practices at the end of each chapter.
Menakem realizes racialized trauma stems from white supremacy that is deeply embedded in American society. More importantly, Menakem teaches readers trauma is simply an irrational reaction that can be passed intergenerationally and subsequently causes a fight, flee or freeze response that can show up in (and often hinder) everyday interactions. In understanding the somatic effects of racialized trauma Menakem teaches readers how to navigate white supremacy to reach healing while acknowledging healing practices are often painful and challenging.
Sometimes people are accustomed to overriding their feelings and pain to get by day to day, until something/someone challenges them to think differently and seek change. It is only by doing the healing work that we can learn to relate and move differently together in the world. I would recommend My Grandmother’s Hands to anyone who is looking to heal from what can appear to be a somatic-conditioned lifestyle. My experience with this book’s practices brought serenity and a new level of understanding to responses of intergenerational trauma.
Menakem realizes racialized trauma stems from white supremacy that is deeply embedded in American society. More importantly, Menakem teaches readers trauma is simply an irrational reaction that can be passed intergenerationally and subsequently causes a fight, flee or freeze response that can show up in (and often hinder) everyday interactions. In understanding the somatic effects of racialized trauma Menakem teaches readers how to navigate white supremacy to reach healing while acknowledging healing practices are often painful and challenging.
Sometimes people are accustomed to overriding their feelings and pain to get by day to day, until something/someone challenges them to think differently and seek change. It is only by doing the healing work that we can learn to relate and move differently together in the world. I would recommend My Grandmother’s Hands to anyone who is looking to heal from what can appear to be a somatic-conditioned lifestyle. My experience with this book’s practices brought serenity and a new level of understanding to responses of intergenerational trauma.
Blog Post Written By: Lauren Williams, Mental Health Counselor
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