“Constricted Bodies, frozen attitudes, and closed minds are common effects of racialized trauma (and trauma in general)”…
Learning this, how do we begin to perceive others differently? How do we begin to heal our own reflexive responses?
These questions are the theme of this book, My Grandmother’s Hands.
In Chapter 8, we were introduced to white body supremacy and the police body…
Off that bat, you might already feel constriction in your body from those words. (Notice it)
In that chapter, it’s gently written that both bodies experience trauma…
Resmaa Menakem writes “I know my Black body could be triggering all kinds of reflexive survival strategies in the cop’s body. So I do my best to de-Blacken…”
Reflexive strategies are talking about the moment our nervous system perceives danger and what we call the lizard brain takes over (a primitive mechanism). This means no more rationalization or cognitive thinking.
In circumstances where innocent, non-threatening lives were taken, we can wonder: what if that officer addressed their radicalized trauma? What if healing infrastructures and support were offered to help officers address their generational and secondary trauma? What if they had been trained in settling their body? What if they had more resources?
Would those situations have unraveled differently?
Resmaa says it honestly: “When intergenerational trauma lives and breathes in the bodies of us and them- almost any encounter can lead to tragedy”
We need to collectively understand that trauma shapes who we are, and sets precedents in society today.
Equally, there needs to be more support for everyone…
These topics can be difficult to talk/read about. Many people have a lot of emotions behind it- let’s sit with what we feel and recognize that we are all in community.
If this book is interesting to you and you'd like to join in discussion, remember: Our First Meeting: 📅 May 29th, 7pm ET 🕑 1 Hour 📚 Chapters 1-10 📍 Zoom, Join Here Meeting ID: 849 1751 2119 Passcode: 118654