black trauma
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Black Women's Trauma Is No Laughing Matter
A few weeks back, chart-topping emcee Megan Thee Stallion revealed via Instagram that she was shot in the foot on July 12 “as a result of a crime committed against [her] and done with the intention to physically harm [her],” despite early reports that she stepped on glass during a night out in the Hollywood…
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Police Reforms Must Include Reparations for Those Living Through the Trauma of Police Violence
When Eric Garner died after being put in a chokehold by then-New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo on July 17, 2014, his daughter Erica Garner immediately became an activist of the highest caliber. She organized marches, wrote articles, and stood up to demand a conversation with President Obama at the presidential town hall on race…
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The Good, the Bad and the Traumatic: Reevaluating the Role of Sharing Black Death on Social Media
“I think the mainstream media is addicted to trauma porn when it concerns black people…Those horrific images that we have of the Twin Towers falling to the ground are all we remember about 9/11. In cases where we think about mass shootings that predominantly affect white communities such as Sandy Hook, we don’t have pictures…
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Safe Space: Black Imagination Offers a Necessary Respite From the Onslaught of Black Trauma
“A safe world, in my opinion, would be one where other humans are not an existential threat. Love and value would have to fall in line for such a world to exist.” — William Wallace III, Philadephia, Penn. text This is the sobering half-wish offered on page 57 of Black Imagination, an amalgamation of black…
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Under the Skin: Tattoos, Trauma, and Tackling Stigma on Black Ink Chicago
Much has been finally been made and explored in terms of this notion of trauma—what it is, who experiences it most, what its effects are. But the scary part about trauma is that if it happens too often; too frequently, it can start to feel normal, which can be dangerous. Your body’s fight-or-flight response, triggered…
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Venus and Serena Williams Return to Compton, Calif., to Pay Homage to Their Sister
Venus and Serena Williams are world-renowned tennis champions. They are also daughters of the historically black community of Compton, Calif. This weekend, the Williams sisters were for all intents the prodigal daughters come back to the community that shaped them, and to give back to it. Venus Williams, a seven-time grand-slam champion and the elder sister…
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Watch: How Did the Stars of The Birth of a Nation Practice Self-Care While Shooting This Intense Film?
Black trauma stems back as far back as slavery. Knowing that our ancestors were treated worse than animals—brutalized, dehumanized and demeaned—and that this terrible legacy of racism has carried on to our modern and “progressive” times is a painful truth that we must face every day. When movies like The Birth of a Nation are…