African American Communities
1. Police Brutality33 34:
An excessive force used by the police to hurt and/or kill people. African Americans deal with police brutality due to anti-black racism, resulting in mental health problems, and cumulative stress effects on health from experiencing and witnessing it.
Healing Response/Practices:
- Engage in Black led conversations. Attend support groups allowing Black students to discuss their experiences. Seek mental health services
Reflection Question: What are some ways where you can create a safe space for yourself to express how you feel?
2. Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS)35:
Explains how multi-generational trauma within the Black community still affects African Americans in present time. Similar to PTSD.
Healing Response/Practices:
- Seek help from mental health professionals who understand PTSS/Black experience. Engage in ancestral healing practices like creating an altar, meditation and praye>
Reflection Question: What are some ways in which you can practice self care while experiencing symptoms of PTSS?
3. Systematic Inequality Gap36:
The wage gap is unequal between white and black households. African Americans experience a financial disadvantage, causing stress from trying to survive.
Healing Response/Practices:
- Join a support group for Black people to discuss these systematic disadvantages and how they make you feel
- Seek counseling from a therapist who understands the Black experience
Reflection Question: What are some ways you can build community with other Black people?