Historical Trauma Among African Americans
FRIENDS is proud to present podcasts that explore historical trauma among African Americans.
The first, Historical Trauma Among African Americans, ACEs, and Hope, explores how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can compound multi-generational trauma, and what hope looks like for families.
A new series of three podcasts on Historical Trauma Among African Americans, Radical Healing, and Resilience highlights the impact of past traumas and its ongoing influence on youth and families, how pain shows up in different settings, and how practitioners can support healing.
The traumatic history of African Americans, how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) compound multi-generational trauma, and what hope looks like are considered in this podcast.
Three experts from the Centers for Disease Control, the National Child Traumatic Stress Center, NC State University, and a local Head Start Program provide evidenced-based information on ACES, historical trauma and bias, and how hope and resilience play a role in mitigating these hardships in African American families. Listen to learn about adjustments practitioners can make to improve trust and inclusiveness in programs services.
Experts speaking on the podcast, listed in order of their comments:
Melissa Merrick, PhD
Behavioral scientist in the Division of Violence Prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/injury/pressroom/fullbios_subjectmatterexperts/bio_MelissaMerrick.html
Isaiah Pickens, PhD
Assistant Director of Service Systems at the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress at UCLA
https://www.isaiahpickens.com/about/
Founder, iOpening Enterprises, a mental health and wellness education company
http://www.iopeningenterprises.com/
Deric Boston, MSW, LCSW
Senior Lecturer, NC State University School of Social Work
Assistant Director and Mental Health Consultant, Durham County Head Start and Early Head Start
https://socialwork.news.chass.ncsu.edu/2014/04/26/faculty-highlight-professor-deric-boston/
Resources mentioned in the podcast:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ACE Study
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/index.html
The Philadelphia ACE Survey
http://www.philadelphiaaces.org/philadelphia-ace-survey
U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee
https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm
Read more about this study conducted on black men from 1932 until 1973 by the U.S. Public Health Service.
Resources used in the development of the podcast:
African American History Timeline: 1619 – 2008
https://www.nps.gov/saga/learn/education/upload/African%20American%20History%20Timeline.pdf
Spotlight on Culture - Conversations about Historical Trauma: Part Two, Summer 2013. National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Part Two in a series on historical trauma outlines how historical trauma has impacted African Americans who are descendants of enslaved Africans. https://www.nctsn.org/resources/conversations-about-historical-trauma-part-two
Parts One and Three in this series are also available:
Part One outlines how historical trauma has impacted American Indian children and families and how services for these children and families should consider not only their present circumstances and personal trauma histories, but also historical trauma.
https://www.nctsn.org/resources/conversations-about-historical-trauma-part-one
Part Three explores the experience of survivors of the Jewish Holocaust, the Japanese American WWII camps, and key events affecting Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources//spotlight_on_culture_conversations_about_historical_trauma_part_three.pdf
Are We Talking Enough About the Black Middle Class? By Charles Ellison in the April 13, 2015 Pacific Standard. https://psmag.com/news/are-we-talking-enough-about-the-black-middle-class
Dr. Isaiah Pickens, clinical psychologist, founder and CEO of iOpening Enterprises, facilitates an important discussion with two of his colleagues, Dr. Riana Anderson, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health, and Dr. Shawn C.T. Jones, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The first podcast of this three-part series Historical Trauma Among African Americans, Radical Healing, and Resilience focuses on historical trauma and the pain that is still felt from the past and current day occurrences, white supremacy’s contribution to pain in the black family, and how this pain shows up today for children, clinically, in school, the home, and child welfare settings.
Thank you to Isaiah Pickens for collaborating with your colleagues and organizing and facilitating the discussion for this series. More about iOpening Enterprises and Dr. Isaiah Pickens, its founder and CEO, can be found here: https://www.iopeningenterprises.com/.
Additional resources on this topic can be found on the FRIENDS website, including Historical Trauma Among African Americans, ACES, and Hope, a podcast that was released in 2019, https://friendsnrc.org/resources/?_sf_s=African
Two Resources mentioned in the three-part series:
EMBRace – Engaging, Managing, and Bonding Through Race is a 5-week program that focuses on racial socialization, racial stress and coping, and family functioning in order to reduce the discriminatory tension we may experience on a daily basis. Click the link to learn more https://theembraceprogram.wixsite.com/embrace/goals
Our Mental Health Minute seeks to reduce stigma about mental health in the black community and provide resources in access, utilization, and quality of mental health care. Spanning three seasons, more than 30 video and podcast episodes on mental health have been produced. Click here to learn more. https://www.ourmhm.com/
Dr. Isaiah Pickens, clinical psychologist, founder and CEO of iOpening Enterprises, facilitates an important discussion with two of his colleagues, Dr. Riana Anderson, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health, and Dr. Shawn C.T. Jones, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The second podcast of this three-part series Historical Trauma Among African Americans, Radical Healing, and Resilience focuses on a trauma-informed approach and how white allies and others working in solidarity can support black youth and establish trusting relationships.
Thank you to Isaiah Pickens for collaborating with your colleagues and organizing and facilitating the discussion for this series. More about iOpening Enterprises and Dr. Isaiah Pickens, its founder and CEO, can be found here: https://www.iopeningenterprises.com/.
Dr. Isaiah Pickens, clinical psychologist, founder and CEO of iOpening Enterprises, facilitates an important discussion with two of his colleagues, Dr. Riana Anderson, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health, and Dr. Shawn C.T. Jones, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The third and final podcast of this three-part series Historical Trauma Among African Americans, Radical Healing, and Resilience addresses the outstanding resilience demonstrated by black families in the United States during a long history of traumatic events. Practitioners can affirm the resilience of black youth and help youth see the power they have in their own lives and to make change in society.
Thank you to Isaiah Pickens for collaborating with your colleagues and organizing and facilitating the discussion for this series. More about iOpening Enterprises and Dr. Isaiah Pickens, its founder and CEO, can be found here: https://www.iopeningenterprises.com/.