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Contribution of Racism to Generational Trauma

 

Written By: Falakdipti

ABSTRACT

Racism is a belief that has been around for many centuries and has affected people negatively all around the world. The victims of this bane to society are the People of Colour (PoCs). Many a time the trauma and grief inflicted due to racism can be passed from generation to generation. The issue of racism is rarely a topic of discussion, especially in second and third world countries since they either consist of predominantly one race or the majority of the population is ignorant about the topic. The present study is an attempt to bring forth the issue of racism, how it impacts those affected by it, and how it causes generational trauma and psychological disorders.

 

Keywords: generational, issues, racism, trauma

 

INTRODUCTION

Kamala Harris got elected as the vice president of the United States of America after the democrat party won the 2020 US presidential race. She became the first woman of colour to achieve this feat in the history of the United States. Winning was not easy though. Being a woman of Caribbean and Indian roots, she had to face a lot of criticism, which consisted of majorly racist slurs. Racism is a social evil that exists in almost all parts of the world. The origin of racism has been a subject of study for several years. According to some evolutionary psychologists and sociologists it has existed since the beginning of the evolution of Homo sapiens and is a biological tendency, while according to others it is a learned behaviour and no one is ‘born’ racist. Whichever might be true, it does not justify it being practised and being used to oppress minorities. Racism causes a lot of psychological and physiological issues to an individual and a community. A lot of the times these traumata can be passed down from one generation to the other. This can lead them to develop the same issues as the victims of racism of their own community or family, with or without facing racism first-hand. The topic of transgenerational trauma is relatively new. According to some psychologists, it is a legitimate phenomenon that takes place whereas according to some critics it is not possible to inherit trauma through genetics, though several studies that have been conducted recently show that the former belief is not a mere baseless assumption. Racism is a major negative stimulus in the lives of minorities, which is most of the time people of colour, hence it can also inflict trauma.

Below are some of the main concepts related to the present research:

1.     Racism: it is a belief that humans are divided into distinct groups that are different in their behaviour and innate abilities and inheritable traits and can be ranked as superior and/or inferior. (Newman, D. M. (2012). Sociology: exploring the architecture of everyday life (9th ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE. p. 405) Racism is a broad term which can be used for religious and ethnic minorities besides racial minorities.

 

2.     Microaggression: actions or comments that express a prejudiced attitude towards a marginalized group either subtly or unsubtly and intentionally or unintentionally. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microaggression accessed on 15/11/2020)

 

3.     Generational Trauma: it is a psychological term that asserts that trauma can be transferred in between generations mainly due to coping mechanisms used to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. (Ewan Birney, (2015). Why I'm sceptical about the idea of genetically inherited trauma. The Guardian)

 

4.     Generational Racism: generational racism is racism ideals that have been handed down through the generations.

 

5.     PTSD: it is known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is a disorder that results from exposure to a major stressor, with symptoms of distress, anxiety, concentration problems, etc. (Saundra Ciccarelli, (2008). Psychology: South Asian Edition, Pearson Publication. p.440)

 

6.     People of Colour: it is a term that is most commonly used to refer to persons who are not considered ‘white’.

 

METHODOLOGY

The secondary research method was used to collect the findings for the present research paper. Documents referred for the study were pre-answered surveys, published papers, social media, books and research websites.

 

LITERATURE REVIEW

1.     Child trauma researchers such as Byron Egeland and Daniel Schechter have identified psychological mechanisms that favour inter-generational transmission by doing clinical research (Fraiberg S, Adelson E, Shapiro V (1975). Ghosts in the nursery. A psychoanalytic approach to the problems of impaired infant-mother relationships. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry.)

 

 

2.     In recent studies it was found that stress can be transferred to the next generation during the gestational period.

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3710585/ accessed on 17/11/2020)

 

3.     Trans-generational trauma due to racism on minorities causes a psychological impact on how they view their achievements. It makes it hard for them to break out of the vicious cycle of oppression and inequality. (Patricia Collins, (2000) Black Feminist Thoughts. Routledge. p. 32)

 

4.     Limiting a race from fully participating in the culture of a country, the people of that race as a whole are unable to appreciate and understand similarities and differences between them and other races, leading to social stagnation and generational trauma (http://www.be-utd.org/racism_effect.html accessed on 02/11/2020)

 

5.     Human and minority rights advocate Neely Fuller Jr. insists, “White people cannot be ignorant about racism.” According to him, racism flourishes and will continue to flourish if each generation continues to transfer racist ideologies and the pre-existent notions and knowledge to sustain it. (https://atlantablackstar.com/2017/02/17/racism-passed-one-generation-another/ accessed on 24/10/2020)

 

6.     According to a meta-analysis conducted in 2015 racism is twice as likely to impact psychological health than physical health.

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4580597 accessed on 18/11/2020)

 

7.     People who reported experiences of racism also reported mental issues like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts.

 

8.     According to the American Academy of Paediatrics, Racism is a “socially transmitted disease” and its symptoms are passed down to the child through nurture (https://keepcalmitslife.org/racism-today-impact-on-children/ accessed on 19/11/2020)

 

FINDINGS

1.     Generational trauma mainly affects people of African origin especially those whose ancestors were enslaved and taken to other countries. (Williams MT, Malcoun E, Sawyer BA, Davis DM, Bahojb Nouri L, Bruce SL, (2014). Cultural adaptations of prolonged exposure therapy for treatment and prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder in African Americans.)

 

2.     Generational trauma also largely affects refugees and immigrants and their children (Sangalang CC, Vang C, (2017). Intergenerational Trauma in Refugee Families: A Systematic Review. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.)

 

3.     If a pregnant individual is introduced to the distress of racism, the trauma can be transferred to the foetus as well.

 

4.     Generational racism leads to instances of micro-aggression towards people of colour. Microaggression can be White on POC or even POC on POC.

 

5.     Racism is a key contributing factor in inducing mental issues in people of colour. This ranges from self-esteem issues, feeling of being less than others, hatred for oneself to severe problems like anxiety disorders. (Jernigan MM, Daniel JH (2011). Racial trauma in the lives of Black children and adolescents: Challenges and clinical implications. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma.)

 

6.     Experiences related to racism, including the one transferred generationally in some cases can impact physical health as well. Stress due to racism can lead to fluctuating blood pressure and even weakened immune system.

 

ANALYSIS OF THE FINDINGS

Generational trauma due to racism affects races who have endured more atrocities in the past and the present. It can be transferred between generations either biologically or through learned behaviour. Minorities not only learn to feel less than others and dislike their racial and ethnic features, but they also learn survival instincts from an early age. For example, in the United States of America, people of colour, especially the Black community learns to keep it lowkey near the police force to avoid being falsely convicted. Generational racism leads to micro-aggression which gives rise to negative stereotypes about a minority. If racism not brought to end stereotypes and generational trauma will continue to be normalised.

 

CONCLUSION

With the information collected, it can be implied that generational trauma is an actual event that can occur either by nature or nurture. Racism causes multiple psychological issues and, in some cases, physical problems as well. Racism is not innate and is something that an individual learns from their* surroundings. In order to put an end on this social evil, people should bring an end to generational racism. The People of Colour, that is, people of non-Caucasian ancestry suffer and endure the most trauma. It can lead to them feeling insecure, hating their culture and identity and trying to change themselves in order to fit into the Eurocentric norms of society.

Racism and generational trauma lead to minorities feeling excluded and hence being unable to utilize their potential and afford to live a decent lifestyle. Generational trauma is not only a devil that is faced by minorities, but it also affects society as a whole as well. The world cannot progress without everyone being treated equally and having a population that consists of mentally and physically healthy people.

To move forward as one and get a step closer to a utopian world the issues mentioned in the research must be ended.

 

 

* ‘Their’ is a pronoun used when the gender is unknown or when the person identifies as non-binary

 

 

 

 

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