BLACK RESILIENCE

IN AMERICA
 DEFINITION

∗“The process of adapting well in

the face of adversity, trauma,
tragedy, threats, or significant
sources of stress”
 BLACK WALL STREET
On May 31 and June 1, 1921, mobs of white residents attacked Black
residents, homes, and business, as well as cultural and public
institutions in the Greenwood District of Tulsa Oklahoma, an oil
boom city.
Greenwood District (more than 35 blocks of thriving shops, hotels,
theaters and more) was also know as “Black Wall Street” – one of
the wealthiest Black Communities in the United States. As a result
of this attack, (35) blocks were systematically looted and burned,
destroying (190) businesses and leaving (10,000) people homeless.

The property loss estimated by the Tulsa Real Estate Exchange was
the equivalent of $31 million in 2017, likely an underestimation.
The district was founded by Black men and women – many of
whom were descendants of slaves.
BLACK WALL STREETS cont.’

∗ HAYTI COMMUNITY– DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

∗ THE FOURTH AVENUE DISTRICT – BIRMINGHAM,
ALABAMA
∗ BOLEY - OKLAHOMA
∗ SWEET AUBURN – ATLANTA, GEORGIA
∗ WEST NINTH STREET – LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
∗ FAITH STREET – JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
∗ BRONZEVILLE – CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
∗ JACKSON WARD – RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
 ADVERSITY
∗ Social Adversity
∗ Discrimination
∗ Illnesses
∗ Structural barriers
∗ Health Inequalities
∗ Race Related Stressors
∗ Health Risk Behavior
∗ Poverty
∗ Food Insecurity
 TRAUMA
∗ Enduring slavery
∗ Separation of the family
∗ Slaves could be shipped to a different plantation
∗ Jim Crow
∗ Mass incarceration
∗ Black on black crime
∗ COVID-19 Pandemic
∗ Police brutality
∗ Ramifications of Discrimination & Structural Racism
∗ Suspended Grief
 TRAGEDIES
∗ America’s tragedy - Slavery (“The Original Sin”)
∗ FBI Counterintelligence Program
∗ Civil War
∗ The quest for Democratic equality
∗ White backlash (The Presidency of Barak Obama)
∗ Race Problems
∗ Killings of our black men at the hands of police
∗ Policing of Black Americans
∗ Disenfranchise voters
∗ Making it harder to vote (No longer a right but a
luxury)
∗ The miss-education of (CRT) Critical Race Theory
 THREATS
∗ Education
∗ Institutionalize Racism & Sexism
∗ Criminal Justice
∗ Racial Disparities
∗ Racism continues to be a HAZARD to Black Families’
Health
∗ Health
∗ Employment
∗ Fatherhood
∗ Intergenerational Poverty
∗ Mentorship
∗ Violence
 STRESS
Author and Educator Joy DeGruy-Leary, Ph.D., coined
the phrase:
“POST- TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME” – this theory
explains etiology of many of the adaptive survival
behaviors in African American communities throughout
the United States and the Diaspora.
It is a condition that exists as a consequence of multi-
generational oppression of Africans and their
descendants resulting from centuries of chattel slavery
– a form of slavery which was predicated on the belief
that African Americans were inherently/genetically
inferior to whites.
 STRESS cont.’
This was then followed by institutionalized racism which
continues to perpetuate injury, thus resulting in M.A.P.,
M: Multi-generational trauma together with
continued oppression,
A: Absence of opportunity to heal or access the
benefits available in the society; leading to:
P: POST-TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME
(Professor April Thames, associate professor of psychology and
psychiatry, authored a study that showed that genes that promote
inflammation are expressed more often in Blacks than in Whites,
said exposure to racism factors into the disparities in health
outcomes, including illness and death from COVID-19.)
 BREAKING THE CHAINS
ESSENCE ARTICLE (2005)
POST-TRAUMATIC SLAVERY SYMDROME (PTSS) – Many believe
that the sheer breadth and scope of slavery’s assault on the Black
Spirit created an extreme, long-lasting kind of stress. And because
the fears and coping and survival strategies were never alleviated
or analyzed, many believe that they have been passed from one
generation of African-Americans to the next.
Dr. DeGruy states that “We know that people do not have to
directly experience an event to be traumatized by it, and research
has shown that severe trauma can affect multiple generations.”
Our ancestors learned to adapt to living in a hostile environment
and we normalized our injury. And because they didn’t get free
therapy after slavery, these behaviors were passed through the
generations.
BREAKING THE CHAINS cont.’

∗ Overly punitive discipline from parents – keep them in line

rather than allow someone else. (master/overseer)
∗ Parents fear of loving them too much – never a guarantee
that the families wouldn’t be split apart. Abandonment
issues!
∗ Down play praise – leaving children wondering, Am I good
enough?
∗ Slavery was a loss of: homes, family, language, customs,
spirituality, freedom and mastery over one’s life
∗ Fear – that make you feel powerless, no sense of
entitlement
 MENTAL HEALTH
A person’s condition with regard to their psychological
and emotional well-being. “Our mental health
influences how we think, feel, and behave in daily life.”
∗ It affects our ability to handle stress
∗ Face and overcome challenges
∗ Maintain and build relationships, and
∗ Recover from difficulties and setbacks

We all experience disappointment, loss, and change

which is a normal part of life, however, these emotions
and experiences still cause sadness, anxiety, and stress.
 MENTAL HEALTH cont.’

Physical healthy people are better able to bounce back

from illness or injury; people with strong mental health
are better able to bounce back from adversity, trauma,
and stress. This skill is called “RESILIENCE.”

Despite constant exposure to racism and racial trauma,

African Americans exhibit resilience and hardiness in
the form of outward success, which causes society to
have a narrative that “African Americans” are so
resilient without realizing the historical harm this has
done to a race of people.
 MENTAL HEALTH cont.’
Tools for coping
∗ Be flexible
∗ Practice patience and kindness
∗ Be more optimistic
∗ Live in the present
∗ Value and build good relationships
∗ Know your limits
∗ Know how to handle rejections,
make up a back-up plan and like spending time
alone
 RESILIIENCE
Our people have survived:
∗ A government-sanctioned slave trade
∗ Suffered through the legally endorsed Jim Crow era
∗ Led the civil rights movement
∗ Handle Adversities
∗ Weather the storms of life
∗ African Americans have loved America when it didn’t love them
back
∗ Black women have kept the Democratic Party viable
∗ First Black Women on the Supreme Court
∗ Movement of “Black Lives Matter”
∗ The First Black Mayor of Homestead
∗ We BEND but do not BREAK
 RESILIENCE cont.’
∗ Resilient People Accept the Baseline
∗ Resilient People Are Flexible
∗ Resilient People are Willing to Learn
∗ Resilient People Seek Solutions
∗ Resilient People are Resourceful
∗ Resilient People are Creative
∗ Resilient People Set Realistic Expectations
∗ Resilient People experience stress, setbacks and
difficult emotions, but they tap into their strength and
seek help from support systems to overcome
challenges and work through problems
 TYPES OF RESILIENCE

∗Physical Resilience
∗Mental Resilience
∗Emotional Resilience
∗Social Resilience
 SPIRITUAL RESILIENCE

∗ The ability to maintain a positive spirit

even in the face of adversity.
∗ Our unique Black spirituality, literature,
art, music, food, protests, and
courageous joy-filled daily lives prove
one clear indisputable fact:
OVERCOMING IS WHAT WE DO!
What does the Bible say about
Resilience?
∗ Our Faith
∗ We are not alone
∗ We find meaning
∗ God is working them together for our good

Scripture – “And we know that in all things God works

for the good of those who love Him, who have been
called according to His purpose.”
(5) Skills of Resilient People

∗ Self Awareness
∗ Mindfulness
∗ Self Care
∗ Positive Relationships
∗ Purpose
Skills of Resilient people cont.’
∗ Make every day meaningful
∗ Learn from experience
∗ Remain hopeful and optimistic
∗ Take care of yourself
∗ Persevere
∗ Decrease negative thoughts and bring focus on the most
meaningful aspect of an experience
∗ Trauma and Adversity can give you a heightened appreciation for
life to clarify what actually matters to you
∗ They do not expend their energy in reciting why the problem is
difficult or unfair. They channel that time, mental, and emotional
energy to find SOLUTIONS
∗ Be proactive
Skills of Resilient People cont.’
∗ Enjoy life and have the ability to laugh and have fun
∗ Are able to deal with stress and bounce back from
adversity
∗ Practice self-care and make yourself a priority
∗ Disconnect from electronics and social media
∗ Engage in meditation and /or mindfulness
∗ Avoid heavy substances
∗ Feel a sense of meaning and purpose, in activities and
relationships
∗ Are flexible and adaptive to change
∗ Are able to build and maintain fulfilling relationships
∗ Get help from a licensed mental health professional
when needed
 OUR HEALING
How WE survived the Middle Passage and Slavery speaks to what
an amazing and resilient people we are.

In the face of it all, we still retained family, community and a strong

sense of spirituality. We know how to take care of people, to take
care of one another. But most important we have maintained our
humanity, in that we have not, as a group, become barbaric toward
those who committed the worst atrocities against us.

African people are highly spiritual, and that spirituality kept us

alive during slavery and still thrives today.

Our sense of interconnectedness was increased. If the mother was

sold we took the children in as our own.

Teach our children and neighbors that the Black Communities are
worth investing in.
 OUR HEALING cont.’
Support and assistance is needed to produce vital healing at a rate
that exceeds the injury and decay.
Healing must occur on multiple levels because the injury occurred
on multiple levels: individuals, families, communities and society
itself were undone by slavery.
∗ We must begin with telling the TRUTH
∗ Reworking the Educational System
∗ Talk about this theory called “Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome”
∗ We must never forget that we are a strong people who endured
something as brutal and unrelenting as our enslavement period.
∗ Whatever happens to us in this century will depend on how well
we use those strengths we gained in the past.
∗ TUPAC said: “BLACK FAMILIES ARE ROSES GROWING IN THE
MIDST OF CONCRETE.”