Extemporaneous musings, occasionally poetic, about life in its richly varied dimensions, especially as relates to history, theology, law, literature, science, by one who is an attorney, ordained minister, historian, writer, and African American.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
POST TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME, EXCERPT
There are surely as many black people, historically, since 1865, who have by faith, collaboration, creativity, and hard work, --have overcome, the woefully decried epidemiological, "post-traumatic slave syndrome," as have purportedly succumbed to its baleful legacy. The nefarious POST TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME (2005), of which author, Joy DeGruy, Ph.D., has perceptively written respecting some black people, is defined by her as:
"a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continues to experience oppression and institutional racism today. Added to this condition is a belief (real or imagined) that the benefits of the society in which they live are not accessible to them. This, then, is a belief is Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome:
'Multigenerational trauma together with continued oppression and Absence of opportunity to access benefits available in the society leads to Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome M+A=P.'
"PTSS is a syndrome. A syndrome is a pattern of behaviors that is brought about by specific circumstances. The circumstances that produce PTSS--multigenerational trauma and continued oppression plus a real or imagined lack of access are outlined above. What is the resulting pattern of behavior? Well, there is no single pattern of behavior, there are many. I have identified three categories: Vacant Esteem, Ever Present Anger, and Racist Socialization."
p.121