Somatic Abolitonist, Resmaa Menakem, shares a true story about racial discrimination between the police and his family.

He also challenges the hell out of me.

Man, this was a good one, very intense. I learned a ton.

I continue to learn about how me, as a white heterosexual male, can improve in the area of race, equity and diversity.

This is a pretty charged episode. Trigger warning.

Check it out.

Resmaa Menakem, New York Times best selling author of “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts” talks about race relations in America and how it’s going to take 9 generations to create a culture that is anti-racist.

In the past year, our country has seen racial injustice involving several African-Americans being brutally murdered by the police.

Resmaa’s book examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology. “My Grandmother’s Hands” is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not only about the head, but about the body. His book introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our racialized divide.

Shownotes:

5:25 Introduction Resmaa Menakem
9:35 Fearing racism deep-rooted in society
15:05 The necessary work to make a shift in society
21:30 How white people can address racial problems and understand black people
34:00 How trauma stays in people’s bodies and transforms through time
35:00 Cultural baggage
37:20 Racism manifested in police agencies
49:05 Diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings
58:10 What does the work of healing cultural trauma looks like for white people
1:11:35 How training black people differs from training white people
1:21:50 Action step

Useful Links:

Resmaa Menakem is an American author, artist and psychotherapist specialising in the effects of trauma on the human body and relationships in black families and black society.