Racial Trauma represents the emotional and physical symptoms often experienced by Black families and people of color due to the everyday occurrences of microaggressions and racism.
It includes intergenerational injuries resulting from personal and collective experiences of racism. The public murders of George Floyd & Breonna Taylor among the numerous others, add to the multiple assaults that families experience daily due to racial injustice and can cause an increase in traumatic symptoms.
Both adults and children can experience racial trauma. Some of the symptoms can include hypervigilance (anxious and on high alert), body aches, shame, fear, insomnia (lack of sleep), fear, guilt, headaches, confusion, numbness, and anger among others. Knowing these signs can help you recognize and cope with what you and your family may be experiencing.