I feel fear as I write this and a tightness in my throat. As I acknowledge this and deepen my awareness, sadness and tears well up.
Resmaa Menakem’s recent interview struck a deep and powerful cord in me.
In his book, My Grandmother’s Hands, he talks about how racism manifests trauma in the body and how White supremacy is operationalized as the supremacy of the White-body.
This is a powerful insight.
It makes the invisible, visible.
This work points to how racism isn’t a passing experience, it is lived. It manifests in our muscle and bones.
It is work that we all must do.
I have enrolled in a year-long study of Resmaa’s work and am excited and scared for what I will encounter. I also feel compelled and insistent to support this work.
I am also thankful for my connection to the Men’s Work I do through EVRYMAN and all that I have learned about trauma and the body from them. The weekly practice of slowing down, opening up to what I am experiencing, and connecting to something deeper. Has shown me the destructive patterns in my own behavior and provides me with the platform and tools to address my own trauma. I am excited to learn how Resmaa approaches racialized trauma and how that matches up with what I have learned through EVRYMAN.
More than anything, I am excited to do something tangible. Something, concrete. Something, felt and lived – that addresses the invisible system of racism that inhabits this great country of ours and directly impacts my experience in it.
This call to courage is exactly what is needed to meet the challenge of this time.