Send us a text

Bessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score has become a global sensation, shaping mental health services and public conversations by centering trauma. Originally aimed at improving doctor-patient relationships, trauma-informed analysis has evolved into a political tool, with some advocating for its use in resource allocation to historically oppressed communities. But can focusing on a community's trauma truly empower them? Many grassroots Black practitioners are now questioning the emphasis on trauma in discussions about serving the Black community.

In this multipart series, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle’s Director of Research, Lawrence Grandpre, introduces van der Kolk’s ideas, contrasting his view of trauma with African-centered concepts of communal and political trauma. Eurocentric, individualistic views of trauma often obscure more complex, holistic understandings of wellness. We also critique a key defense of trauma-informed care, arguing that claims of “objective” neurological effects of trauma reflect cultural and political biases more than scientific fact.

This analysis warns that centering trauma risks pushing oppressed people to politicize their suffering in order to elicit guilt and political concessions, ultimately glorifying trauma rather than fostering community-driven solutions. Trauma-informed politics can place decisions about how Black communities should address trauma into the hands of white liberal institutions, diverting focus from Black self-determination as the long-term solution to the root causes of trauma.

Support the show

In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

Send us a text

Support the show

In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

Send us a text

In part two of our podcast analysis of Heather McGhee’s book “The Sum of Us,” hosted by Lawrence Grandpre, we use a historical lens to examine the effectiveness of multiracial positive-sum politics. We challenge McGhee’s argument that multiracial coalitions can effectively address global warming, showing that the history of political advocacy complicates this view. Her analysis risks justifying the exploitation of Africa in pursuit of the green revolution, thereby expanding American economic and political imperialism. Additionally, centering positive-sum frames can pathologize Black freedom fighters who demand a zero-sum trade-off between white and Black power. We counter the myth of political ineffectiveness of these approaches by highlighting the example of Robert Williams.

Support the show

In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)