The Anatomy of African American Survival
The Anatomy of African American Survival
The Anatomy of African American Survival ~ What seems to be an almost inherent need to oversimplify things in contemporary culture, leads to the application of superficial antidotes to highly complex and enigmatic issues. Never is this dynamic more prevalent than in the manner in which the African American experience is reduced to the impression rebellious kids who need their butts spanked and lazy adults who need to take control of their own lives. As a research psychologist, I am conditioned to search for causality and origin in everything. I have developed an extreme misprision for the circumvention of the order and process of discovery. We tend to want to apply unfounded explanations to our current situation in lieu of using thorough examination and research, and the anatomization of our findings in order to gain a perspicuous resipiscence of the cause and origin of the multitudinous issues that we are faced with on a daily basis.
For instance, because the counterproductive behavior of blacks is not superficially explicable, it is often dismissed as poor decision making, laziness, inherent intellectual deficiency and more. Because of the oligophrenic understanding of how trauma can be transmitted through intergenerational mediums, it is easy to dismiss any connection between slavery and the current behavior of African Americans. Despite the increasing and overwhelming empirical and pragmatic data that provides a clear and precise blueprint that explains intergenerationally transmitted trauma, most people are simply unwilling to accept the fact that African Americans are still being impacted by the traumatic experiences associated with slavery.
While it would require a more thorough presentation to explain the comprehensive nature of intergenerational trauma, I would like, just for a moment to present something that will present just one component of trauma that explains, at least in part, our current state.
Most people who do not understand trauma as a dynamic and perpetual experience tend to view it as a self-corrected experience. In other words, they believe that you experience trauma, and you immediately begin the process of healing; however, that cannot be further from the truth. First of all, we will begin with the fact that not everyone will be traumatized by a traumatic event (Kolk B. V., 2014). This type of resilience is especially prevalent among young children who have a strong support system in which the parents tend to respond to stressful and traumatic events with reason and calm.
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The premise that I wish to present here in succinct fashion is that trauma is a multi-dynamic experience 
that is perpetual in nature, meaning that if the trauma is not treated, it will self-perpetuate. Trauma impacts the entire human organism — mind, body and brain (Kolk B. V., 2014). Basically, trauma is first experienced physiologically, as the body prepares itself to deal with a perceived threat. This is done through the release of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) by the hypothalamus, which in turn sends a message to the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), subsequently triggering the adrenal gland’s release of cortisol and adrenaline (Salam Ranabir, 2011). At small chronological increments and in small unsustained doses, this physiological response is absolutely harmless; however, when these hormones are released in exorbitant amounts, and sustained for extended periods, it can have a psychosomatic impact — a situation in which psychological stress can cause physiological damage.
When a person is traumatized, they literally become stuck in that moment, and based on any of a number of psychological triggers, they will experience the physiological response that they experienced during the initial traumatic event over and over again. They literally become prisoners of their past. Their growth as a person is literally halted because of their inability to integrate new experiences into their lives. Being traumatized is defined by continually organizing one’s life as if the traumatic experience is still happening. Their state of being has become immutable, causing every new event and encounter to become contaminated by the past. This is why traumatized people self-sabotage what appears to be ideal situations.
After a person becomes traumatized they will experience every aspect of their lives through the lens of that traumatic experience. A great deal of their energy will be focused on suppressing the inner chaos they are experiencing, generally at the expense of experiencing spontaneous engagement.
To exacerbate the matter, the persistent attempts to maintain control over the overwhelming physiological reactions associated with their trauma will ultimately result in the manifestation of multitudinous physical symptoms, including chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, autoimmune diseases and more.
So, untreated trauma not only impacts psychological health, but it can lead to a host of other physical problems as well.
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When we take inventory of the traumatic history of African Americans, and we honestly acknowledge that at no time has the Black collective been effectively treated for the trauma they have experienced, it is easy to see why we are prone to certain types of behaviors. We are too easily convinced to adopt the unfounded suggestions that Blacks should be over the slavery experience without any indication that we, as a collective, have effectively addressed the experience from a psychological, emotional and spiritual perspective.
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I have devoted my life to understanding this dynamic, because I have become convinced that we cannot move forward until we effectively deal with the damage caused by our past. I have developed a number of scientific theories that effectively explain the behavior of blacks, while simultaneously developing treatment models that are designed to address the unique challenges presented by our reality. One thing is certain; we cannot continue down our current path and expect any type of efficacious results. We have the spiritual power and the physical resilience to recover, but we must be willing to admit that there is a problem, and we must be equally committed to resolving the issue. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.