Systemic Racism & Oppression

When trauma is due to racism, it is often called racial trauma. Racial trauma can result from experiences of overt workplace discrimination or hate crimes, or it can be the result of everyday discrimination and microaggressions. Race-based discrimination can have negative psychological impacts on individuals and their wider communities. For some individuals, prolonged incidents of racism can lead to symptoms similar to those of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as depression, anger, recurring thoughts of the event, physical reactions (e.g. headaches, chest pains, insomnia), hypervigilance, low-self-esteem, and mental distancing from the traumatic events. Racism is an atrocious cultural experience, and there is no doubt that experiencing racism is traumatic. Racism causes, and worsens, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adverse Community Environments. (Mental Health America)

Racism is traumatic. Racism causes, and makes worse, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adverse Community Environments.

Systemic racism is the discriminatory practices and policies created to ensure that white people have an advantage over people of color. Systemic racism is common, as are the discrimination and biases that lead to chronic stress and significant hardships for people of color. Even when it is invisible, racism is always present, like the water we drink or the air we breathe. That is why, in the 4 Realms of ACEs graphic (right, click to enlarge), racism is represented by the groundwater.

Epigenetics is the process through which experiences of oppression are passed from one generation to the next through DNA. For more than 400 years, our nation actively oppressed people of color. Today, this oppression makes itself known in the bodies and experiences of people of color, and it can keep people from realizing their full potential.  In North Carolina, we see this in communities that historically had the largest numbers of enslaved people, where people continue to struggle with resilience. Eastern North Carolina, for instance, “faces significant barriers to achieving health, well-being, and resilience for all.” (NC Justice Center 2020)  

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