A Case of Promoting Healing From Traumatic Colonial Abuses

• In Event: Negotiating Structural Violence in School and Community Settings: Healing Through the Trauma

Abstract

Trauma exposure for Black and Brown youth is drastically higher than it is for white youth. Although there are resources, programs, and practices that may improve success outcomes for trauma-exposed youth, much of this research and discourse has been grounded in structurally racist and white supremacist systems. By using a race-conscious, Indigenous framing of trauma and healing, this multiple case study explores how two Black men in non-traditional educator roles work to address the trauma-related needs of the Black and Brown youth they serve in outside of school time programs within a northeast, urban-emergent city. Preliminary findings illustrate that when, where and how healing practices are enacted, and by whom, are critical for addressing Black and Brown youth trauma.

Author

• Adan Alvarez, Rowan University