Internalized Oppression, Identifying It, Healing It & Preventing Further Trauma

“Women of color have had to develop a larger vision of our society than perhaps any other group. They have had to understand white men, white women, and [men of color]. And they have had to understand themselves. When [women of color] win victories, it is a boost for virtually every segment of society.” – Angela Davis

Such a timely quote for the work I am doing. Both the inner personal deep healing work and the work for the collective. This statement is true on so many levels.

As a womxn of color I have had to learn to go deeper into myself to truly look at my own oppression in order to keep extracting it. Inevitably this has meant I’ve had to look at my oppression in relation to the oppressor and so that has meant learning more than I ever wanted to or cared to about the psychology of racism, hence learning about the psychology of white bodies. The deeper I go into this the more I understand the deep seeded trauma that white bodies carry. The more I understand this the more #ToniMorrison ‘s writing makes sense. She knew that racism and oppressing others came from smallness, insecurity, and disconnection to self.

This quote that my sister just sent me also made me smile and took me back a few years to my old stomping grounds at University of Chicago, yep, a top notch white supremacist institution, where we both sat excitedly and giddy through #AngelaDavis brilliant amazing fucking Lecture LIVE!

What I sit and reflect on now is if those walls could talk... imagine us, two poor brown girls from the hood sitting there devouring every word coming out of Dr. Davis’ mouth as we took up all the space we wanted in that Rockefeller Cathedral built well before the Civil Rights Act was passed.

Points of reference are important to me. If it wasn’t for all the work of #blackwomxn and civil rights leaders like her these little brown girls would have never sat in those pews. ❤️