How the Breonna Taylor decision traumatizes Black women
The decision by a Kentucky grand jury not to charge any of the officers in the death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor has left many Blackwomen, including myself, traumatized. We are worried about our own safety and well-being. We are outraged we live in a society where we can be robbed of our lives with no consequences. We are afraid becausewe know we are under the perpetual threat of harm, and often it seems there is little thatwe can do to escape it.
As a clinical psychologist who studies trauma among Blackwomen, I know the data is clear. Blackwomen experience the highest number of cumulative traumatic events in their lifetime. Black women are more likely than white women to experience childhood abuse or neglect, sexual violence and exposure to gun violence.
Just by existing, Blackwomen are vulnerable to racial trauma. This is the trauma from everyday microaggressions such as being treated with less respect, being presumed to not belong somewhere you have every right to be or being racially profiled by the police.
Racial trauma can also result from the persistent institutional racism and discrimination that leads to fewer opportunities for economic advancement, higher rates of unemployment and poverty. Further, Blackwomen have higher rates of involvement with the criminal justice system and are twice as likely to be imprisoned as white women. Black people in general are five times as likely as white people to say that they have been unfairly stopped by the police. Since 2015, more than 250 Black women have been killed at the hands of police.
Combined, these traumatic experiences harm the physical and emotional wellness of Blackwomen. While approximately 8% of adults in the United States have a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, rates among Black women are estimated to be as high as 20%.
Taylor herself had experienced a number of life challenges before her untimely death during a botched drug raid at her apartment. Shewas the daughter of a teenage mother and father who had been incarcerated for most of her life. She had been intimately involved off and on with aman who had been convicted of drug charges. Taylor’s attempts to overcome her difficult life experiences, and hopes to further her career, marry and have children were trumped by shots fired by police Officer Brett Hankison.
Taylor’s case can trigger vicarious trauma among Blackwomen— secondhand trauma that comes from witnessing or hearing about a lifethreatening event. This traumatic stress can be brought on by the news, social media, images of Taylor or even casual conversations with friends and family about the traumatic event.
Vicarious trauma can be especially salient for people who have a personal trauma history and those who see themselves in the person who directly experienced the trauma. They have the intrusive thought of “this could happen to me.” Indeed, when I look at images of Taylor, I see someone who could bemy sister, my neighbor, my friend.
The Blackwomen that I work with in therapy, many who have their own personal trauma, have reported being triggered by the news about Taylor.
One client toldme that she worries about something happening to her when she is out riding her bike on the Chicago lakefront and is always looking over her shoulder.
Another client hasn’t slept in weeks, tossing and turning, riddled with worrying thoughts of “how could something like this happen?” and “what if this happens to me?”
And yet another is angry that she has to go through the motions of pretending that she is “fine” to her white co-workers who don’t get it and have no idea of the pain and suffering she is enduring.
As Blackwomen across the country continue to wrestle with the fate of Taylor, and the grand jury’s decision, it is critical we pay attention to how these social and environmental triggers impact our mental and physical health. We must recognize the triggers that are contributing to our distress and take active steps to minimize our engagement with them. Finally, we must identify the spaces and people with whom we feel safe and allow ourselves to embrace the support and comfort of these spaces.