My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts

by Resmaa Menakem

To everyone in America who works in law enforcement, there are three things you need to hear: First, you need to take better care of yourselves, both individually and collectively. You deserve to take better care of yourselves. You deserve bodies that are healthy and whole, that feel good, and that can operate at their best. America’s current police culture does not support this. Your job is often stressful, difficult, and sometimes dangerous. Yet you’ve likely been given little training and support in helping you handle that pressure. After each workday, you’re expected to go home, get a night’s sleep, and report for work the next day feeling refreshed, relaxed, and alert. This does not happen automatically; it requires strong and consistent self-care. Many law enforcement professionals live day after day with the chemicals of chronic stress in their bloodstreams. This is bad for your body, sometimes traumatic, and occasionally tragic. It is also why you need to learn to manage and care for your body. No one else can do this for you. Caring for your body may save your life. It may also keep you from unnecessarily taking the life of a stranger.