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

by Resmaa Menakem

—BODY PRACTICE— Find a comfortable, quiet spot where you can be alone for about ten minutes. Think back to a recent time when you overheard a Black man or woman denigrating another Black person for their Blackness, or for their ostensibly Black behavior. Think of a monologue, discussion, or argument, not just the offhand use of a derogatory term. Recall where you were when this event took place. Then imagine yourself back in that place and replay the incident from beginning to end, paying close attention to your body. At each moment, what does your body experience? When, where, and how does it experience pain or discomfort? Where, when, and how does it feel good? Constrict? Relax? Want to move or activate? At any point, do you have the urge to speak up, interrupt, or step in? How does your body experience this urge? How do you respond to it? Do you do something, or do you override the urge? What does your body experience when the incident is over? Trauma