From “Dropout to Doctorate: Breaking the Chains of Educational Injustice” By Terrence Lester, PhD
It was the same trauma that caused the elders in my life – my grandmothers, grandfathers, and other guiding adults – to sometimes shamefully echo the sentiment, “Being Black is hard in this country because of everything we have had to overcome and are still striving to overcome.” Their words, steeped in the wisdom of lived experiences, painted a vivid picture of resilience amid trauma, mistreatment, poverty, and adversity. They shed light on the ongoing journey of overcoming that defines so much of the Black experience in America – one where each generation has had to deal with the residue of what hatred and oppression caused.
When I mention racial identity, I am talking about two parts that the National Museum of African American History and Culture mentions: one externally communicated through how you are perceived, the other an internalization of how you perceive yourself. When the externally imposed racial identity loudly communicated a narrative that you are perceived a certain way because of the color of your skin, this can have a severe impact on your internal belief, which contributes to emotional and psychological trauma.