Author: Race Recovery

COVD-19 has brought a lot of talk about mental health. You have free mental health apps, mental health commercials and even offerings for free mental health sessions. But when you think of all that is available, none of it gives much relief from the pain of knowing that a black man was senselessly gunned down, decried his good name having been described initially as having broken into someone’s home and denied justice that one vestige of human dignity the comes with an immediate arrest. Mental health apps are blunt instruments at best with this sort of pain.

While there were always those who made it a practice of caring for the insane, by some historical accounts American psychiatry with its diagnostic categories, did not formally come to be until after WWII.  Post-WWII there was a need to designate supports for those who’d been left destitute from the war. One way the federal government determined who to support was by determining who was employable. Defining need by functional ability justified aiding those who for physical or emotional deficits could not work.

The discipline of psychiatry became a catchall for those who did not have physical limitations or intellectual deficits but still were unable to work. Over the years as the understanding of the biology of the brain grew so did the understanding of true disorders and the mistaken ones. Despite the gains in psychiatry – it has not been a place where dysfunctions in society have been examined and it has little to offer in understanding why certain social behaviors exist and persist, particularly as it relates to matters of race and violence.

Why does the death of one more Black man evoke such profound emotional reactions? What drives someone to complete such an act? What do we do to heal if it is not through mental health?

The reason this murder haunts our souls so deeply is because it was not only an assault on Ahmaud, one solo black man, BUT an assault on what Ahmaud represents in the mind of white men. The brutal attack on Ahmaud emboldens this idea that Black people are no more than fear-filled specimens who only need be scared to death to stay in line. Ahmaud’s death is as much about Ahmaud as it is about those of us Black people, he left living in his wake.

The expectation is that this heinous act will unearth a slumbering fear –halting any more acts of living freely or boldly and further halt any thought of personal or social power. Ahmaud’s death was not just the end of a life of one man but an attempt at certification on the notion that Blacks have been and will continue to be powerless to the fear dehumanization by white men brings. Thus paralyzing any attempts to demand rights, liberty or the pursuit of happiness.

It’s a mind game and one where the victim, like in brainwashing, is left to deprogram on their own and in the spaces where mental health does not reach. Being toyed with in this way hits to the core of one’s personhood and worth. It sends vibrations rippling from one beating heart to the next – because in death or life, it says you are powerless and will always be regarded as such.

But instead of remaining paralyzed and powerless, you can decide to stand separate from the mind game and manipulation. Facing this fear requires being prepared to understand it, find the powerlessness that lives off of it, pluck it out, and declare it will no longer hold you hostage. It means taking a stand to act in power over fear.  And using that power to accomplish things that no gun could!

There’s an uncanny elevation of morality in response to homophobia or sexual inappropriateness in white culture that leads easily to discharge from a position or firing from a job. What stands out in all of this is the lack of fervor of the immorality about the racial terrorism that occupies these very same spaces. In fact there’s a waffling ambivalence to declaring a position of morality in those settings.

The revealing thing in this when you look beyond the hypocrisy/fickleness that rest at the heart of the white campaigns for morality is the glaring undressing of the white psyche. What drives the white psych into action is not moral rights and wrongs but some other motivator. And taking a step back to examine all of the instances/examples where the discrepancy between what whites say and whites do from setting to setting begins to expose patterns that more often surface from psychological processes.

The truth of morality lies deep and is not something that changes from situation to situation. It is constant throughout and applies to all equally. Morality is a human phenomenon – no one has a monopoly there. So what how do we understand this shallow morality?

Shallow morality is nothing more than a window into human behavior. We are all a collection of decisions that surface from beliefs, values and emotions. In the midst of inconsistencies in behavior it is very likely that there is a consistency that has been overlooked – one that lies much closer to deeply held beliefs and values. One that, when held up to scrutiny, looks like psychological shuffling to accommodate or appease an unsatisfied self definition.

Am I strong? Am I powerful? Am I inherently better than others? Or am I no more than benefactor of falsehoods that have been peddled and promoted by colonization and supremacy? Imagine..having this thought. You’d probably ignore racial terrorism or the immorality that is the basis for white culture too.

Now I don’t know the true meaning why some issues get the wrath of khan and others are ignored, but let’s be careful not to mistake these actions Of “morality” for some gravitation toward moral truths but possibly representatives of nothing more than psychological acrobatics ill suited to contend with ugliness one does not want to face. In psychology that is called cognitive dissonance.

Kavanaugh culture is the reason why race recovery is an approach whose time has come.

These invisible women who claim Kavanaugh has harmed them should be heard out and treated with at least a modicum of respect, precisely because they have now become a place holder for the invisible women whose lives he will shape for years to come. That some women are said to count more than others is not a defense to the current charges. It is the definition of the problem.

In race recovery we are not content to look at the disdain which has left blacks disadvantaged but the ugly cover up that cultural competence promotes.

Even I knew, back in the ’80s when I was in high school, that there was a tradition of male flaunting conquest at the expense of girls for the appearance of ego for boys – I was a subject of just such a tale. So the notion that the purity with which men try to paint the boyhood lives, I know is untrue. I also understand that things that measure much deeper to things like self worth drive boys to do so such things. Thus denying that these things ever occurred exposes the very thing that they are meant to dispute – these behaviors represent flawed notions of self worth and power.

Each boy who fell prey to the idea that looking fearless to his peers was more important than standing in the wholeness of those same fears are the same people who insist that blacks should be empathized but not empowered. They miss that the real problem is their scramble for power and position at the expense of women or blacks is their problem, not mine. And I for one am done fueling that flame. I’m OUT.

White men, your time is drawing nigh. It does no good to demonize how you got to this place or that you work so hard to preserve it. The world can no longer relish in the riches that have come from your dysfunction. We would rather live in the purity of poverty than in the shadow of the insecurity that you’ve built.

So for Kavanaugh and all of the other WHITE men out there, be careful what you hail as your right to power because it will fuel a response the likes of which you have not seen

Recently the unimaginable happened – the least likely candidate was elected to Presidency of the US. After my initial shock, disbelief and horror, I’ve been slowly coming to a perspective on this.

I’m an American born black female in my mid life. Born just a year beofre the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr in South Carolina, my upbringing was inseparable from the affect of white privilege and entitlement. There was little recourse for the unwelcomed inevitability of the life for those like me in this land once 90% populated by slaves.

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History class only drew on images of blacks as slaves or the exceptionally rare once in a million inventor. There was no one to speak to the day to day life of families like mine that were God fearing, disciplined, long suffering, fun-loving and strong. No one was speaking of the ravage of alcoho abuse, quiet sexual misconduct that was the secret ill or the disgust for the sense of disdain lavished on blacks merely because of the skin hue. No one would speak of the white teacher who rendered a damning college recomendation letter for me an A student in his advanced literature class. No one told of the miraculous yet less than glamours stories of those who beat the odds by remaining hopeful, pursuant, ambitious and resourceful. No one heralded the elder of our families who did more to defy the tirade of their imbalanced and unfair reality by just living to a ripe old age.

My historically black college was an institution which had a former life as a high school turned into a school of higher learning because few other options existed for blacks. This is the position from which I come to my current perspective.

I, like Michelle Obama, only felt a sense of pride for this country in 2008 with the election of our first black president. The years that followed I struggled with the voice from those of my community who reprimanded this symbolic icon for “not doing enough for our people.” I couldn’t understand how it was a proper move to expose to the only-too-ready-to disavow and exploit (not to mention not far enough removed from the demarcation of incompetent) white world the ugly dissension within our ranks. Yet, there it was. I held on to it, hoping that some day I might grow in wisdom enough to get it – but for years I did not understand.

Then the 2016 elections came. While I was initially intrigued by Bernie Sanders and his garish confrontation of the hypocrisy in politics, I leaned toward Hillary Clinton because in my mind she had a better chance of beating the not-for-black or the poor (mostly black) Republicans. As the campaign season progressed and the sea of candidates narrowed to one Republican candidate and one Democratic, I was never more sure of how I would vote.

The Republican candidate spewed extreme statements that were insensitive to most non-white voters and some divinely ordained white voters. In and odd fashion this Bernie Sanders doppelganger candidate had an allure to white voters (and some minority) but from an all-too-familiar disavowing place. It seemed that blacks and other historically non dominant people were being served up to those who felt cheated out of a rich future built on the backs of the enslaved. Yet there was something – like that rumble from the Blacks in response to the “neglect” of Obama- that needed to be understood more.

Then it came to me, after reading an article from an interview with President Obama. I came to an understanding that offered me the bigger perspective I had known was to come. 1) the success of the Republican candidate was largely attributed to his frank candor. His willingness to say any and everything he felt made people herald him as honorable, even if the things he was saying were deplorable and unacceptable. His support rallied from many communities (white and black) that felt like they could no longer blindly trust smooth talking romanticism like Obama. Those who had come through campaigning for support from those rural, marginalized, less visible electorate had earned their trust and then marched back to the more detached, lofty and visible affluents who could with less effort sustain their platform. From this lens I could see how a presumed straight shooter can compete. I can now see how the Republican candidate looked so appealing in this legacy of bait and switch. Obama seemed to be just as guilty as others and Hillary did not stand a chance given how publicly she was shown to “fake-the-funk” around her husband’s (the then US president) adulterous sex scandal. And as if that wasn’t enough Michelle Obama sold out and began campaigning for this front when she took her stand so visibly for Hillary. The gig is up, for all your good intentions. It is time to take a stand and find a truer even if more fragile place to build your strength and that for your nation. 2) It is no longer sufficient to sit back and wait for someone to invite you to residence in this country. You no longer can allow your reality to be defined by the acceptance or non exclusion of others or the creation of a space for you by those who presume to be positioned by power or politics to do so. You must move beyond the assault and neglect of your former nation and declare your freedom to be fully free and fully occupant of God’s ordained existence for you in this land. This is the gift and the price of standing for truth above all

Hey yall… I’ve been watching the news, and I gotta tell you — it’s not looking like a wonderful time ahead for people of color. For that reason, it only makes sense to start thinking (if you haven’t been already) about sustainable living. No, not like you see in magazines with people wearing overpriced gear in an environment that would look better without them in it. I’m thinking something a bit more immediate — where’s your next meal coming from, if NOT from Shaw’s or Market Basket? Do you have the means to fill your belly, and those of your dependents, when the mechanisms of mass providence fail? And if not, is that affecting your current priorities at all?

Amber Guyger is one moment to examine.

First, blacks holding power is an unfamiliar and uncomfortable experience. So much so, that when licensed to operate in it, one is either guilt ridder (I don’t want to hurt you with my power) or overly disempassioned (if I feel anything then I’ll lose my ability to dole my wrath upon you). Truth is that best place to be with these two opposing extremes – give in to total forgiveness or unleash the totality of fury due – is somewhere in the middle. Yet until we “given” permission and ample opportunity to test and act in this power, black people will fall on one side of the other. The former serves to continue the narrative that we are weak, subordinate and content with being ruled. The latter enforces the narrative that blacks are angry, violent and uncivilized. Either way the most powerful message that emerges is White America will be preserved, particularly if we insist on keeping racial resolution the black responsibility.

Secondly, people reacted to the hug of the perpetrator because they feel that vengeance is due and compassion is not necessary, And right they are. Becoming the confrontation of white people who have held the bulk of power is scary and when one doles out consequences they are inclined to fear the historical retaliation that was sanctioned with such assertions in the past. That’s the knot you felt in your stomach watching the judge hug Amber – you say her caving to the fear of holding power over whites and subsequently feared that we may forfeit the opportunity to capitalize and hold ownership of the power this moment has provided us access to. The truth is that we are a unique specimen of human existence. The collection of traits that not only allowed you to surface from the belly of a slave ship through the torture of captivity and harsh work and living conditions through disadvantaged system policies, you are designed to endure substantial psychological and physical burdens, much like the image of kings and queens – our most revered human character know. No wonder compassion and vengeance are such complicated emotions: King Solomon much have struggled to govern his constituents.

Finally, when we are still operating in the psyche of the enslaved, we offer up apology for offended whites as if we still must appease them to secure our safety/security – as if we still were steeped in the era of plantation, cotton-picking, violence ruling. A time when fear was the rule of the day is what leads one to remain reticent in response.

This is all nothing more than an advertising schtick. Advertising is meant to slowly and subtly influence an association with a brand over time. The branding has worked – white people are superior and must be protected at all cost and the good image of black people has been tied to the preservation of white people to make make this association appealing.

Pardon me if I can’t applaud the efforts to educate blacks on how to respond to police right now or distract my attention to just the lives of the offices who get shot. But I can’t. To suggest that at the heart of the police gun violence issue is the behavior of blacks is completely off point. Don’t tell me to remain calm, keep my hands in clear view, put down my weapon and speak clearly as the remedy to saving my own life at the hands of police!

My behavior is not the issue and so for this moment I will not consider your recommendations.

If a police officer can claim that pulling a gun out and shooting is justified because he feared for his life, then he does so because “his life matters”. In that moment when fear grips you, we all determine what matters most.

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Fear, however, blinds you to what matters most. It only allows you to assess danger to your life – not the value of others. As a result, it does not assure you that you will act level-headed or even fairly or justly. Acting out of fear assures you put yourself above anything else – because in that moment you safe guard what matters to you.

So from now on… since its coming down to a matter of police fear, then let’s not spend any more effort telling blacks what to do but -maybe, just maybe – we should be helping out sworn to protect and serve citizens on what to do.

Therapy for Police: When you sense fear do the following – 1) remain calm; 2) keep your hands in clear view; 3) communicate clearly what you are doing; and 4) put down your weapon.

We’ve been doling therapy advice to blacks when it should have always been for police.

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