TRAUMA and
THE ARTS by Torre White Speaker, Author, Mental Health Advocate
Trauma significantly impacts a person’s emotional and physical health. When I think back on the history of the United States, traumatic events are ingrained in our history. While I, or many of you, may have not directly experienced certain traumatic events, those very traumas possess the ability to harm entire generations of people. Among the Black
population, generational trauma is seen in many families and communities. The origin of trauma dates back decades — and, in some cases, centuries. In the United States, this is the consequence of hundreds of years of slavery, followed by segregation, racism, and the creation of systems that still, in 2021, oppress Black communities and other communities of color. 28
