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Can Historical Trauma Be Healed Collectively?
Anti-Racism protests are necessary for progress and they also have a psychological benefit
This past weekend there were hundreds of cyclists gathered In Time Square, shouting and chanting while waiting to start their march. All of them were facing north and responding to the cue “No Justice?” with “No peace”, or to the call “Black lives?” with “Ma-tter!” or “Whose streets?” with an out loud “Our Streets!” My family and I have been participating in the marches and it is encouraging to see that they are not slowing down as the summer rolls on.
In the middle of this particular march a young woman –twenty perhaps — came from the other side of the barricade, running south in her skateboard facing all the cyclists and shouting from the bottom of her chest, “Reparations!” During a minute or two there was no response, but then, the crowd began responding “RE-PA-RA-TIONS” and she kept shouting — with her fist up, and her face full of passion — “Reparations! “Re-pa-ra-tions!” Reparations! “Re-pa-ra-tions!” Reparations!” “Re-pa-ra-tions!” Her call sounded more like a demand than an inquiry. The tone was profound.
It was a very intense moment! I felt chills running all over my body, and a big knot in my throat. Seeing the response from the crowd moved me in several…
