Resmaa Menakem is a therapist with decades of experience who is currently in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He specializes in trauma, body-centered psychotherapy, and violence prevention. He has also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Dr. Phil as an expert in conflict and violence.
In this episode, Eric and Resmaa discuss his book, My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies.
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In This Interview, Resmaa Menakem and I Discuss Racialized Trauma and …
- His book, My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies
- His definition of Trauma: Something that happened too much, too soon, too fast, or too long without something that was reparative
- A sense of stuckness as an indicator of Trauma
- Racialized Trauma
- Looking at White and Black Body Trauma
- White body supremacy
- Being nice vs. being anti-racist
- Tuning into our bodies to heal racial Trauma
- Collective healing
- The power of not jumping to intellectualizing the wounds that need healing
Resmaa Menakem Links:
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If you enjoyed this conversation with Resmaa Menakem on Racialized Trauma, you might also enjoy these other episodes:
Gary says
410: Resmaa Menakem on Racialized Trauma
I am very disappointed in your handling of this interview. When an individual is telling a group of people that they are guilty based on their skin color, that is racism. Critical race theory is permeating our society and becoming the vehicle for institutional racism. These type of theories are not new. Unfortunately, blaming someone for the perceived sins of their ancestors or race has been tried before. The 20th century is full of examples of how this turns out. If you believe that someone you know nothing about, other than his race, is guilty, and you can tell him how he must cleanse himself, you are part of the problem, not the solution. I will continue to do my best to judge people as individuals, not blame them for something I think someone of their skin color may have done to someone of my skin color now or a hundred years ago.
Laura Grace, PhD says
Thank-you, Eric, for the excellent interview with Resmaa Menakem! I listened to this podcast while wearing my brand new Black Lives Matter tank top while walking in the small, conservative Midwestern town I now live in. His suggestion that “white bodies” need to do the deep dive, together, answered the question I have been puzzled by for so long: what can white people truly do to make a meaningful difference?
When you said “and while I recognize I have white advantage to even say, but…”
and Resmaa held the space for you to lean into what was trying to surface, I felt my chest tighten with grief, something I have been pushing down most of my life. When you said “I feel sad” you affirmed the pain and regret I, and so many of are carrying. Your vulnerability was incredibly powerful and helpful.
As a Jungian and somatic counselor, Resmaa’s wisdom about “how to be” with our vulnerability, pain and rage–healing our own trauma in order to heal racism–is priceless and one I am committed to practicing and sharing with my clients. Bravo on a life changing podcast interview!
Namaste.