Abstract
Given the heightened national attention to negative race-related issues and the subsequent community solution-oriented outcry (e.g., Black Lives Matter movement), it is crucial to address healing from racial discrimination for Black Americans. Clinical and community psychologists have responded by developing and implementing programs that focus on racial socialization and psychological wellness, particularly given disproportionate issues with utilization, access, and the provision of quality services within urban and predominantly Black communities. The aim of this article is to describe 2 applied programs (Engaging, Managing, and Bonding through Race and Family Learning Villages), which seek to address and heal racial stress through crucial proximal systems—families and schools—and to highlight participant reactions. These programs offer solutions through strengths-based and participatory approaches which draw from Black Americans’ own protective mechanisms related to improved mental health. We conclude with a discussion on practice, assessments, and models specific to racial stress for researchers, practitioners, and consumers of mental health services.
Highlights
Over 90% of Black Americans report racially discriminatory experiences over their lifetime (National Public Radio et al, 2017)
This paper investigates the ways in which Black Americans respond to intervention approaches to racial discrimination where racial stress and trauma may be most primed in their proximal environments: the family and school
Most parents indicated that EMBRace changed the way they communicated with their child about race and racial stress and trauma (RST)
Summary
Over 90% of Black Americans report racially discriminatory experiences over their lifetime (National Public Radio et al, 2017). A similar proportion of Black American children indicate the same, with the vast majority reporting the encounters in their proximal environments (Pachter et al, 2010). Racial bias in children’s social interactions can occur as early as 3 years of age (Katz, 2003), with discrimination in school environments leading to poorer school outcomes and lower self-esteem over time (Mattison & Aber, 2007). The need for understanding the impact of racial discrimination has increased in recent years given heightened vicarious racism and violence. The increase in media exposure to racebased violence raises questions about the effect and treatment of vicarious witnessing in Black American communities. This paper investigates the ways in which Black Americans respond to intervention approaches to racial discrimination where racial stress and trauma may be most primed in their proximal environments: the family and school
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