+ This is a post I intend to offer in several places on the web with the hope of encouraging people to participate in a group doing a study of MY GRANDMOTHER’S HANDS by Resmaa Menakem.
+ MY GRANDMOTHER’S HANDS by Resmaa Menakem is a very important book. So, the Interfaith Coalition of Greater Utica is making a study of this book an emphasis for 2022. There will be Zoom meetings on the third Monday of each month. There will be discussion on a Facebook group which has already begun but, don't worry, you haven't missed much yet.
It is our hope that this study will go a long way in helping us to overcome the deep wounds which have been inflicted on our bodies and our society due to centuries of White Skin Supremacy. The etymology of the word STUDY reveals that it comes from the Latin word studium meaning dedication, zeal and painstaking effort. So, let's study this book with this understanding and this commitment to making a painstaking effort toward healing these deep wounds which have inflicted our bodies and our society for far too long.
There are practices offered in the book which are powerful, joyful and sometimes painful. Many readers have said that there is emotional and even physical trauma associated with some of these practices which require time and effort and mental breaks for the transformation to take place. But not avoiding the trauma is the main point of this book. The book offers many practices aimed at white people, black people and police people with an awareness that the trauma is different for these three groups.
Here are some quotes from the book which can begin to focus our discussion:
·
Years as a healer and trauma therapist have
taught me that trauma isn’t destiny. The body, not the thinking brain, is where
we experience most of our pain, pleasure, and joy, and where we process most of
what happens to us. It is also where we do most of our healing, including our
emotional and psychological healing. And it is where we experience resilience
and a sense of flow.
·
The answer to why so many of us have
difficulties is because our ancestors spent centuries here under unrelentingly
brutal conditions. Generation after generation, our bodies stored trauma and
intense survival energy, and passed these on to our children and grandchildren.
Most of us also passed down resilience and love, of course. But, as we saw with
my grandmother—and as we see with so many other human beings—resilience and
love aren’t sufficient to completely heal all trauma. Often, at least some of
the trauma continues.
·
A key factor in the perpetuation of
white-body supremacy is many people’s refusal to experience clean pain around
the myth of race. Instead, usually out of fear, they choose the dirty pain of
silence and avoidance and, invariably, prolong the pain.
Perhaps this excellent review in Goodreads can also help
> Lawrence's
Review of My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our
Bodies and Hearts. You can read more about this reviewer at his website >
lawrencebarrinerii.com
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