Suggested by Sdnickey065 almost 2 years ago

U.S. slavery, racism, and sexism – how to solve a centuries-old injustice? This is personal for me because I am currently in therapy and have worked with different therapists starting in my 40s (I am now 59). I realize that people from my generation (Generation X) got beatings as children. Now, it seems excessive, but back then, it was customary to hear children cry from being hit with a belt or an extension chord. In my own curiosity of looking at my family, I have come to realize how beatings were the same or similar to the way enslaved people were beaten centuries ago. In my discovery, I connected the historical dots to my family. My maternal grandparents met in Charleston, SC, in the 1930s. Charleston was where the majority of the enslaved Africans were bought and auctioned off to various parts of the southern states in the U.S. I also realized that my great-great-great-great-grandparents were probably born enslaved because the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery in 1865.

My mother was born in 1942, was the youngest of five, was the only girl, and her oldest brother was born in 1934. I do not know my grandparents' birth year, but I will assume they were 18 when they met. That means they were born in 1924. Using 18 as a year of birth, my great-grandparents would have been born in 1906, my great-great-grandparents would have been born in 1888, my great-great-great-grandparents would have been born in 1870, and my great-great-great-great grandparents would have been born in 1852.

I remember one story my mother told me about one of my uncles getting tied to a tree naked and being beaten with a switch from a tree. I remember this uncle being an alcoholic all his adult life.

Through my own healing journey, I've come to understand that these beatings were a learned behavior, and it's a behavior that can be unlearned. Therapy has been a powerful tool for me, and I believe it can be for others who have suffered from this kind of physical assault.

This unlearning can be the start of reparations for African Americans. It could only be successful if African Americans who want to be therapists can be trained for free to help their community with not only this trauma but also racism and sexism. Any thoughts?