Censored: Post Traumatic Slavery Syndrome

[Anonymous]

I came across the most intense, raw and uncensored talk about black people's history and present in the US. I cannot describe how intense this is, you just have to listen to her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY

Did you listen that? Heavy, right?

this woman's work is censored. There isn't a single book by her in all of the millions of titles in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria public libraries.

This is inexcusable, I think. How could the librarians miss her? Dr. Joy DeGruy, "is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher, educator, author and presenter. " (http://joydegruy.com/) Look at her list of clients, she's worked with everyone from Harvard to Nike, her client/conference list is what, 100+ lines long?. http://joydegruy.com/client-list-and-press/

How come not a single copy of her work is available to the public?

Here's the link again.
Dr. Joy DeGruy - Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY


For the record: I moved to the US Ukraine. In college, I studied and got an A in African American History. Uuugh, I see now just how sugar-coated our textbook was. And the present is no better.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Thank you so much for posting this. This lady is phenomenal. I've watched the first 30 minutes and I am learning so much.

The information about the Statue of Liberty!!!! I bet 99% percent of people visiting the monument don't know it's real history and why it was commissioned.

This lady is impressive.

[Anonymous]

I'm posting again, this lady is PHENOMENAL!!!! Just finished watching the first hour. She should be required reading.

[Anonymous]

I taught some of her work in class two weeks ago. The students were already familiar with historical trauma through their readings on PTSS.

[Anonymous]

I watched it, it's really good!

[Anonymous]

I haven't watched the video yet, but had the pleasure of hearing her lecture at Penn State earlier this year. Her words still resonate with me. I thought I knew "Black History". I have a masters on the history of an an enslaved community. I've taught AA History for years as a stand alone course and over a decade as part of US History. I walked away from her lecture feeling like a neophyte.

Recently, someone here on DCUM posted about metabolic issues and eating behaviors of the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. If we can recognize the legacy received by future generations of 10 years of horror, why can't we do the same for 400 years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I taught some of her work in class two weeks ago. The students were already familiar with historical trauma through their readings on PTSS.

Where do you teach? Who are your students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I came across the most intense, raw and uncensored talk about black people's history and present in the US. I cannot describe how intense this is, you just have to listen to her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY

Did you listen that? Heavy, right?

this woman's work is censored. There isn't a single book by her in all of the millions of titles in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria public libraries.

This is inexcusable, I think. How could the librarians miss her? Dr. Joy DeGruy, "is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher, educator, author and presenter. " (http://joydegruy.com/) Look at her list of clients, she's worked with everyone from Harvard to Nike, her client/conference list is what, 100+ lines long?. http://joydegruy.com/client-list-and-press/

How come not a single copy of her work is available to the public?

Here's the link again.
Dr. Joy DeGruy - Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY


For the record: I moved to the US Ukraine. In college, I studied and got an A in African American History. Uuugh, I see now just how sugar-coated our textbook was. And the present is no better.

Many library systems use the suggestion of their patrons as a mean for building their collections. I am not negating the important of her work, but suggest you make recommendations for purchase of her book(s) to these systems. She has written other books:

Gather at the table : the healing journey of a daughter of slavery and a son of the slave trade

that are available to borrow from at least one of the library systems you mention. Please don't blame the library.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I came across the most intense, raw and uncensored talk about black people's history and present in the US. I cannot describe how intense this is, you just have to listen to her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY

Did you listen that? Heavy, right?

this woman's work is censored. There isn't a single book by her in all of the millions of titles in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria public libraries.

This is inexcusable, I think. How could the librarians miss her? Dr. Joy DeGruy, "is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher, educator, author and presenter. " (http://joydegruy.com/) Look at her list of clients, she's worked with everyone from Harvard to Nike, her client/conference list is what, 100+ lines long?. http://joydegruy.com/client-list-and-press/

How come not a single copy of her work is available to the public?

Here's the link again.
Dr. Joy DeGruy - Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY


For the record: I moved to the US Ukraine. In college, I studied and got an A in African American History. Uuugh, I see now just how sugar-coated our textbook was. And the present is no better.

Ugh. Thank God our libraries have professionals curators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I came across the most intense, raw and uncensored talk about black people's history and present in the US. I cannot describe how intense this is, you just have to listen to her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY

Did you listen that? Heavy, right?

this woman's work is censored. There isn't a single book by her in all of the millions of titles in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria public libraries.

This is inexcusable, I think. How could the librarians miss her? Dr. Joy DeGruy, "is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher, educator, author and presenter. " (http://joydegruy.com/) Look at her list of clients, she's worked with everyone from Harvard to Nike, her client/conference list is what, 100+ lines long?. http://joydegruy.com/client-list-and-press/

How come not a single copy of her work is available to the public?

Here's the link again.
Dr. Joy DeGruy - Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY


For the record: I moved to the US Ukraine. In college, I studied and got an A in African American History. Uuugh, I see now just how sugar-coated our textbook was. And the present is no better.

Censored or banned has a very specific meaning--that a town has made the deliberate decision to not permit a certain book to be made available through the public library. Do you mean that Fairfax, Alexandria, and Arlington have taken the step of forbidding citizens access to this book? Or is it just that they don't have it in their catalogs? There are over 300,000 new titles published each year. MOST books are not in libraries--it does not mean they have been censored or banned.

FYI, saying "this work has been censored" is fighting words to a librarian. Most libraries around here cheerfully display shelves of books that people have tried to ban.

[Anonymous]

Way to plant a post for free advertising, OP.

PTSD is triggered when you are actually in a life threatening situation--like war, rape, or an actual slave. Unfortunately, there are still slaves in the world.

You don't get PTSD from history. Call things by what they are--"minor cardiac event" is a heart attack, "Operation Iraqi Freedom" was invading a country based on trumped up evidence. It's not to say that someone isn't the victim of historical oppression, current institutional racism, or actual prejudice, but equating it PTSD is insulting actual survivors of trauma.

So yes, I get that she's trying to be provocative calling it "Post Traumatic Slavery Syndrome," but she's further creating a culture of victimhood: https://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/09/28/microaggressions-cultural-shift

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I taught some of her work in class two weeks ago. The students were already familiar with historical trauma through their readings on PTSS.

Where do you teach? Who are your students?

In social work. It's highly-relevant to understanding clients from a number of populations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Way to plant a post for free advertising, OP.

PTSD is triggered when you are actually in a life threatening situation--like war, rape, or an actual slave. Unfortunately, there are still slaves in the world.

You don't get PTSD from history. Call things by what they are--"minor cardiac event" is a heart attack, "Operation Iraqi Freedom" was invading a country based on trumped up evidence. It's not to say that someone isn't the victim of historical oppression, current institutional racism, or actual prejudice, but equating it PTSD is insulting actual survivors of trauma.

So yes, I get that she's trying to be provocative calling it "Post Traumatic Slavery Syndrome," but she's further creating a culture of victimhood: https://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/09/28/microaggressions-cultural-shift

Nope. It's a real thing and has been extensively studied. There's loads of fascinating work surrounding historical trauma and Native American health. Look it up, it's worth the read.

Also, you're wrong about PTSD as well. Review definitions there to better equip yourself for understanding what contributes to PTSD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't watched the video yet, but had the pleasure of hearing her lecture at Penn State earlier this year. Her words still resonate with me. I thought I knew "Black History". I have a masters on the history of an an enslaved community. I've taught AA History for years as a stand alone course and over a decade as part of US History. I walked away from her lecture feeling like a neophyte.

Recently, someone here on DCUM posted about metabolic issues and eating behaviors of the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. If we can recognize the legacy received by future generations of 10 years of horror, why can't we do the same for 400 years?

DeGruy talks about this in a lecture posted on YouTube. An historical trauma framework has been applied to a number of populations, including survivors of the Armenian Genocide, Native Americans, and, of course, the Holocaust. It's also referred to as Inter-generational Trauma. But, there is a general hesitance, noted by DeGruy in this lecture, to apply it to African Americans. You can see why, as evidenced by many of the responses of this thread. People are more comfortable sharing this perspective in historical contexts in which they play no part. It gets uncomfortable when the effects are shown all around you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came across the most intense, raw and uncensored talk about black people's history and present in the US. I cannot describe how intense this is, you just have to listen to her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY

Did you listen that? Heavy, right?

this woman's work is censored. There isn't a single book by her in all of the millions of titles in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria public libraries.

This is inexcusable, I think. How could the librarians miss her? Dr. Joy DeGruy, "is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher, educator, author and presenter. " (http://joydegruy.com/) Look at her list of clients, she's worked with everyone from Harvard to Nike, her client/conference list is what, 100+ lines long?. http://joydegruy.com/client-list-and-press/

How come not a single copy of her work is available to the public?

Here's the link again.
Dr. Joy DeGruy - Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY


For the record: I moved to the US Ukraine. In college, I studied and got an A in African American History. Uuugh, I see now just how sugar-coated our textbook was. And the present is no better.

Censored or banned has a very specific meaning--that a town has made the deliberate decision to not permit a certain book to be made available through the public library. Do you mean that Fairfax, Alexandria, and Arlington have taken the step of forbidding citizens access to this book? Or is it just that they don't have it in their catalogs? There are over 300,000 new titles published each year. MOST books are not in libraries--it does not mean they have been censored or banned.

FYI, saying "this work has been censored" is fighting words to a librarian. Most libraries around here cheerfully display shelves of books that people have tried to ban.

+1! Censorship of any kind is wrong. There should be some kind of appeals process. OTOH, overlooked is equally bad.

Is there any way that patrons can request for the book to be added to library shelves? Perhaps a petition is in order.

(In all fairness, that doesn't mean I myself will get around to reading it, but if you want people to sign a petition to add the book to local libraries, I'd be happy to sign it.)