Overview Module Two

Resmaa Menakem (2017) says, 

“Dirty pain is the pain of avoidance, blame, and denial. When people respond from their most wounded parts, become cruel or violent, or physically or emotionally run away, they experience dirty pain. They also create more of it for themselves and others” (p. 20).

As child care managers and leaders, we must attend to the pain that comes with unveiling the systems that we entrust, as systems built on violence, co-opted narratives, and systemic oppression. Ultimately, these systems harm people, children, parents, colleagues, grandparents, relatives, community members, people. 

Anti-oppressive work demands that we interrogate systems, and we have to keep in mind (and heart) that we do this on behalf of people, human beings who, like us, deserve to have human rights, dignity, and a sense of belonging.

Watch her YouTube video "Can you heal intergenerational trauma?" to reflect on racialized trauma more deeply. 

References

Menakem, R. (2023, August 7). Can you heal intergenerational trauma? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_aGbH1DuxA

Menakem, R. (2017). My grandmother’s hands: Racialized trauma and the pathway to mending our hearts and bodies. Central Recovery Press.