From “Dropout to Doctorate: Breaking the Chains of Educational Injustice” By Terrence Lester, PhD
The post-Jim Crow era inflicted severe trauma on millions of Black people, particularly those who endured it firsthand, and their children, creating lasting generational burdens. In her dissertation “Jim Crow’s Legacy: Segregation Stress Syndrome,” Dr. Ruth K Thompson-Miller writes:
The collective long-lasting psychological effects connected with the racial violence that occurred in the total institution are a critical aspect. In the interviews, African Americans shared how on a daily basis they found themselves dealing with anxiety, fear, humiliation, shame, and stress. The narratives were analyzed utilizing the extended case method…[This thesis] explores symptoms of a “segregation stress syndrome” for the chronic, enduring, extremely painful experiences and responses to the total institution of Jim Crow that are indicated by numerous respondents in this research project. Preliminary findings indicate that the symptoms of “segregation stress syndrome” are similar to PTSD symptoms documented in psychiatric literature. However, “segregation stress syndrome” differs from PTSD because the traumatic experience was not a one-time occurrence; it was sustained, over time, in African American communities. In addition, the racial violence that occurred was a form of systemic chronic stress, the type that has been shown to have a detrimental impact on a person’s psychological well-being.
This generational trauma affects millions of Black people because research shows that trauma travels through generations.