For the #HowWeHeal BOOK CLUB on RACIALIZED TRAUMA
A CALL TO ACTION,
JANUARY’S RACIAL EQUITY CELEBRATIONS,
PACE of TWO BOOK CLUB SESSIONS,
PACE of CHAPTER READINGS, and
DISCUSSION POINTS TO SHARE
A CALL TO ACTION FOR AMERICANS TO RECOGNIZE THAT HOW WE END RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IS NOT ONLY ABOUT THE HEAD, BUT ALSO ABOUT THE BODY
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies” is unique in that it is a self-help book that not only brings awareness of the history of intergenerational trauma that has been created over 401 years in our county, but calls for action to heal racialized trauma, using a step-by-step process, through Body Practices based on the latest neuroscience and practices of body-centered psychology. Trauma is in the body and cannot be solely transformed through talk about racism and anti-racism. To pull out of the grips of racialized body trauma, both individually and collectively, we who care about ending racial discrimination now have at our fingertips concrete steps to take to engage in the process of repair.
JANUARY’S FOCUS on the MLK DAY MARCH AND FESTIVAL and the CELEBRATION of A DAY OF RACIAL HEALING in Arizona and Phoenix
Each January is filled with preparation for the MLK DAY MARCH AND FESTIVAL and the CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF RACIAL HEALING (the Tuesday immediately following MLK DAY). The Day of Racial Healing marks the re-launching of the #HowWe Heal BOOK CLUB on RACIALIZED TRAUMA, our communal RACIAL HEALING CAMPAIGN PROJECT.
PACE OF TWO SESSIONS There will be two consecutive Book Clubs Sessions (4 Meetings per Month) – February through June and July through December with 20 hour-long discussions per session on Tuesday evenings. Holidays observed will be St. Patrick’s Day, the Tuesday following Labor Day, Election Day, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and ending on the second Tuesday in December.
PACE OF CHAPTER READINGS At the close of each meeting, group members will determine the number of pages to comfortably cover in preparation for the next Book Club discussion.
THREE CONSIDERATIONS IN DETERMINING THE PACING OF READINGS
Number of Pages, Body Practices and Re-Memberings of “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies” by Resmaa Menakem MSW, LICSW, SEP, ISBN 978-1-942094-47-0
The Front Matter of the Book – 20 Pages
“Special Praise for My Grandmother’s Hands,” Pages i-iv
4 Pages
Title Page, Page v
1 Page
Copyright Page, Page vi
1 Page
Table of Contents, vii-viii,
2 Pages
“Caution: Do Not Cross This Line Without Authorization,” Pages ix-xi
3 Pages
“Watch Your Body,” xiii-xiv
2 Pages
“Acknowledging Our Ancestors,” Pages xv-xvi
2 Pages
“Our Bodies, Our Country,” Pages xvii-xx
3 Pages
The Body of the Book – 298 Pages
PART I: Unarmed and Dismembered
Chapter 1: YOUR BODY AND BLOOD, Pages 3-26
23 Pages, 1 Body-Centered Practice, 18 Re-Memberings
Chapter 2: BLACK, WHITE, BLACK, BLUE and YOU, Pages 27-36
9 Pages, 4 Body Practices, 7 Re-Memberings
Chapter 3: BODY TO BODY, GENERATION TO GENERATION, Pages 37- 56
19 Pages, 1 Body and Breath Practice, 10 Re-Memberings
Chapter 4: EUROPEAN TRAUMA AND THE INVENTION OF WHITENESS, Pages 57-66
9 Pages, 1 Body Practice, 9 Re-Memberings
Chapter 5: ASSAULTING THE BLACK HEART, Pages 67-86
19 Pages, 2 Body Practices (one with 4 Parts), 12 Re-Memberings
Chapter 6: VIOLATING THE BLACK BODY, Pages 87-96
9 Pages, 1 Body Practice (with 4 Parts), 3 Re-Memberings
Chapter 7: THE FALSE FRAGILITY OF THE WHITE BODY, Pages 97-110
13 Pages, 3 Body Practices (General & for White and Black Readers), 8 Re-Memberings
Chapter 8: WHITE-BODY SUPREMACY AND THE POLICE BODY, Pages 111-128
17 Pages, 2 Body and Breath Practices (General and for Law Enforcement), 12 Re-Memberings
Chapter 9: CHANGING THE WORLD BEGINS WITH YOU, Pages 129-136
7 Pages, No Body Practice, 5 Re-Memberings
PART II: Remembering Ourselves
Chapter 10: YOUR SOUL NERVE, Pages 137-150
13 Pages, 11 Body and Breath Practices, 11 Re-Memberings
Chapter 11: SETTLING AND SAFEGUARDARING YOUR BODY, Pages 151-164
13 Pages, 6 Body and Breathing Practices, 11 Re-Memberings
Chapter 12: THE WISDOM OF CLEAN PAIN, Pages 165-176
11 Pages, 2 Body Practices, 4 Re-Memberings (One with 4 Parts)
Chapter 13: REACHING OUT TO OTHER BODIES, Pages 177- 180
4 Pages, No Body Practices, 10 Re-Memberings
Chapter 14: HARMONIZING WITH OTHER BODIES, Pages 181-186
5 Pages, 18 IN ALL – 11 Body Practices to Do With Friends, Family Members, and Others You Know Trust, and 7 Body Practices to Do in Groups Whose members Know and Trust Each Other (Church Groups, Block Clubs (correct spelling from book), Etc.). to
Chapter 15: MENDING THE BLACK HEART AND BODY, Pages 187-198
11 Pages, 11 Body Practices to Do Together and 1 Body Practice (With 3 Parts), 3 Re-Memberings
Chapter 16: MENDING THE WHITE HEART AND BODY, Pages 199-214
15 Pages, 1 Body Practice, 10 Re-Memberings
Chapter 17: MENDING THE POLICE HEART AND BODY, Pages 215-236
21 Pages, 5 Anchors to Practice in stressful or potentially dangerous situations unless the situation calls for immediate, split-second action, 6 Body and Breath Practices from Chapter 11 and 2 Body Practices from Chapter 12, 19 Everyday Practices to feel good and stay (or get) healthy, and 12 Suggestions for Creating and Following your own Self-care Routine (from Chapter 11, Pages 159-163), 11 Re-Memberings
PART III: Mending Our Collective Body
Chapter 18: BODY-CENTERED ACTIVISM, Pages 237-244
7 Pages, Grounding and Settling Activities in Chapters 10, 11, and 12 and Tasks “If You’re an Event Organizer, Planner, Leader, Or Speaker” and “If You’re a Frequent or Serious Activist,” 8 Re-Memberings
Chapter 19: CREATING CULTURE, Pages 245-252
7 Pages, No Body Practices, 9 Re-Memberings
Chapter 20: CULTURAL HEALING FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS, Pages 253-260
7 Pages, No Body Practices, 2 Re-memberings with 8 Suggestions for promoting social and cultural healing among African Americans
Chapter 21: WHITENESS WITHOUT SUPREMACY, Pages 261-274
13 Pages, No Body Practice, 7 Re-Memberings (One with 13 Points of what the creation of a new culture will ideally include in a transformation led by white people)
Chapter 22: RESHAPING POLICE CULTURE, Pages 275-286
` 11 Pages, No Body Practices, Steps to Create a Community Policing Model, designed to have decentralized power, so the patrol officer can take care of things in his or her responsibility area, changing metrics of arrest to those of crime reduction, justice and problem-solving – “If you’re a patrol officer or some other on-the-ground public safety professional” or “If you’re a precinct captain, police chief, mayor, or other leader “
Chapter 23: HEALING IS IN OUR HANDS, Pages 287-292
5 Pages, 1 Body Practice, 7 Re-Memberings
Chapter 24: THE RECKONING, Pages 293-298
5 Pages, No Body Practice, 7 Re-Memberings
The Back Matter of the Book – 10 Pages
AFTERWORD, Pages 299-304
5 Pages
FIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HEALING AND MAKING ROOM FOR GROWTH, Pages 305-306
2 Pages, 5 Opportunities – Own your own; with another trusted, caring person; healing in community; with the help of a body-focused healing professional; or with the help of a trauma therapist
ACKNOWLEDGING MY CONTEMPORARIES, Pages 307-309
3 Pages
DISCUSSION POINTS TO SHARE AT MEETINGS As you’re reading group-selected chapter/s, please note powerful quotes, research findings, body practices, unique insights, or historical facts and choose an outstanding one to share with the group that particularly broadened your perspective on racial equity and/or racial healing.
