Black Male Trauma Across a Lifespan: From Infancy to Late Adulthood

Overview: After centuries of trauma, Black men struggle to find comfortability in a prejudiced society. This realization heightens concerns for this population. Utilizing the theoretical frameworks of Erikson’s and Trauma theory, this workshop highlights the historical underpinnings of prejudicial treatment among Black males and promotes anti-oppressive pedagogies in social work education.Proposal text: Historically, Black males have significantly lower life expectancy compared to Black women and their White counterparts. Literature on this topic posits that low life expectancy is primarily due to existing health care disparities, such as access to health care service and common comorbidities. However, there is a dearth of information about the impact that structural determinants, such as racism and discrimination, has on Black males. In congruent to the aforementioned phenomenon, it is important to recognize the upward trend of generations of Black males who are dying from suicide and homicide. The CDC found that from 1950 to 2010 “the average combined death rate for Black males aged 15 to 24 who died in the United States due to homicide and suicide was 93.5 per 100,000” (Jones-Eversley et. al, 2020). During this seven year period, Black males 15 to 24 had the highest rate of homicide compared to Black males of all ages (Jones-Eversley et. al, 2020). Furthermore, rates in suicide among young Black males have doubled between 1993 and 2012 (Lindsey et al., 2017). More specifically, the literature highlights that suicide rates among Black boys are the highest and their involvement in suicidal behaviors has climbed to triple digits (Lindsey et al., 2017).

This interactive workshop seeks to bring attention to this public health issue. It will address intergenerational trauma, a concept that has origins in studies from the offsprings of Holocaust survivors (Yehuda & Lehrner, 2018). Presenters will confront structural determinants, address racist constructs, discuss the repercussions of slavery, and highlight historical social trajectories that shaped Black males’ social statuses within contemporary American society. There are five identifiable trauma points that Black male historically experienced: (1) Slavery, (2) Jim Crow, (3) Great Migration, (4) Welfare/Ghetto, and (5) Hyperghetto (Jones, n.d). The way in which these trauma points will be described is by using the frameworks of trauma theory and Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development.

Trauma theory represents a shift in an individual's thinking as traumatic experiences profoundly impact the way we think, learn, remember things, feel about other people, and the way we make sense of the world (Sütterlin, 2020). Erikson’s psychosocial developmental theory, influenced by Freud, is intended to describe how personality is developed in stages over a person’s life span and how competency in each stage can influence action and behaviors (Cherry, 2020). Stages from infancy to adulthood in conjunction with the five identifiable trauma points, will provide a comprehensive chronological understanding of low life expectancy for Black males . Furthermore, this conceptual presentation will allow for social work educators and students to think critically and implement an anti-racist approach to theoretical course work.