Why I Took "Black Trauma" Out of My Vocabulary

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! It's February which means it's Black History Month in the US. If  you're looking for Black books to read then you came to the perfect spot. And as I see the posts saying things like, "Reminder to pick up books that don't just feature Black trauma", and it had me reflect on my reading for the past year. I've made it my mission to mainly read Black books for a few years now and 2020 was my best reading year ever. One thing I realized was that I would see the word slavery or racism in the synopsis of a book and avoid the book at all costs. 

Not every book that mentions racism and slavery is trauma porn even if it does acknowledge past trauma. I definitely understand protecting yourself from harm especially when we are constantly inundated with violent stories in the media. But we also need to be mindful of writing off stories based on content when we need narratives that reflect on our history and portray the side not told in the media from the Black perspective. Especially when history makes it seem like Black joy was completely non existent until 1970.

        

There were stories I read last year that took moments in history and infused magic as a way for Black people to fight back against their oppressors. Elizabeth Acevedo has a story called Gilded in the A Phoenix First Must Burn anthology about a Black bruja who has grown up enslaved on a Spanish plantation. In this story she finds love with a boy who is newly captured. And it's a beautiful story about love and strength as she uses her power to free her people. 

Ring Shout by P Djeli Clark is a dark fantasy novella set in 1920 that reimagines the KKK as demonic monsters while paying homage to Gullah culture and taking us on a monster slaying journey. And while Black Fantasy continues to grow in popularity it's still hard to find books that feature Southern Black magic. And it's refreshing to find stories that also set in the US.

I'll be honest when I was a kid I really didn't care about Black History Month. I saw it as a time when my mother dragged me out to boring lectures and presentations, the only time television would actually highlight Black people in history, and a time for people to talk about MLK and Rosa Parks. I went to a small mostly white Catholic school with white teachers and most of the time I was the only Black girl in the class. And then with my family not being African-American there was a little bit of a disconnect since I never heard anyone talk about the people of Caribbean descent who have also shaped Black history in the US. It wasn't until college where I truly got to experience the month in a different way with step shows, heritage festivals, Afro-Latin Music shows, and did some more independent learning that I truly came to appreciate why this month is so important.

I probably would've been more interested if we had books like Just South of Home by Karen Strong. This Middle Grade horror mystery set in a small Southern town follows four children who accidentally unleash haints onto their town after visiting the remains of a church burnt down by the KKK. It sends a message of acknowledging the past and paying respect while still being a thrilling ghost story and showcasing a loving family unit. 

Root Magic by Eden Royce is a historical MG set in the Gullah Geechee community during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.  The story follows twins learning rootwork after their grandmother passes as a way to not only help heal people within their community but also protect their home. Jez must not only deal with being an 11 year old Black girl navigating school where she doesn't fit in compared to her brother, but she must also deal with combatting  negative stereotypes of being a witch. 

Many people don't know anything about this community. I was grown when I found out Gullah Gullah Island was based on a real place. And that was only after watching a movie on TV One set in modern day Saint Helena Island. Reading this story actually caused me to go watch some documentaries about the Gullah Geechee Nation who have held strong to their culture despite the attempts to wipe them out. 

Balance is a beautiful thing of course and I also enjoy stories where Black people can just be Black and amazing where we don't encounter white characters. But also want to be mindful to not be dismissive of stories that show just how multifaceted Black people are. For me it's about humanizing these people beyond their trauma. There can be moments of love and joy found during times of hardship. And there's something quite powerful when we flip the script from the stories that paint Black people as passive in their own history to stories where we fight back.