3 Ways Racial Trauma Shows Up In The Workplace!
Sharea Farmer, LCSW (She/her/hers)
CEO & Consultant/Leadership Coach (DEI & Trauma Informed) at RSCWC I help leaders of organizations improve their employee wellness with trauma-focused strategies to boost employee morale, satisfaction, and retention.
What are we talking about when we think of racial trauma? The truth is the foundation of racial trauma is rooted in racism. So, the three ways racial trauma can show up in the workplace is through the different types of racism.
The first way racial trauma shows up is through structural racism. Structural racism is the collective effect of racist beliefs, and practices that in turn become demonstrated through policies, procedures, social expectations or norms, regulations, practices, rules, laws, and history, which consequently create and maintain disadvantages that impact the marginalize and oppress. Inherent in this definition is the important fact that racism effects people even if non-racist people now participate in these institutions where the racist structures still exist.
The second way racial trauma shows up is interpersonal racism. Interpersonal is individual racism or experiences of racism that refers to racial assumptions, beliefs, or behaviors both conscious and unconscious. And that is where we get the terms; microaggressions and implicit biases. Interpersonal racism is the up-close experiences that can include racist jokes, stereotypes, harassment, threats, the violence directed at Black and Brown bodies, etc. Simply put interpersonal racism occurs between individuals and on the interpersonal level.
Then, the last one is internalized and really internalized white supremacy is about racism that is within the subconscious or conscious beliefs around one’s own group. This may look like Black or other people of color internalizing the beliefs, thoughts, and feelings of inferiority, they experience contempt or disregard from members outside their group, and they eventually come to adopt the negative messages about themselves and their own identified group. If we have been told we are irresponsible, meaningless, ignore, and add on to that being treated that way their whole lives, then it is not surprising that some internalize racism.
These are the three ways racial trauma shows up in the workplace.
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3 年I am curious about structural racism even when non-racist are present and perhaps in leadership. The way I am making sense for me is if I look at institutions and organizations as if they were an individual. I get it about internalized racism as a female internalizing misogynistic beliefs. So…an organization/institution acts or shall I say collectively as if it has internalized racism. Please forgive my naivety. I am not well versed in the study of racismubiquitous shadow. I love learning and understanding. My goal beyond my own understanding is to be able to explain it to someone else.