Practicing Justice: Historical and Contemporary Traumas

?? This week's newsletter explores the interconnectedness of historical and contemporary traumas, emphasizing the need to understand and address the ongoing suffering in Gaza through the lens of past atrocities.

At the end of the newsletter, you will find a storytelling tip to support you with writing your own defining stories in your authentic voice.?

?? How does your grief and pain while witnessing this the violence in the world show up for you? Let me know in the comments below. Please like and share with anyone who may be feeling lost during these dark times.

? A story I told

A few weeks ago protestors outside the DNC were asking for something more fundamental: that Palestinian voices – their grief and rage and the details of their daily lives – be included in the capacious Democratic Party tent. There are thousands of Gazan families with stories that people in the United States need to hear. It is our tax dollars providing the bombs that Israel has rained down on Gaza for over ten months, decimating schools, churches, mosques, hospitals and homes in what the International Court of Justice deems a “plausible genocide.” We need to see people on the other side; we need to listen to them.

Last week, I reflected on the DNC and the silence around the atrocities happening in Gaza. You can view the full article and the places this story took me here: “Under the Rubble at the DNC”. ??

? A story that inspired me

This week I read an article by Laura Levitt, whose scholarship has focused on the ongoing effects of trauma and violence and how we live with these legacies.?

In this article, Levitt reflects on the profound and ongoing trauma and devastation caused by recent violence in Gaza and Israel, drawing connections to historical trauma, particularly the Holocaust. Levitt writes:

My work has been about the legacy of the Holocaust and violent criminal acts, the ways that such experiences continue to shape our lives in both intimate and more grand historical ways long after these horrific events. …But right now, the profound devastation that continues in Gaza, in particular, demands our attention. Some of what I have learned about trauma and loss from my work on Holocaust memory and criminal justice, might help us begin to confront the urgency of the present moment. By taking seriously the ties that bind us, these stories of tainted objects allow us to appreciate our connections to those who are suffering now, people like and unlike ourselves. Informed by the careful and painful work of scholars of Holocaust and traumatic memory, poets and writers who have drawn such connections, I enter this conversation. Their words inspire these musings. I offer them with humility.

You can read Levitt’s full article here: “Objects, Trauma, Violence, and Loss: Telling Stories, Doing Justice”

? A storytelling tip

?? Whether you want to use storytelling to improve your writing or to go back to times that were challenging and rethink the stories you tell for healing, the best thing you can do is get a journal and write every day. Here’s an organizer you can use to keep track of your stories as you reflect on your own journey.??

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