The Unspoken Truth: Divided Quietness – Responding to Transgenerational Trauma

“It is so important for you and me to spend time today learning something about the past so that we can better understand the present, analyze it, and do something about it.

Malcolm X, Civil Rights Activists

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

George Santayana

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

William Faulkner, Fiction Writer

“History is kept by the state, outsiders, or the community. When a community fails to keep its history, it becomes an accomplice along with the state and outsiders to imposing the psychological trauma within the community.”

Dr. Micheal Kane, Clinical Traumatologist

My Dear Readers,

In the previous blog, “The Houston Riot of 1917 – “An Opportunity to Correct the Record”, I wrote about the military court martials of 157 & executions of 19 Black Soldiers during WWI. Descendants of these young men have fought for 106 years to have these convictions overturned and have the truths exposed.

The descendants were successful in overturning the convictions that lead to dishonorable discharges and swift executions without avenues of appeals of either.

However, in the quest to correct the record, the truths regarding the explicit acts of racism within the trial was not exposed. The one-time trial of 157 soldiers was conducted on a massive scale, in secrecy with the immediate carrying out of the death sentences.  Furthermore, to add to the injury, the military and the federal government had never issued a formal statement to the descendants, the African American community, or the nation, apologizing for its actions.

The timing of the announcement of the “correcting the record” was deliberate and planned to receive minimal response. To not serve as a distraction. Instead of an early release, the press release came several days following Veteran’s Day.

There was no fanfare, no statement from President Biden in his role as commander in chief of the military.  Although the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are African American men, no formal statement was made by either individual.

The Community: An Accomplice in Imposing Trauma

In my previous blog, to paraphrase, I stated that when a community fails to keep its history it becomes an accomplice to the psychological trauma being imposed upon and experienced within it.

Divided Quietness

I have received ample feedback ranging from condemnation and outrage to defensiveness regarding the current level of silence and the desire to place this incident in the “past”.

The African American community is not monolithic. Specifically, it does not speak in one voice.  In relation to the revelation of the incident, military court martials, executions and now correcting the record, the reactions have varied, and the response have been a “divided quietness”.

Reactions have included:

• “I didn’t know.”
• “It happened a long time ago.” (106 years)
• “It has nothing to do with me.”
• “Leave it in the past.”
• “I don’t want to burden my children.”
• “It makes me angry … I don’t want to talk about it.”
• I am not going to tell my children; they don’t need to know.
• “I have to pray about this.”

Responding to Transgenerational Trauma: Understanding the What & How

As a clinical traumatologist focusing on working with traumatized populations, the objective is to assist those impacted in responding to traumatic injury and the goal is creating a safe space to process the incident(s) which is the foundation of the traumatic injury.

What is Transgenerational Trauma?

In layman’s terms, transgenerational trauma refers to traumatic experiences that are transmitted through the subconscious to subsequent generations and the greater society.  People in the next or following generations find themselves showing symptoms of trauma without having experienced the trauma themselves. 

What are the symptoms of Transgenerational Trauma?

• Lack of trust.
• Anger, frustration, or irritability.
• Insecurity and poor self-esteem.
• Anxiety disorders and depression.
• Difficulty trusting others.
• Unreasonable fear of injury or death.
• Substance abuse.
• Feeling disconnected or separated
• Numbing 

What Can I Do?  Coping with Traumatic Stress

First, accept your reactions.  Then, be responsive by doing the following:

• Lean on your loved ones.  Identify friends and family for support.
• Prioritize self-care. Do your best to eat nutritious meals, get regular physical activity and get consistent night’s sleep.
• Understand your own needs; be accepting of professional assistance such as counseling and/or psychotherapy.
• Be patient.  It is normal to want to avoid things about a traumatic event.

Concluding Remarks:

“Live in the present… not in the past.”

My Dear Readers,

The above quote by a white reader, was sent to me several years ago. The quote seeks to deny the processing of transgenerational trauma which continues to this current day. There is a version by a black reader that stated, “put the past in the past”.  Both versions reflect the typical desire I define as: D.E.A.D – Denial, Evasion, Avoidance, Distraction.

Simply stated, the desires to “live in the future” or “put the past in the past” do not work within the subconscious because feelings and thoughts are free flowing, therefore, cannot be directed or controlled. Furthermore, the realness that transgenerational trauma, specific to the African American identity of 403 years, have permanency … it never … ever goes away. 

And in understanding the permanency of trauma, we cannot undo its 3E’s: Existence, Exposure, and Experience.  We have a responsibility to educate and prepare our children.

We can do so with compassion and empathy.  We can provide safe spaces to facilitate understanding and learn how to balance traumatic impacts and lighten the burden associated with the past. In doing so, we can empower ourselves towards emotional wellness, walking the landscape and achievement of self-discovery.

Best regards….

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“My past has not defined me, destroyed me, deterred me, it has only strengthened me.”

Unknown

“Never be defined by your past.  It was a lesson, not a life sentence.”

Unknown

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Standing Alone… The Unspoken Truth

The Unspoken Truth: The Houston Riot of 1917 – An Opportunity to Correct the Record

“The board determined the court proceedings to be ‘fundamentally unfair’, and unanimously recommended that all convictions be set aside, and that the soldiers’ military service be re-characterized as honorable.”

– Christine Wormuth, Secretary of Army, (2021-present)

“While we cannot go back in time to change the past from today on, we have an obligation to correct the record.  Not only should we recognize the dedicated services of these Buffalo Soldiers, we must restore and preserve their legacies in perpetuity.”

– Matthew Quinn, Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, (2021-present)

“Today the legacy of the soldiers, their patriotism and service to the nation – protecting freedoms that they themselves did not enjoy – is being respected and uplifted.”

– Jason Holt, Attorney & descendent of PFC Thomas Hawkins

My Dear Readers,

In this blog, I want to focus on the recent announcement by the US Army seeking to “correct the record”. After 106 years, they are re-examining the court martials of 110 and the executions of 19 Black Soldiers during World War I.  The US Army is not acting in good faith or character by intentionally waiting several days after Veteran’s Day to announce the news. 

The incident occurred in Houston TX in 1917. After repeated assaults by white police and members of the white community, the men of Third Battalion, 124^th Infantry, armed themselves and marched toward Houston to confront police about the persistent violence. They planned to stage a peaceful march to the police station as a demonstration against their mistreatment by police. However, just outside the city, the soldiers encountered a mob of armed white men and violence ensued. In the end four soldiers, four police men and 12 civilians were killed.

The US Army “rounded up” 157 black soldiers, court martialing them and trying them in three groups.

• 19 soldiers were sentenced to death and their sentences were “carried out in secrecy and within a day of sentencing”.
• It was the largest mass executions of American Soldiers in the history of the military.
• Following this, the military implemented regulatory changes which prohibited future executions without review by the War Department (now Department of Defense) and the President.

I would like to direct words specifically to the African American community as I believed we have, for the last 106 years, been “asleep at the wheel”.

I will share two comments on social media placed by African Americans:

1. This action “[is] an opportunity to allow for potential restorative justice and helps guard against repeat occurrences.”

As a clinical traumatologist, I strongly disagree.  Restorative justice and guarding against repeat occurrences cannot be factored in until there is a three-prong process leading to the following:

1. Uncovering – the truths associated with the incident are fully exposed and an understanding of psychological traumas these Black soldiers endured due to racism.
2. Discovering – it has taken the US Military 106 years to “correct the record”.  It is a reality that this travesty is not being taught in American history classes nor is such information known within the African American community and being handed down from “generation to generation”.
3. Recovering – the psychological and emotional wellness of the African American community is in shock and now under a “state of psychological conflict” as it seeks to come to terms psychologically from historical trauma revealed without any preparation to receive this information. 

This psychological conflict is revealed in the second social media comment by an African American who states:

2. “One-hundred and six years late, but better late than never. I hope they attach interest to the benefits. So grateful that my dad was part of the desegregation. It is on these men’s shoulders that he stood and from whom he drew inspiration and courage.  Makes my blood boil though.  I’ll have to pray about this one.”

In the comments the writer seeks to distance himself from acknowledging any gratefulness achieved from the sacrifices and deaths of these men.  He pins all the gratitude for what these men did for his father in his statement: “It is on these men’s shoulders that he stood and from whom he drew inspiration and courage”.

However, the internalized conflicts slowly arise in his ending statements. Psychologically, he knows the conflicts of acknowledging his father’s standing on their shoulders yet refusing to acknowledge he is standing on his father’s shoulders.  Therefore, he concludes with, “Makes my blood boil though.  I’ll have to pray about this one.”

Concluding Remarks: No Free Pass

“Oh Happy Day”

Edwin Hawkins Singers (1968)

“Oh, happy day

Oh, happy day

When Jesus washed

Oh, when He washed

He washed my sins away.”

My Dear Readers,

I am not going to lay this on Jesus.  I do not want sins in this matter to simply be “washed away”. 

Sins of the US Army: Racism… Deception… Covering Up

The US Army court martialed 157 black men for the crimes of self-defense, fighting to survive psychological and physical abuses, murder, and domestic terrorism at home during times of war as they awaited deployment to fight in Europe.  One day following the trial, they executed 19 men under the veil of secrecy.

These men were never provided the opportunity to say farewell to their families.

They greeted death being dishonored and alone.

Sins of the African American Community: Distancing…Willful Ignorance…Silence

The African American community is NOT monolithic… meaning it is not formed of a single block of stone and nor does the community stand as one or speak in one voice.

But where are the voices… any voice?  The descendants of these soldiers have been fighting this battle alone… for 106 years.

And yet there were those days in which voices and actions within the community gave alarm and raised hope for those who had none.  Such examples are:

• The Negro Silent Protest Parade 1917 in which 10,000 protested in New York City against police brutality and race rioting.
• In 1932 following the Scottsboro Boys trial the black press engaged along with the NAACP and the black community openly sought justice, eventually achieving freedom for those wrongfully convicted. 

And in reaction, to the black soldiers being executed in secrecy, it was the torrent of outrage from the black media, press and the black community that forced the drastic change in policy that prohibited future executions without, now, the Department of Defense and the President.

There is the problem in the black community where the lack of teaching issues of historical significance leaves future generations unknowledgeable and unaware. The end results can be responses ranging to shock, disbelief, denial, anger, guilt and moving toward traumatic implications and responses.

In willful ignorance, as to the either clear statements or behaviors of “I don’t want to know…”, it is merely a denial of the reality that we are standing on the shoulders of those young men who were either unrightfully dishonorably discharged or went to their deaths alone. 

There is a clinical concept I defined as D.E.A.D: Denial…Evasion…Avoidance…Distraction. This is the trauma that is psychologically destroying White America as they continue to shut their eyes, close their ears, and distance themselves from the daily occurrences of racism in their environment. 

Black America is at risk of the same.  Social distancing, willful ignorance and not educating children only serves to be unprepared for the psychological trauma that awaits. 

As I stated in an earlier writing, “History is kept by the state, outsiders, or the community”. When a community fails to do so, it too becomes an accomplice, along with the state and outsiders, to the psychological trauma being imposed and impacted within the community.

Bottom line… look at the reflection in the mirror… stop blaming others like the state or outsiders and start taking responsibility for empowering yourself, your children, and your community.

“Oh, happy day

Oh, happy day

When Jesus washed

Oh, when He washed

He washed my sins away.”

No. I want my sins and those of others to remain front and center.  It is stated that to forgive is to forget.  I state forgive and remember.

My next writing on black veterans in military service will come in May 2024 following my journey to Wereth Belgium in which I will visit the memorial to the 11 black infantrymen captured, tortured, and executed by the Nazis during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. 

This horror was known by the US military and covered up.

Until then…

Standing Alone… The Unspoken Truth