The Visible Man: Fear – The Elephant in the Room… The Loss of Empowerment

“I am an invisible man. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.  Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in the circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorted glass. When they approach me, they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination- indeed, everything and anything except me.”

– Ralph Ellison. Author, “The Invisible Man” (1947).

“The invisibility syndrome is a model that has been present within African Americans for decades.  The invisibility syndrome is defined as when one feels and believes that their personal talents, abilities, and character are not acknowledged or valued by the larger society due to racial prejudice.”

– AJ. Franklin (2000).

“I should have never gone back to the car.  I am angry at myself for doing so.  I put myself at risk.  And now I doubt myself.  Will I lose control again?”  

– “Living In the Past”. Excerpt from, The Lynching of Emmett Till Recalled…Living “With” Fear… Not “In” Fear.

“I know that you like girls, but you are eighteen years old now- a grown man. You can flirt with colored girls but stay away from white girls. They’re trouble. Oh, please Lil’ George, don’t look at them, don’t talk to them, and for sure don’t touch them, not even by accident. Colored men have been lynched for less.”

– A father’s stem warming to his son… “The Lost Eleven” (2017).

My Dear Readers,

Due to the outpour of remarks from the last blog, “The Lynching of Emmett Till Recalled…Living “With” Fear… Not “In” Fear,” I decided it was worthwhile to follow up with a post that provides more insight into this situation.

The Lynching of Emmett Till Recalled…Living “With” Fear… Not “In” Fear. (Recap)

A letter was written by an older black man raised during the time Emmett Till was lynched.  During a recent store visit, he had accidentally attempted to open the door of the wrong vehicle. In the process of doing so, he was stunned to see a white female sitting in the vehicle. He had what can best be described as an “Emmett Till Moment” in which he recalled the lynching of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy who was murdered based on the lie of a White woman that he had “touched her”.

 Although he had apologized and left the “scene” he later returned to the same vehicle to inform the white woman that his vehicle was four parking space away. He stated she looked at him with indifference before turning away.  The older black man, lapsing into the past, in his “Emmett Till Moment” walked away, later writing that he was angry at himself and having fears of loss of control.  He is now unsettled, unbalanced and unstable.

Outpour of remarks: (I will seek to integrate these remarks into the analysis).

1. “His parents are to blame [by] forcing him [and] by ‘putting the fear of God’ into him!”
2. “He has poisoned his children and grandchildren with his fear!”
3. “I just don’t get why he would go back to the car; he wasn’t in danger from the woman.”
4. “So, what if she had called the police… he didn’t do anything!”
5. “He overreacted… nothing happened… so he just overreacted!”
6. “It sounds like he has social anxiety rather than being traumatized.”

The Fear of God: The Transmission of Trauma

Consider the following: this was the time in which domestic terrorism against black people was prevalent especially in the southern states were racial segregation was strictly enforced and black people had no legal protection. To blame black parents for simply seeking to protect their children from physical harm based on allegations from a white female is victim blaming. Victim blaming is a devaluing act that occurs when the victim of a crime is held responsible.  In this situation the family is being victimized by domestic terrorism and sought to protect their son by the only means at their disposal, internalized fear. This internalization of fear had been imposed upon them by whites seeking to uphold segregation through manipulating fear that was passed down from earlier generations.

Poisoning the Children and Grandchildren: Psychological Transference 

Poisoning is the act of intentionally administrating a substance that is harmful to one’s body. The older male who is said to be Living in the Past, the grandfather, is not poisoning his children and grandchildren.  He is transmitting intergenerationally what had been transmitted to him from his parents.  In doing so he is exhibiting the stage of psychological transference where he is redirecting his feelings, his fear of white women, onto his children and grandchildren with the intent to protect them from physical harm including death.  The same psychological trauma passed to him from his parents following the lynching of Emmett Till.

Returning to the Scene of the Crime – The Fear of the Invisible Man

There is the consistent question of “Why did he return to the car?  He was safe. He had left without there being any confrontation. He should have simply left and never returned. And yet understanding the two subtypes of traumas to which he was responding; it was essential for his “peace of mind” that he returned to the “Scene of the Crime.”

In addition to responding to intergenerational trauma, he is also being impacted by another trauma known as the Invisibility Syndrome.  AJ Franklin (2000) describes the invisibility syndrome as when one feels and believes that one’s personal talents, abilities, and character are not acknowledged or valued by the larger society.  AJ Franklin (2023) adds the invisibility syndrome results when the individual feels one’s personality and worth are disregarded because of other’s prejudice.  In this situation, it can be clinically indicated, this individual psychologically transferred his fears regarding the outcome of the Emmett Till lynching upon the young white woman sitting in the vehicle.  It is clinically indicated that he is now responding to the trauma of the Invisibility Syndrome following being “dismissed” by her when he attempted to explained that his vehicle was four parking spaces away.

Caught…Trapped…No Way Out…The Allegation of a White Woman & The Loss of Identity

There is the argument that he was never in danger; he could have left and even if the woman had called the police, there was no criminal action on his part and therefore, no action would have been taken by the police.  There are two problems with this argument: (1) it does not take into consideration the emotional state of a traumatized person responding to deeply internalized oppression as to the weight that is given to allegations by a white woman against a black man and (2), it dismisses the reality of black and brown communities that the function of the police is to… subjectively rather than objectively, provide enforcement of the law.

Keeping in mind this man’s previously stated impacts of both psychological transference and the transmission of intergenerational trauma, it is feasible that this individual may have felt caught, trapped, and not having a way out due to any possible allegations she could have made. Therefore, he felt that he was in danger and had to return to allay the woman’s fears. However, his trauma doubled when upon his return, she dismissed him.  It is feasible this dismissal created the trauma of invisibility syndrome resulting in the individual’s perception of loss of Identity.

Concluding Comments: The Loss of Empowerment

Question: Why won’t he just live his life? Why won’t he let it go?

The trauma of Invisibility Syndrome can result in dysfunctions including low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, and negative emotions such as frustrations, loneliness, emptiness, and sadness.  Trauma impact has permeance.

So, in seeking to understand his reason for returning to the vehicle, this individual was trying to tame his fear.  Recalling the words of the father to his son:

 “…. stay away from white girls. They’re trouble. Oh, please Lil George, don’t look at them, don’t talk to them, and for sure don’t touch them, not even by accident. Colored men have been lynched for less.”

However, instead of taming his fear, the result was self-doubt and the loss of control.  In doing so, as he recalls her dismissal as he stands in front of her vehicle, he acknowledges what he fears the most, his own invisibility.

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My Dear Readers,

The mistake that is often made by white mental health professionals when treating African Americans is that the foundation of their training does not provide for an understanding of African American cultural values and mores or awareness of the impacts of racial prejudice and so it gets overlooked. This often results in African Americans being mislabeled as well as misdiagnosed.

There is a concern that African Americans responding to the trauma of Invisibility Syndrome are mislabeled or misdiagnosed as having Social Anxiety Disorder. With Social Anxiety Disorder, people seek to make themselves invisible to others.  They don’t want to talk so they don’t draw attention to themselves.  They look down so they won’t make eye contact.  In contrast, the person responding to the trauma of Invisibility Syndrome feels they are being dismissed; the individual is left with feeling of the loss of empowerment, their abilities personality and worth lack value due to the prejudice of others.

Furthermore, treatment protocols are created from the standpoint of the mental health professional’s values therefore including their biases and reinforcing their own values at the cost of understanding the cultural values of others.

One such protocol is called Self-Reflection and Awareness. It states the following:

“The first steps towards overcoming the feelings of being invisible is self-reflection and awareness. Take some time to analyze your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in situations where you feel invisible.  Ask yourself questions like: Why do I feel invisible in these situations?”

This approach fails because it targets the individual African American who is being victimized by being made invisible by the larger society. Therefore, this approach used by white mental health professionals amounts to nothing more than victim blaming and reinforcing devaluing of one’s identity for the benefit of the larger society. It is essential that African Americans be very careful when selecting a mental health provider who, due to training, personal beliefs, or biases, reinforces the traumatic wound.

In the treatment of the trauma associated with Invisibility Syndrome, utilizing the ABC Protocol and understanding that trauma has permeance is of utmost importance.   Therefore, the memory of the traumatic experience can reemerge at any point in time. The objective is not to overcome the trauma, rather the role of the traumatized person is to become an advocate, bringing “balance” to the traumatic experience and “calmness” to the external environment in which the traumatized individual resides.

In the situation of the loss of empowerment for this person holding traumas of his past invading his present and into the future, the focus is to be able to “Return to the Scene of the Crime”, aka, his long-held memories, working to lessen the weight or burden with the focus of achieving peace and empowerment in walking his landscape…we know as life.

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Returning To the Scene of the Crime

I want to return to the scene of the crime

I do not want to go back

Going back can bring pain, suffering and unresolved memories

Returning, I am armed with wisdom and knowledge, which I now take to the future

I am empowered

Whatever I was, I am no longer

The past is what it was. It cannot be recovered

I live for today.  To understand and uncover

I seek the tomorrow.  To explore and discover

Self.

Dr. Micheal Kane

Until the next time… The Visible Man… Invisible No Longer

The Unspoken Truth: Lynching’s Always in Season…. No License Required

“I have seen a man hanged… now I wished I could see one burned.”

– An unnamed nine-year-old boy speaking to his mother.

“Back in those days, to kill a Negro wasn’t nothing.  It was like killing a chicken or killing a snake. The whites would say ‘Niggers jest supposed to die, ain’t no damn good anyway- jest go and kill them’.”

– Black Mississippian recalling white violence in the 1930’s.

“In those days it was ‘Kill a mule, buy another. Kill a nigger, hire another,’ and ‘They had to have a license to kill anything but a nigger. We was always in season’.”

– Black southerner (name unknown)

My Dear Readers,

Four weeks ago, I traveled approximately 2700 miles to Montgomery, Alabama to visit The National Lynching Memorial (also known by its formal name The National Memorial for Peace & Justice). The focus of my visit was to bear witness. Too often bearing witness is focused on one’s success or the value of one’s work, this was to bear witness to the atrocities people can commit.

The National Lynching Memorial was created by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) on a six-acre site in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. The memorial opened to the public on April 25, 2018. The memorial consists of 805 hanging steel rectangles, each the size and shape of coffins. Each of the hanging “coffins” represent each of the counties and their states where a documented lynching took place. More than 4075 documented lynchings of Black people took place between 1877 and 1950, with the majority being concentrated in 12 Southern states, though many did occur outside of the South.

In visiting The National Lynching Memorial, it was my intent to bear witness to acts of inhumanity. Whereas where others attempt to deny, evade, avoid, or distract… when one bears witness to something, it is the act of affirming the “something” or the actions exists, or “something” and the actions happened.

In bearing witness, being physically present, it was intended to extend the expression of love and respect to those who endured suffering, torture, and full awareness of their impending deaths at the hands of the rage of White violence. 

My act of bearing witness is intended to achieve three objectives:

• Uncovering the truth about the action of lynching, the reasons, and justifications.
• Discovering and sharing through bringing understanding with the intent to encourage dialogue.
• Recovering and healing of the psychological wounds that continue via the transmission of intergenerational and transgenerational trauma

Uncovering the Truth

There is a falseness in the perceptions of what is a lynching.  The common misunderstanding is the theme that a lynching is “death by hanging”. The NAACP, a civil rights organization well experienced with lynchings, provided the follow definition:

 “A lynching is a public killing of an individual who has not received any due process. These executions were often carried out by lawless mobs, though police officers did participate, under the pretext of justice.”

Lynchings were violent public acts that White people used to terrorize and control Black people in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, particularly in the South.  Lynchings typically evoke images of Black men and women hanging from trees, but they involved other extreme brutality, such as torture, mutilation, decapitation, and desecration. Some victims were even burned alive.

An example of a lynching was in 1949, when Ernest Thomas was shot over 400 times by a mob of hundreds of white men while he was asleep under a tree in Madison County, Florida.  Two days after his death, coroner’s jury deemed it as “justifiable homicide”.

Lynchings in America were not isolated hate crimes committed by rogue vigilantes.  Lynchings were targeted racial violence perpetrated to uphold an unjust social order.

This era left thousands dead; significantly marginalized black people politically, financially, and socially; and inflicted deep trauma on the entire African American community.  White people who witnessed, participated in and socialized their children in a culture that tolerated gruesome lynchings also were psychologically damaged.

State officials’ tolerance of lynching created enduring national and institutional wounds that have not healed. Lynchings occurred in communities where African Americans today remain marginalized, disproportionately poor, overrepresented in prisons and jails and underrepresented in decision making roles in the criminal justice system.

Discovering and Sharing

Black lynching victims killed between 1877 and 1950 primarily died in the 12 Southern states, with Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana among the deadliest.  Several hundred additional victims were lynched in other regions including Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin, and New York, with the highest numbers in Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, and West Virginia.

Some lynching victims were targeted for their efforts to organize Black communities for political and economic equality.  Others were lynched for refusing to address a White man as “sir” or demanding to be served at the counter in a segregated soda shop.  Hundreds were lynched based on accusations of offenses like arson, robbery, non-sexual assault, and vagrancy.  In a strictly maintained racial caste system, White lives and White property held higher value, while the lives of Black people held little or none.

Nearly 25% of African Americans lynching victims were accused of sexual assault and 30% were accused of murder.  Because African Americans were presumed guilty and dangerous, accusations lodged against them were rarely scrutinized.  Nearly all were lynched without an investigation, much less a trial. Efforts to pass federal anti-lynching legislation repeatedly failed because of opposition by Southern elected officials.  Only 1% of lynchings committed after 1900 led to a criminal conviction.

With no protection from the constant threat of death, nearly six million black Americans fled the South between 1910 and 1970.  Many left homes, families, and employment to flee racial terror as traumatized refugees.  Lynching profoundly reshaped the geographic, political, social, and economic conditions of African Americans today.

Recovering and Healing: The Impacts of Psychological Trauma via Transmission

There are two types of transmission: intergenerational and transgenerational.  In intergenerational trauma, the trauma gets passed down from those who directly experienced the traumatic incident while in transgenerational trauma, the descendants were not directly exposed to the incident.

African Americans continue to be impacted by generational trauma caused by extreme events, abuses, or prolonged periods of difficult times. Trauma is believed to pass from one generation to the next through genetic changes to a person’s DNA after they experienced trauma and continue to pass forward to a person’s offspring.

Concluding Statement: Psychological Trauma – The Elephant in the Room

Psychological trauma has permanence… meaning, the event, the incident or experience is permanently etched within the psychological self.  There are times in which the trauma incident, the elephant, screams loudly seeking attention. The response can be seeking support that would bring advocacy, balance, and calmness to those difficult times when intrusive thoughts and feelings could surface.

The horrors of the lynching era cannot be dismissed.  We do not have to live in the shadows of fear.  We can live in peace with full understanding of the past era.

My Dear Readers,

I hold no malice or hate in my heart.  I have taken from this holy site wisdom, understanding and concern as I continue to provide clinical psychotherapy to those impacted by psychological trauma.

May those who suffered so harshly, meeting death alone by the cold hearts of their fellow humans, now find rest and do so …peacefully.”

Strange Fruit Song by Billie Holiday

Southern trees bear a strange fruit

Blood on the leaves and blood on the root

Black bodies swinging in the southern breezes

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant South

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth

Scent of magnolia, sweet of burning flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck

For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop

Here is a strange and bitter crop.

(lyrics by Abel Meeropol)

Standing Alone…. The Unspoken Truth

The Unspoken Truth: Our Children… Black, Brown and White – Understanding the Permanence of Trauma

“I can’t believe this.  This wasn’t supposed to happen. [I saw him] and 15 minutes later, my baby was gone. All because he was enjoying a race with some other kids.”

Brittani Frierson, mother of 10-year boy shot and killed by another 10-year boy, Sacramento CA. 01.03.24

“We are very strong …blue jay strong, Iowa strong… We will get through this …. because we have each other.  We are a unique both of blue jays….”

Unidentified person speaking at the vigil in the aftermath of the school shooting, Perry, Iowa. 01.05.24.

The Permanence of Trauma

Trauma does not go away by

Simply pushing it to the back of your …

mind.

It is a thief that lurks around until it

finds an open door.  It flashes. It

screams as it leaps into my soul.

It is a thief that steals in the day or in the…

night.

Enough is never enough.

It steals and steals and steals.

It plucks and sucks the life …slowly

From me.

(Dr. Micheal Kane)

My Dear Readers,

We are now in the beginning of the new year: 2024.  As we move forward there is intense shock impacting black, brown and white communities throughout this nation.

On January 3, 2024, in Sacramento, CA, a black boy, 10 years old, was shot and killed by another black boy.  The offense? The shooter was upset that he lost a bike race, retrieved a firearm from his father’s vehicle … shooting and killing the winner of the bike race.

On January 5, 2024, in Perry, IA, a 17-year-old student opened fire killing a sixth grader, wounding five others, and taking his own life. The incident occurred on the first day of students returning from their winter holiday break.

Our children are experiencing intense stressors.  It is a reality that psychological trauma can occur without notice, at any time and in any community. The intent of this writing is to provide the readership with a guide to conceptualizing and understanding trauma, its permeance and transmission.

And understanding what our children are responding to…as parents, family, friends, professionals, and community… it is important for them to know that we are all there to extend love… help…encouragement …and support.

Our Children: Black, Brown & White

It can be psychologically overwhelming for children across the country to be impacted either personally, through witnessing these horrible events and news reports, or with repetitive reviewing through social media.

There are several concerns to be addressed in this blog writing:

• Understanding the differences in subtypes of psychological trauma
• Recognition of symptoms and effects
• Healing – The Identification of Responses & Self-Help Resources

Psychological Trauma

Psychological trauma is the one emotional and psychological construct that, regardless of social or cultural basis, has common themes for all groups: impacts, reactions, and responses.

There are three major main types of traumas: Acute, Chronic, and Complex

• Acute trauma results from a single incident.
• Chronic trauma is repeated and prolonged such as domestic violence or abuse.
• Complex trauma is exposure to varied and multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature.

Permeance is defined as the condition or quality of being permanent, perpetual, or continual existence.  The clinical conceptualization of permeance is the property of being able to exist for an indefinite duration.  Therefore, intergenerational trauma and transgenerational trauma should be defined and differenced.

Trauma via Transmission: Intergenerational or Transgenerational

Generational trauma is caused by extreme events, abuses, or prolonged periods of difficult times.

Trauma is believed to pass from one generation to the next through genetic changes to a person’s DNA after they experience trauma. Furthermore, there is evidence that these genetic markers are passed on to a person’s offspring.

Features of Generational Trauma

• Transmission of trauma
• Psychological & Emotional impact
• Cultural & Behavioral patterns
• Epigenetic changes
• Social & Economic disparities

Definitions and Differing Transmissions of Trauma

Intergenerational Trauma occurs when the effects are passed down between generations. Specifically, this transmission occurs when the original traumatic experience is transferred from parents to children, and then grandchildren and so on. This is thought to be a result of learned behaviors and alternations to the internal workings with the changes in the body due to stress.

Common causes of this form of trauma can include:

• Domestic violence
• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse

Transgenerational Trauma occurs when transmission is passed down to descendants who have not been directly exposed to the identified trauma.

Therefore, the difference is in intergenerational trauma, the trauma gets passed down from those who directly experienced the incident whereas in transgenerational trauma the descendants were not directly exposed to the incident.

Symptoms of Trauma: Intergenerational & Transgenerational

• Lack of trust of others
• Anger
• Irritability
• Nightmares
• Fearfulness
• Inability to connect with others.

The Effects of Intergenerational Trauma &Transgenerational Trauma

• Shame
• Increased anxiety
• Guilt
• Heighten sense of vulnerability
• Helplessness.

Healing – Identification of Responses & Self-Help Resources

The Six Stages of Healing from Generational Trauma

• Pre-awareness – lack of prior awareness of the concept of generational trauma
• Uncovering – becoming aware, having knowledge, and understanding of the concept of generational trauma
• Digging in – occurs facing the reality of generational trauma being a difficult problem.
• Healing – the process of restoring to emotional state.
• Understanding – the ability to comprehend the permeance of generational trauma.
• Nurturing – the want to provide care for and encourage the growth or development during stress associated with generational trauma.

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 consistent sleep.
• Understand your own needs, be accepting of professional assistance such as counseling and psychotherapy.
• Be patient.  It is normal to want to avoid feelings associated with a traumatic event.

Considerations – Further Questions

1. How hard is it to break the cycle of generational trauma?

The mental health profession has been hesitant to provide either directions or a clear, meaningful response to this question. The response often provided has been … “it’s complicated.”

It has been my opinion that trauma has permanence.  Therefore, my focus has been on treating the psychological wounds and in doing so, allowing the treated wound to solidify, serving as a foundation of healing when generational transmission of trauma becomes reality. I believe when the focus is on “breaking the cycle” of transmission, treatment is misplaced, not allowing the individual to focus on any current psychological wound but rather on the possibility of upcoming transmission in which future impact is not defined.

• Can a person be healed from generational trauma?

Without question, generational trauma, due to its ability to strike without warming, is scary.  However, in understanding the permeance of trauma, the individual can develop strategies that are proactive and responsive. Such strategies would include open and honest communications with loved ones and an appreciation (belief… faith… trust) in the psychological self’s ability to respond to the psychological impacts of the trauma and achieve emotional wellness.

Concluding Statement by Dr. Kane

Psychological trauma is cruel.  It is non-caring and everlasting.  Psychological trauma has no respect for age, gender, race, or community.  It strikes without notice or mercy. Psychological trauma has permanence.  It never… ever goes away.

And yet, one must never reject the essence of the human spirit and that of our children to not accept defeat but rather achieve driving (empowerment), striving (setting the pace and distance) and thriving (achieving goals and objections) to respond the traumatic impacts and return to normal emotional functioning.

“And understanding what our children are responding to…as parents, family, friends, professionals, and community… it is important for them to know that we are all there to extend love… help…encouragement …and support. “

Best regards,

Dr. Kane

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My Dear Readers,

As we enter the year 2024, I wanted to provide some insight into the direction of the blog for this year.

It was intention last year to write consistently however, with my recent health challenges, I have been limited in my ability to do so.  I am once again facing similar health challenges and will do what I can to provide you with insight as to the work I have passion for and the topics that bring substance to the human condition.  My upcoming 2024 travels and blog topics will include:

– The Lynching Memorial – The National Memorial for Peace & Justice (Montgomery, AL)

– The Wereth 11 Massacre, Battle of The Bulge 1944 (Wereth, Belgium)

– The Black German Memorial (Berlin, Germany)

I have been questioned more than once as to my reasons for traveling to trauma related sites. Blog postings on traumatic related materials speak to the heart of my clinical work. I view my travels to sites (domestic and international) that speak to and acknowledged mankind’s inhumanity as my responsibility to bear witness and pass on such information to others so we may understand the permeance of trauma which never, ever goes away. I am bound and honoring the words of George Santayana who stated:

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

I am reminded of a poem that I once wrote….

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

I want to return to the scene of the crime.

I do not want to go back.

Going back can bring pain, suffering, and

unresolved memories

Returning, I am armed with wisdom and

knowledge,

which I now take to the future.

I am empowered.

Whatever I was, I am no longer.

The past is what was.

It cannot be recovered.

I live for today. To understand and uncover

I seek the tomorrow.

To explore and discover…

Self

Dr. Micheal Kane

Standing Alone… The Unspoken Truth