Racial discrimination is trauma like no other, for everyone who experiences it, and studies show that African American youth who experience discrimination are at high risk for poor mental health, even after they grow up.
"For, especially African American youth, we have to think about the effects of racism, the Jim Crow era and all those elements on multi-generational things," said Dr. Llewellyn Cornelius, Donald L. Hollowell professor of Civil Rights Studies and the Director of the Center for Social Justice, Human and Civil Rights. "When we talk about trauma-informed care, it isn't just about the negative things that happened in our family system, as it relates particularly to African American youth. We’re also balancing that out with the issue of racism and its effects on American society.
Cornelius said a way to pivot this issue involves empowerment.
“Now, when we talk about pivoting the issue, a lot of our space is around resiliency, empowerment, and empowerment models of self-liberation”
The Strong African American Families Program, also known as SAAF, and the SAAF teen program, work to do just that, empower African American families, and reduce the negative impacts of racism on Black youth.
“SAAF is for pre-adolescents, ages 10 to 12. We also have another program for ages 15 and 16, which is, like safe, but for kids who are older," said Gene Brody, founder, and director of UGA's Center for Family Research.
“During the 1990s, it became really apparent to me that there were few if any, prevention programs that were designed to enhance protective family caregiving among black youth in the rural South,” he said.
30 years later, the SAAF programs serve families all over the country. Tracy Anderson, the Assistant Director of the Center for Family Research, says they operate based on four core values: strengths orientation, collectivism, shared ownership, and social justice.
"We understand that spaces must be created, have to be created, for historically marginalized communities to be able to come into a place and talk about what their experiences are and to get understanding," she said. "We're in this thing together and we can make it together because we're supporting each other.”
With open discussions and activities, these programs use a variety of strategies to help young African Americans and their caregivers respond to instances of racism.
Plus, Anderson said every session ends on a positive note, where the group focuses on the many strengths of being African American.
"We do a youth creed or a teen creed," she said. "Basically, these are just affirmations about the strengths of being African American. That we can make a difference in the world and we are strong and we are proud and we love our children.”
Fighting Against Discrimination in Athens:
The Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement's Teen Social Justice Program is a local resource that works to cultivate future leaders, build self-confidence, and teach students how to respectfully use their voice to advocate for their rights.
