Today on the podcast we have our very first special guest, Dr. B. Nilaja Green. Dr. Green writes, speaks and engages at the intersections of individual psychological distress and collective socio-cultural oppression as an Atlanta based licensed clinical psychologist.
Dr. Green is certified in trauma informed care and delivering specialized trauma treatments to vulnerable populations, such as military veterans, black women and members of the LGBTQ community. She writes, leads, workshops, and trainings, asking clinicians to cultivate their own introspective practice and to approach care of clients with greater cultural humility.
You can learn more about Dr. Green at www.standpointtherapyandconsulting.org and follow her on Instagram @DrBNilaja (https://www.instagram.com/drbnilaja/).
This conversation ended up longer than we planned on, and there was no stopping us. The content shared is amazing!
Some highlights of the conversation include:
-What is Juneteenth and what does it mean to Dr. Green (6:11)
-How racism is NOT a pandemic or a mental illness (10:47)
-Slaves as property, not people (14:34)
-How intergenerational trauma lives in our DNA, and how ALL people carry it, not just Black, Indigenous, or People of Color--white people carry it, too! (17:28)
-How trauma shows up in our body, including my own personal experiences during COVID quarantine and the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020 (27:33)
-Oppressor as oppressed and how learning to be white disconnects white people from the most important aspect we share: our humanity (34:35)
-What affinity groups are and why they matter (40:16)
-Racism isn't Black and Brown people's problem to solve--it's white people's problem to solve (44:14)
-Why quick solutions won't work, and we have to do this work internally first (47:16)
-What about biracial or multiracial individuals? How do they do their healing work? (51:36)
-Remember to stay connected with compassion and how self-judgment won't help (55:19)
Resources we shared are:
Resmaa Menakem https://www.resmaa.com/
Bayo Akomolafe http://bayoakomolafe.net/
Following the release of our episode, Dr. Green would like to add the following update:
"Thank you for speaking into existence that I will be invited by the Mayor of Atlanta, but I was actually invited by the Mayor of East Point - Mayor Holiday-Ingraham, who is a phenomenal woman committed to the values of inclusion and equity in our city of East Point, (a city in Atlanta - it's weird here, we have the mayor of the city and then other mayors as well, go figure) to celebrate Juneteenth. I am also trying not to beat myself up for saying "this guy" instead of Rayshard Brooks (I blame it on a Saturday brain and trying to protect myself from the news), sigh. We must honor the fallen by remembering their names. (It's the least we can do :) )"
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