Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing

From the beginning of American chattel slavery in 1619, until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, Africans were hunted like animals, captured, sold, tortured and raped. They experienced the worst kind of physical, emotional, psycho- logical and spiritual abuse. Given such history, Dr. Joy DeGruy asks, "Isn't it likely that many slaves were severely traumatized? Furthermore, did the trauma and the effects of such horrific abuse end with the abolition of slavery?"

Emancipation was followed by one hundred more years of institutionalized subjugation through the enactment of Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, peonage and convict leasing, and domestic terrorism and lynching. Today the violations continue, and when combined with the crimes of the past, result in yet unmeasured injury. What do repeated traumas visited upon generation after generation of a people produce? What are the impacts of the ordeals associated with chattel slavery, and with the institutions that followed, on African Americans today?

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing, answers theses questions and more. Dr. DeGruy encourages African Americans to view their attitudes, assumptions, and behaviors through the lens of history and so gain a greater understanding of the impact centuries of slavery and oppression has had on African Americans. "With this understanding we can explore the role our history has played in the evolution of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, both negative and positive. This exploration will help lay the foundation necessary to ensure our well- being and the sustained health of future generations.

Dr. Joy DeGruy is a priceless asset to us all. She has lifted the bandages from the 400 year-old abscess of slavery that remains un-healed. Many black and white Americans have been taught that slavery ended by legislative means in 1865 - so the issue is neatly side-stepped in school curricula, print and broadcast media. However, the hallmark of classroom teaching and responsible journalism must be proper context - for full understanding. The removal of the slave shackle is important, but what about the emotional damage suffered by the enslaved? Dr. DeGruy has raised this argument brilliantly, for years, lecturing far and wide. Her many appearances on my program, Like It Is, have evoked huge audience reactions from our viewers. Many have told me how coming to understand Dr. DeGruy's message on "Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome" has helped them grapple with the multiplicity of problems today. I share those feelings of my viewers. Now Dr. DeGruy has set down her highly important message/thesis in print. And so, to quote this wondrous physician: "Let the healing begin." -Gil Noble, Producer and Host, Like It Is, WABC_TV Dr. Joy DeGruy's Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing is a masterwork. Her deep understanding, critical analysis, and determination to illuminate core truths are essential to addressing the long-lived devastation of slavery. Her book is the balm we need to heal ourselves and our relationships. It is a gift of wholeness. -Susan Taylor, Editorial Director, Essence Magazine Dr. DeGruy's book is seminal research in the field of differential cross- cultural diagnosis for mental health. Cultural Competence is a requirement for mental health and behavioral science workers. This text is required reading for all learners and practitioners. It is a vast reservoir of the how, why what, when, and where for much of the enduring injury and psychic pain of African Americans. This text moves us beyond deficit modeling and pathology; it opens a window to innovative models for healing in our multi-ethnic, pluralistic and linguistically diverse society. -Edwin J. Nichols, Ph.D. Clinical/Industrial Psychologist. At last, the book that all people who are truly interested in under- standing the lingering psychological and social impact of enslavement on Africans and Europeans has arrived. It is no exaggeration to say that Dr. DeGruy's Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome will mark a milestone in the understanding of the relationship between racism and slavery. Read this book again and again and then give it to your friends, family and colleagues who want to understand how the ghost of slavery haunts us all. -Dr. Ray Winbush, Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University Dr. DeGruy's mesmerizing, riveting book is vital reading for our time. The corrosive residue on unmitigated and unrelieved atrocities called chattel slavery scours out the very core of our national identity. Neither the descendants of chattel slavery nor its designers have been unscathed. One - doomed to mythologize its meaning, the other - to turn searing pain into self-loathing. We ignore our history at our own peril. With Dr. DeGruy's potent words we can and will heal. -Adeliade L. Sanford, Vice Chancellor, Board of Regents, State of New York