Today I want to endeavor to take up a bit of your ‘HeadSpace’ to discuss: A few of America’s marginalized populations and how they are impacted by trauma. Our conversation will focus on three different marginalized populations within the U.S. First, we will examine a little-known group of people with Albinism, called Albinos. Then we turn to the LGBTQ community and specifically discuss the trials of the Black Transgender sub-population. Finally, we will end with marginal Black and Brown low-income minority groups that are caught in midst of communities plagued by circular poverty and violence. Our discussion will give a brief description of each group, and identify how each of these groups may be impacted by traumatic events.
The People with Different Colored Eyes
Albinism is a rare genetic disorder that affects people of all ethnic backgrounds. The condition results in a chronic deficiency of melanin in the body that affects the pigmentation of the skin, hair, and eyes (See, Image 1 & 2). People with albinism typically have White pale skin, almost pink translucent eyes, and white or very bleached-colored hair (Grønskov, et al., 2007; see also: Image 2). Albinos are often the object of erroneous beliefs and myths influenced by superstition, which is partly to blame for causing their marginalization and social exclusion. Hundreds of ritual attacks against albinos, particularly women and children, have been reported in various countries around the world (Kiluwa et al., 2020). Many cases remain undocumented or unreported because of the ostracism of the victims and their families. The violence largely committed the Albino community often first begins in the home, and is met by social silence and indifference, and is seldom followed by investigations or the prosecution (Kiluwa et al., 2020).
Image 2.
According to the National Organization on Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) (2004c), here in the United States Albinism affects approximately 16,000 people. Most Albinos experience the absence of melanin pigment in the eyes which abnormally develop and cause impairment of the visual system (Image 1). They are often legally blind as children, and if not, they eventually go blind as adults. Although estimates vary, it is reported that in North America and Europe 1 in every 17,000 to 20,000 people have some form of albinism (Ojilere & Saleh, 2019). Ojilere & Saleh (2019) research reports that albinism is treated with such mythology and prejudice in some countries, that many believe having sexual intercourse with an albino female can cure serious viral infections like HIV/AIDS. Consequently, in Sub-Saharan Africa, those with albinism are particularly vulnerable to rape and sexual violation (Ojilere & Saleh, 2019). In a United Nations (UN) report from the country of Tanzania, it was documented that approximately 75 albinos were killed between 2000 and 2016, so their body parts can be used as magical charms (Pavithra, 2018).
To highlight the extreme global discrimination, stigmatism and trauma experienced by persons with albinism, in 2013 the UN Human Rights Council called on all countries of the world to end violence and discrimination against people with albinism (http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/en/) and the following year, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the 13th of June each year as “International Albinism Awareness Day” (http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/69/170) (Franklin et al., 2018).
Trauma Impacts on Albino Individuals
Due to the obvious physical appearance of albinos, they are subjected to a variety of discriminations and prejudicial behaviors. The 2020 Human Rights Council Report documents recriminations against people with albinism at extremely early ages. Research by Aborisade (2021) also addressed the long-term trauma impacts of albinos, beginning with early family-based violence, bullying, rejection and prejudicial treatments against children born with albinism. Many of these individuals grow into adulthood having experienced early emotional mental health issues like persecution complex, anger, unhappiness, acute sadness, feelings of helplessness, and lack of self-esteem.
To learn more about Albinism and the Albino community the Human Rights Council has available various reports that promote resilience, enjoyment of human rights and education:
- 2020 Report – Women and children impacted by albinism – A/HRC/43/42
- 2018 Report – Right of persons with albinism A/HRC/37/57
- Expert Report on the enjoyment of human rights by albinos: Root causes of violence and prejudice against people that are albinos (A/71/255)
The Secret World of Transgender Killings
The American Medical Association (AMA) has reported that violence against Black and Brown transgender individuals in the U.S. is at epidemic proportions, (AMA, June 12, 2019, AMA declares epidemic of violence against transgender community [Press release]. Two days after George Floyd was killed by the police, on May 27, 2020, a Tallahassee, Florida police officer killed Tony McDade, a Black transgender man. Two weeks later, 2 Black transgender women: Dominique Fells, a 27-year-old from Philadelphia, and Riah Milton, a 25-year-old from Ohio, were also killed. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), in 2021 there was a record number of 50 Black or Brown transgender killings; and so far in late spring 2022, there has already been at least 25 Black or Latinx transgender individuals either shot dead, or otherwise violently killed. Reports by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (2013) found that, compared to White cisgender people, transgender people of color were almost three times more likely to encounter police violence and, six times more likely to experience physical violence by the police (Dinno, 2017).
Intersectionality
The fact that African Americans and Hispanic transgender individuals have almost triple the chances of encountering police violence compared to their White counterparts, represents a deadly intersection of race and gender in America. According to research experts, if you are a member of the Black or Latinx transgender or LGBTQ+ community, you are generally at high risk for violence (Watson & Hamblen, 2017). The notion of intersectionality of race and gender unavoidably raises the concept of collective trauma to address how traumatic events such as legal struggles for civil rights, violence, and racism frequently have enduring effects on this populations (Kelly et al., 2020).
Trauma Impacts on Transgender Individuals
Impacts from trauma can be both internal and external. The stigma and discrimination experienced by transgender persons often result in negative health outcomes and socioeconomic disparities including: homelessness, joblessness, violence, heightened HIV infections, substance misuse, suicidal ideation, and mental health disorders among transgender persons (Nuttbrock et al., 2014. For minority transgender and gender nonconforming persons, collective trauma is complex and multi-faceted, and is even caused by intragroup conflict and racism within the broader LGBTQ community (Kelly et al., 2020). Additionally, transgender individuals are at a more heightened risk for maltreatment than heterosexual or binary people, including more hate crimes, especially against Black and Brown trans women (Grant et al. 2016). Recent studies have also traced transgender discrimination in areas of education, housing, work, and healthcare (Abelson 2019). Of course, the traumatic impact of these discriminatory measures on the mental health of trans persons are tremendous. Current studies document that trans persons are faced with such levels of trauma that lead to: severe acute depression symptoms, PTSD, attachment insecurity, emotion dysregulation, and dissociative symptoms (Keating & Muller, 2020).
Available Resources and Support for Transgender Survivors
This aim of these lists is to provide a non-exhaustive set of resources which members of the transgender community and their allies may find helpful.
Crisis Lifelines
- The Trevor Project‘s 24/7/365 Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386); TrevorChat, their online instant messaging option; or TrevorText, a text-based support option. If you are looking for peer support, you can visit TrevorSpace from anywhere in the world.
- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
- Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860
Transgender Led & Centered Organizations
- Black Transmen, Inc.: Black Transmen is a nonprofit organization focused on social advocacy and empowering trans men with resources to aid in a healthy transition.
- Incite!: Women, Gender Non-Conforming, and Trans people of Color Against Violence is a national organization movement of color focused on ending violence against women of color and their communities.
- The Marsha P. Johnson Institute: The Marsha P. Johnson Institute’s mission is to protect and defend the human rights of Black transgender people.
- Transgender Law Center (TLC) (legal services and advocacy)
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) (legal services)
- Trans Latina Coalition (advocacy)
Living in the Ghetto: The Truth Behind Living in Low Income Communities
In September 2012, the city of Camden, New Jersey was both ranked as the poorest city in America, and the most dangerous city in America (Taylor, 2012). Camden, is a New Jersey city of roughly 72,000 people located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; My home is in Camden County, NJ about a short 20 minutes’ drive from the city of Camden. Beginning in 2010, Camden faced a financial crisis which led the city government to drastically cut budgets. The city’s fiscal austerity measures caused a layoff of 360 police officers. As a result of police layoffs, violent crime spiked, and by 2012 Camden recorded 67 homicides and 172 shooting victims, earning the title of America’s most dangerous city with a murder rate more than 18 times the national average, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting.
Recent data from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau show that a little over 90% of Camden’s population identify as either black or Latino, and while New Jersey has a state unemployment rate around 9.9 percent, Camden’s jobless rate hoovers at 19 percent. Some have argued that a community’s physical characteristics also play an important role in neighborhood crime rates (Greenberg and Schneider, 1994). Studies confirm that violent crime is more likely to occur in neighborhoods with common signs of physical decay and disorder, such as abandoned houses, boarded-up buildings, vacant lots littered with trash, graffiti defacement, and alcohol shops (Perkins and Taylor, 2002). In other words, there is a very close connection between violent crime, neighborhood structure and open space dynamics (Gorman et al., 2001).
According to FBI data, Black on Black murders spiked by nearly 30% in 2020 compared to 2019, resulting in the largest single-year increase in killings since the agency began tracking crimes. In 2019, there were 7,484 Black Americans killed by other Blacks and that number grew by at least 9,941 murders in 2020, which means an increase of 2,457 African Americans killed by each other over the previous year. These figures are exponentially more than any police killings.
Trauma Impacts on Low Income Communities
There is a clear relationship between, socio-economics, systemic discrimination in education, housing, employment, and healthcare, with the levels of violent crime and overall human devastation seen in minority neighborhoods. However, another reason, particularly for internal Black on Black crime, is internalized racism. Over 100 years ago W.E.B. Du Bois (1903) alluded to the “double consciousness” of the Black man in America, which causes him to look at himself through the eyes of others. In other words, some African Americans have internalized racism; which is to say that there is a sort of ‘self-hatred’ based on the stereotypes, ideas, beliefs, and behaviors expressed by others. Such internalized racism and oppression have its own psychotic reality and negative outcomes in the lives of people in low-income urban communities (Bryant, 2011; see also, Bailey et al., 2022).
When families live in economic distressed communities for years within urban American cities, called Ghettos, trauma becomes a familiar experience; and because trauma is subjectively individualized, recurring exposure can evolve into severe mental health consequences for multiple family members, and, ultimately, society (Collins et al., 2010). Numerous mental health studies document that, trauma impacts from continued exposure to violence (whether family violence, Black on Black random violence, or police violence), historic trauma from discrimination, intergenerational trauma and a legacy of urban poverty, culminates into various levels of Individual distress and posttraumatic stress disorder, to even more complex trauma-related disorders (Collins et al., 2010).
Available Resources and Support for Transgender Survivors
- children and provide sense of safety.
- Complex Trauma: In Urban African-American Children, Youth, and Families (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network) – Discusses how families living in racially and economically segregated communities must also cope with the effects of historical trauma and intergenerational racism, and presents the specific barriers that African-Americans face in obtaining needed services.
- Understanding Child Trauma (SAMHSA) – This web page identifies events that children and youth may experience as traumatic, statistics on traumatic experiences and their effects on children and youth, signs of traumatic stress in children and youth of various ages, and tips for parents and other important adults in the lives of children and youth for helping children and youth to cope with trauma. Links to resources for more information and support are also provided.
- Age-related Reactions to a Traumatic Event (National Child Traumatic Stress Network) – In this information and tip sheet, the NCTSN provides an overview of how children and adolescents may react to natural and human-caused disasters that they experience as traumatic.
Coping with Grief and Anger
- Coping With Grief After Community Violence (SAMHSA) – This tip sheet introduces signs of grief and anger after an incident of community violence, provides useful information about how to cope with grief, and offers tips for helping children deal with grief.
- Tips for Survivors: Coping With Grief After a Disaster or Traumatic Event (SAMHSA) – In this tip sheet, the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) defines and describes grief, discusses ways of coping with grief, explains complicated grief, and offers relevant resources for additional support.
Additional Resources
- For additional resources regarding mental health and trauma, including key tip sheets from SAMHSA see the Community Violence section of the Disaster Mental and Behavioral Health and COVID-19 page.
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