Organizing As Pathway for Wellbeing and Post-Traumatic Growth for Black Youth in New York City: Healing and Recovery in the Context of Historical Trauma and Systemic Violence

Background and Purpose: In social work, there is a dominant thrust to develop intrapsychic coping mechanisms among Black youth to address the harm they encounter while facing violent social disparities. Organizing to interrupt systemic violence, heal historical mass group trauma, and promote post-traumatic growth are not often addressed in common approaches to Black youth wellbeing, such as positive youth development and trauma informed practice. The aim of this dissertation study was to better understand the meaning, features and role of organizing to Black youth standing up for racial and economic justice in New York City. The purpose was to investigate if and how organizing was a pathway to post-traumatic growth, wellbeing, healing, and recovery from systemic violence in the context of historical trauma.

Methods: A phenomenological and critical qualitative research approach was used to conduct 20 semi-structured interviews 45-90min in length, in addition to three participant observations during an organizing meeting and two social actions. Interviewees were Black youth organizers ages 18-31, with an average age of 24. Gender identity categories were inclusive of 2 gender non-conforming, 10 cis-gender female, and 8 cis-gender male youth, two of which identified as fathers. Experience in organizing ranged from 6 months to over 12 years as an activist or organizer, with the average experience level being 5 years. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded thematically, by hand and using Atlas Ti qualitative software, to analyze hermeneutic units.

Results:  Three key findings emerged from the lived experiences of Black youth organizers: 1) The meaning of organizing is to redefine destiny, 2) Organizing heals as a spiritual/energetic experience of connecting with ancestors and envisioning a healed Black future, and 3) A pathway to post-traumatic growth is through collective action. Participants did identify some risks to their wellbeing while organizing, such as 1) Pain from inescapable awareness of social injustice, 2) The physical and emotional drain of organizing work, 3) Toxicity and violence in some organizing spaces and communities, and 4) Value-clashes at work. The risks appeared to be mitigated by access to collective self-care efforts.

Conclusion and Implications:  Recovery from systemic violence and historical trauma for Black youth in this study was both a process and product of social resistance. Organizing resulted in relief from the pain of systemic violence and historical trauma through protest ritual, tapping into the legacy of historical resistance by ancestors, and channeling a vision of a healed Black future. In taking action they felt able to contribute to the greater collective wellbeing of Black people, while gaining access to needed resources through policy shifts. Organizing was described as a calling and a multidimensional spiritual/energetic experience, responsible for action-focused post-traumatic growth. In gaining a calling, participants appeared to have a sense of purpose and restoration from the violence of social injustice, including racism. The findings offer an additional pathway for trauma recovery that intersects micro- and macro-social work practice.