Epigenetics is scientifically defined as a field of study focused on the changes in DNA that do not involve an actual alteration to the sequence of DNA, but rather changes in the structure of DNA. The ever-evolving term describes how chemical modifications affect the expression of a gene in relation to environmental and behavioral factors and how these modifications can be passed on from one generation to the next. This understanding raises the following question: does stress and trauma experienced within our family lineage affect our genetic makeup generations later? This article explores how epigenetic correlates to generational trauma in the Black community.
One way to examine the prevalence of psychological trauma in the Black community is through the lens of historical and intergenerational trauma. Andrea L. Roberts of Harvard School of Public Health found that Black communities experience traumatic events at a higher rate than other racial groups. She speculates the element of race-based trauma, and exposure to historical and intergenerational trauma to be the reasons for this disparity. For the Black community, historical trauma is embedded in the enslavement and Jim Crow eras. To give further insight into why Black individuals experience traumatic events at a higher prevalence, this article elaborates on societal factors that perpetuate adversity, advancing disparities and persistent discrimination.
One example of historical trauma that persists is through well-documented systematic biases in the criminal justice system. Policies within the criminal justice system not only negatively impact the person behind bars, these policies also impact their entire family. So many Black children whose parents are incarcerated tend to have minimal contact with their parents while in prison. They are apt to experience food insecurity, and are more likely to live in neighborhoods that are socioeconomically disadvantaged. These neighborhoods are associated with poorer quality schools, a concentration of environmental hazards, fewer safe outdoor spaces for children to play, and higher rates of crime and community violence, among other adversities. These factors and childhood trauma may affect the epigenetics regulation of gene expression in an individual.
Professor F Brouns, a nutritionist, elaborates on how psychological stress from exposure to violence, discrimination, trauma and other negative life events are risk factors for negative health outcomes including mental illness, hypertension, breast cancer, pre-term birth, and others that are transmitted through epigenetic influences on the next generation, a phenomenon faced in Black families, that runs a great risk of continuing through generations if not realized and addressed.
If you begin contemplating the depth of historical oppression, and how traumas passed down to affect one’s health and wellbeing, we must analyze the influence of habits, behaviors, practices, mindset, and perspectives, even when these experiences are indirect encounters in families. Science tells us that the human body adapts to the reality of trauma. This competes dangerously with healthier lifestyle narratives. Dr Shawn Ginwright, professor, activist, and author of “The Future of Healing: Shifting from Trauma Care to Healing Centered Engagement” states that understanding how humans respond to these exposures is critical for service providers to first understand overt of systematic trauma. Additionally, she asserts that covert institutional norms that continue to perpetuate racism in the United States must be exposed and eliminated, coupled with the integration of trauma informed care. Healing centered around engagement is a strategy to finding true healing in the Black community.