The Untold Story. Intergenerational Trauma And Black Women

The Untold Story, is an autoethnographic portfolio comprised of an exhibit, a filmed performance, a photobook and an essay. In these works, I employ family narratives, art making, analysis of secondary resources and community building to address the impact of intergenerational trauma on Black women’s mental health.There have not been enough studies on mental health among Black women and many Black women do not recognize the signs, thus never report the symptoms to their doctor as they uphold the enduring position of a strong Black woman. In response to these issues, the art making spaces that I create address the stigma of mental illness in the Black community and how race is not included in the mental health conversation. My research creates community and creative agency of Black women’s mental health and opens conversations surrounding the stigma related to Black women and mental illness. My work highlights the history of Black women and resilience; the effects of trauma on Black women including Black trans women; and the importance of addressing and healing from trauma within spaces specifically for Black women, both cis and trans. In this essay, I address the underrepresented history of Black women in North America, starting with the history of enslavement. The creation of art-making spaces as a framework for my autoethnographic methodology enables me to delve into my family history of women in my family principally through storytelling and lived experiences.