As Black History Month rolls around, we\u2019re often encouraged to reflect on the legacy of Black achievement. Don\u2019t get me wrong\u2014it\u2019s important to honour the resistance, the innovation, the victories in the face of unimaginable oppression. But there\u2019s something else that needs to be addressed\u2014something that lurks in the shadows of our history but remains ever-present in our lives today: the generational trauma of colonialism and how, in many ways, we\u2019ve internalised the very systems that oppressed us.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to look at history from a distance and think about what happened as an event in the past. But let\u2019s be honest, colonialism isn\u2019t just some distant event. Its effects didn\u2019t simply die with the last European ship that sailed away. The mechanisms of control – economic exploitation, cultural erasure, the dehumanisation of Black bodies\u2014are still with us. Worse, we carry them inside us, passed down through generations like a twisted family heirloom.<\/p>\n
For so long, survival was our main concern. And can you blame our ancestors? They were trapped in systems that sought to strip them of everything\u2014land, language, identity. When your entire existence is reduced to making it through the day, mental health, self-care, and emotional well-being aren\u2019t exactly high priorities. You just survive. But here\u2019s the thing: what happens when that survival instinct and mentality becomes so ingrained that it shapes how we live now?<\/p>\n
Many of us\u2014especially those of us who grew up in immigrant or first-generation families\u2014are still living with this survival mindset. We learn early on that struggle is a virtue, that self-sacrifice is expected, and that talking about things like mental health is a luxury. But here\u2019s the uncomfortable truth: these survival and coping mechanisms, while once essential, now keep us trapped in cycles of stress, overwork, and self-neglect. It\u2019s like we\u2019re trying to outrun our trauma with the very strategies that trauma created.<\/p>\n
Take a look at how these patterns play out today. Studies show that Black people, especially those from immigrant families, are less likely to seek mental health support. A report by Race Equality Foundation states that Black adults in the UK are less likely to access mental health services voluntarily compared to white adults. They are also more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act and be given medication rather than talking therapies. The NHS Digital’s Mental Health Act statistics also show that Black people are four times more likely to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act than white people.<\/p>\n
The Mental Health Foundation, also highlighted that Black people tend to receive mental health support at a more critical stage, often through emergency or crisis services, which reflects systemic inequalities. This is worsened because we\u2019ve been taught, consciously or not, that our mental well-being isn\u2019t as important as our survival. It\u2019s this notion that if our ancestors could survive slavery and colonialism, we can handle a little anxiety or depression. But is that really living?<\/p>\n
Now, I\u2019m not here to be a preacher, but we need to think critically about this: at what point does surviving become a prison in itself? At what point do we acknowledge that the coping mechanisms passed down to us\u2014grinding through burnout, ignoring emotional pain, constantly hustling\u2014are relics of colonial trauma? The systems that once oppressed us no longer have to do the work because, in many ways, we\u2019re doing it for them. Satirical, isn\u2019t it? They trained us so well we don\u2019t even notice we\u2019re stuck in their game.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to break out of this state of perpetual survival. We have the power, the agency, and\u2014believe it or not\u2014the right to do more than just survive. This is where radical self-love comes in, and not in some fluffy, \u201clove yourself\u201d Instagrammable way. I mean a full-scale rejection of the limiting beliefs that colonialism embedded in us: that our value is tied to our productivity, that we must endure suffering to be worthy, that joy and rest are luxuries we can\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n
And let\u2019s be clear\u2014rejecting these beliefs is an act of rebellion. Think about it. After centuries of being told we\u2019re lesser, less human, less capable, choosing to love and care for ourselves unapologetically is an act of defiance. It\u2019s flipping the script. It\u2019s reclaiming what colonialism tried to steal: our humanity. When we prioritise our mental, physical, and spiritual health, we\u2019re telling the world\u2014and ourselves\u2014that we deserve to exist in fullness, not just in fragments.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t about pretending the trauma didn\u2019t happen. The scars are there, no question. But we don\u2019t have to keep reopening the wounds by clinging to the survival strategies that no longer serve us. Instead, we can begin the work of healing\u2014true healing, that goes beyond just coping, beyond just getting by.<\/p>\n
I know what some of you are thinking: Easier said than done. Of course it is. Undoing centuries of conditioning isn\u2019t a walk in the park. But we can start small. We can start by questioning the narratives we\u2019ve internalised. We can recognise when we\u2019re living out patterns that aren\u2019t serving us, when we\u2019re stuck in the grind because we think that\u2019s all we deserve. And most importantly, we can allow ourselves to rest, to breathe, to live\u2014not just survive.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s one thing Black History Month should remind us of, it\u2019s that we\u2019ve always been more than what the world says we are. Our ancestors were more than slaves, more than colonised subjects, and we are more than the trauma that\u2019s been handed down to us. The greatest rebellion is not just surviving\u2014it\u2019s thriving. So let\u2019s honour that legacy, not by repeating the past, but by breaking free from it. Because we deserve more than survival\u2014we deserve to live.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Black History Month rolls around, we\u2019re often encouraged to reflect on the legacy of Black achievement. Don\u2019t get me wrong\u2014it\u2019s important to honour the resistance, the innovation, the victories in the face of unimaginable oppression. But there\u2019s something else that needs to be addressed\u2014something that lurks in the shadows of our history but remains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":4724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","iawp_total_views":25,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[727,397,728,729,724,396,723,176,726,725],"wf_post_folders":[322],"class_list":{"0":"post-4722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"tag-black","9":"tag-black-history-month","10":"tag-black-lives-matter","11":"tag-blm","12":"tag-colonialism","13":"tag-protest","14":"tag-race","15":"tag-racism","16":"tag-slavery","17":"tag-trauma"},"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Topaz Manneh","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/author\/topazmanneh\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/bsvntpxvp34-300x300.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Features<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Features<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["black<\/a>","Black History Month<\/a>","black lives matter<\/a>","blm<\/a>","colonialism<\/a>","protest<\/a>","race<\/a>","racism<\/a>","slavery<\/a>","trauma<\/a>"],"unlinked":["black<\/span>","Black History Month<\/span>","black lives matter<\/span>","blm<\/span>","colonialism<\/span>","protest<\/span>","race<\/span>","racism<\/span>","slavery<\/span>","trauma<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 23 October 2024","modified":"Updated on 4 December 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 23 October 2024 23:34","modified":"Updated on 4 December 2024 23:42"},"featured_img_caption":"Photo by Sierra Koder<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>","series_order":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4725,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722\/revisions\/4725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4722"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=4722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}