Retracing Our Paths - Remembering Our Origins

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S U B S I S T E N C E

“Our ancestral grandmothers braided seeds of okra and millet and rice and sorghum — all their cherished crops — into their hair before being forced to board transatlantic slave ships. They believed, against the odds, in a future in the soil. And with those seeds they also braided cultural tradition about how we interact with land, how we take care of the soil, and how we share resources and labor.” — Leah Penniman

By Sterling Hawkins, MSW, LCSW, LICSW

Closely linked to “Home” is the ability to create a meaningful life. A life that ensures you and your progeny will subsist and progress toward sustainability. This is the life goal of many who endure forced migration. In the United States the phrase “The American Dream” aptly describes this process. A forward momentum marked by struggle and suffering to achieve the best life possible.

The United States Senate on April 8, 1864, passed a joint resolution calling for an amendment (Thirteenth) to the Constitution that ended slavery, but the House of Representatives failed to pass it. Pressure on Republican leadership in the House to pass the resolution intensified, and the resolution finally succeeded on January 31, 1865. The proposed amendment stated that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction," and authorized Congress to enforce the amendment with appropriate legislation. (Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation | Articles and Essays | Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress | Digital Collections | Library of Congress, n.d.-a)

One of the problems created for white landowners after enslaved Blacks were emancipated was the problem of labor. The primary source of economic industry in the south was agriculture. White landowners were dependent on slavery to remain profitable. The very livelihood of Black farmers was threatened. Consequently, the problem Blacks faced was how to earn a living. Farming for many enslaved peoples was their only acquired skill. While various industries (carpentry, masonry, blacksmiths, tanners, housemaids, and weavers) were linked to agriculture, planting and harvesting crops (cotton, corn, potatoes, peanuts, vegetables), remained the work that offered large numbers of freed Blacks the opportunity to remain employed.

Skilled field labor was essential to maintaining several hundred-acre farms. The absence of skilled fieldhands would spell economic doom for white farmers. Cotton was the predominant cash crop during this period and a time-sensitive commodity.

Faced with the possibility of economic ruin for white landowners pitted against the needs of Blacks for property and homes to live in and raise their families, combined with their need for earned income, a new system would evolve that, in many ways, was not much different from the institution of slavery- That new system was Sharecropping.

Sharecropping was the result of an original promise given by then president Lincoln gone bad. The plan 40 acres and a mule proposed by a group of Black ministers and Gen. William T. Sherman and other Union leaders who met in Savannah, Georgia in January 1865 to set aside land (roughly 400,000 acres) on the Southeast coast designed to give"each family (estimated to be 40 acres) a plot of tillable ground. The plan known as “Special Order 15” later became known as “Forty Acres And A Mule”. The plan however was short lived because the Union leaders realized that although they confiscated the land during the War, now that it was over they had no legal entitlement to give the land to Freed Blacks. It was a bait and switch because it left Blacks to fend for themselves while the Union Army maintained a small visible presence. Union soldiers could not force Confederate soldiers who weren’t killed during the war to relinquish their land to Freed Blacks. The reversal left many Blacks with few options but to become sharecroppers. (McCammon, 2015a)

Sharecropping was essentially a contractual arrangement between white landowners and Freed Blacks that would impose conditions not much different from slavery. The working conditions imposed on Blacks governed their very existence, stipulating working six days per week at ten or more hours per day. Contracts forbid them to leave the property without permission from the landowner or have visitors without first notifying the landowner and, in some cases, to marry. Blacks who refused to abide by these rules could leave unless they were already indebted. In most cases indebtedness would occur the moment the contract was ratified.

Generations of Black southerners were forced to labor against their will. Because their share of the profits was dependent on crop sales, Freed Blacks were loaned property, a plow, some tools, a mule, or a horse to work a small plot of land for purchase from white landowners. The psychological effects of slavery was the subjugation of Blacks in ways that were demoralizing and disempowering. Reducing the autonomy of Blacks to move about and own property was a way for whites to foster financial paternalism. When crop yields were high the interest on their shares was used to pay down on their loan. When crop yields were low (which was often) the deficit increased and the lost interest was added to the existing loan. Under such conditions, it was almost impossible for Blacks to get out of debt, which amounted to enslavement by default. (Slavery by Another Name | Episode 1, 2012)

Peonage was the legal term used to describe involuntary servitude. A system where an employer compels a worker to pay off debt with work. It is estimated that at least 800,000 Blacks were impacted by this system. It wasn’t until 1941 (77 years) after the 13th Amendment was ratified by the U.S. Constitution that President Franklin D. Roosevelt took steps to push back against Peonage by having the Attorney General’s Office draft Circular 3591, a directive that empowered federal attorneys to aggressively prosecute any case of involuntary servitude or slavery and thereby uphold the rights of African Americans. Roosevelt linked this directive to his World War II efforts. A time when the U.S. Military needed to increase recruitment in all branches of service. Blacks however continued to face significant discrimination and mistreatment even while serving their country. However, segregated units also known as “Buffalo Soldiers” afforded Blacks some independence and limited opportunity to prove that they were equal to the task of their white counterparts. This effort was made in conjunction with Roosevelt’s “New Deal” policies that sought to provide relief and recovery for people suffering from social and economic depression. It was a bold start that allowed the federal government to play a key role in the lives of Americans. However, it primarily benefited white Americans. Blacks were often left to fend for themselves. (Slavery by Another Name | Episode 1, 2012) This will be seen more clearly in my next essay titled: “Profit.”

The use of Black labor along with the labor of other People of Color for the purpose of industrial development has inherently been fueled by exploitation. Such development is often referred to in more recent times as Structural Racism- defined as a system of “laws, rules or official policies in a society that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race.” This system is deeply rooted in our patterns of socioeconomic inequality attributed to discrimination based on race. (Structural Racism, 2025)

The 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act is reported to be America’s first “farm bill” under the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). It was designed to intentionally help southern [white] planters and push poor Black sharecroppers off the land and consolidate their holdings. The design of this bill allowed the US government to pay farmers who were large landowners to curtail their production in order to keep prices high. White farmers used this money to purchase tractors and other heavy equipment to outcompete small farmers, including Black farmers. With production cut, the need for manual labor decreased in the field due to mechanization. Large white owned farms also became dependent on USDA funds which reinforced Structural Racism toward small Black owned farms. White farmers thereby pushed out Black farmers, and share croppers, that forced them to migrate to cities in search of non-agricultural jobs. (The Great Black Depression, n.d.)

The success of this displacement effort was largely due to white farmers in rural communities who were elected by county committees of predominantly racists white southerners to receive and allocate federal funding in the form of subsidies and loans to white farmers and not to Blacks. Rules were often stipulated that ensured the majority of federal funding would go to white and not Black farmers. All farms would suffer from decreased prices, but large farms were able to weather the storm. From 1950 to 1974, small farmers, many who were Black, lost two-thirds of their land. Congress failed to address the disappearance of America’s small farmers, as proposals for land redistribution or collective farming were attacked as communist. The result has been the massive decline of US farms from 1920 to today. (The Great Black Depression, n.d.)

Enslavement and Peonage experienced by Blacks in the United States had long-lasting traumatic effects. “The marginalization of African Americans based on race has been normalized across systems and institutions of the United States and continues to impact African Americans today.” (Scott-Jones et al.,2020)

“For Black Americans, the freedom struggle has been a centuries-long fight against their own fellow Americans and against the very government intended to uphold the rights of its citizens.” (Hannah-Jones & Magazine, 2021, p. 453)

The “Freedom Struggle” and its decades of momentum have led to some gains for generations of African Americans. However, the psychological impact remains in the form of high-level stress and anxiety originating from unpredictable environmental conditions such as drought, pests, and soil degradation. When combined with fluctuating markets, crop failures, and the lack of government aid programs, these factors have produced a sense of hopelessness among the African American farming community and perpetuated a cycle of indebtedness and hopelessness transmitted from one generation to the next. When life is reduced to survival, one’s legacy and purpose are diminished.

What is important to remember when helping People of Color today whose livelihood depends on the land is that most love the land and farming that has been passed down to them from their ancestors. Land purchased with their entire life savings and the balance with a bank loan. Third and fourth-generation farmers often are still paying off debt from the previous generation. Some become bankrupt and are simply awaiting inevitable foreclosure on their properties. Fatigue, heart failure, discrimination, displacement, and even suicide are all effects of trauma and the cumulative impact of indebtedness that often leads to premature death when other risk factors have been accounted for. The underlying fear for most Black farmers is that they will be unable to produce the collateral required to secure loans, which puts them at risk of losing everything.

One farm psychologist who works with rural farmers said: “So many of the factors that are important to farming successfully are outside our control. We can’t control the weather. We have limited influence on markets and policies that regulate agriculture and only a little more control over factors such as disease outbreaks and machinery breakdowns. But we have a lot of control over our behaviors. We choose whether or not we get enough productive sleep, take time to communicate to our family members and work partners, whether we consume a proper diet, recreate, pray, and engage in the many activities that take care of our minds and bodies.  We choose whether or not to take risks, to plan properly and to communicate honestly.” (Admin & Admin, 2012)

Mental health providers who seek to serve the Black farming community must first listen to the stories of those who remain engaged in the struggle for independence and land ownership. They must gain an appreciation for their restrictions over the forces that govern the family’s livelihood. Finally, rural community mental health providers must stay connected and engage existing support networks (family, neighbors, and friends) and other resources to minimize barriers to treatment.

Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of “Farming While Black” (2018) summarizes what practitioners can do to help:

To support farmers of color and their traditions, Penniman says, “We can do that person to person […] it’d just be wonderful to all reach out to farmers of color and other leaders of color in the community and say ‘how can I help?’ But larger shifts must take place for white people to adequately support these farmers. The biggest shift is going from knowing to not knowing, and from speaking to listening.” (Walla, 2018)

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References

Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation | Articles and Essays | Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress | Digital Collections | Library of Congress. (n.d.). The Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/collections/abraham-lincoln-papers/articles-and-essays/abraham-lincoln-and-emancipation/

Admin, & Admin. (2012, March 30). Dr. Rosmann introduces himself | AG Industry News - Farm and Livestock Directory. Ag Industry News - Farm and Livestock Directory. https://farmandlivestockdirectory.com/47137/5576/dr-rosmann-introduces-himself

Hannah-Jones, N., & Magazine, N. Y. T. (2021). The 1619 project: A New Origin Story. One World.The Great Black Depression. (n.d.).

McCammon, S. (2015a, January 12). The story behind “40 Acres and a Mule.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/01/12/376781165/the-story-behind-40-acres-and-a-mule

Scott-Jones G; CAADC; Kamara MR; PE. The Traumatic Impact of Structural Racism on African Americans. Dela J Public Health. (2020) Nov 7;6(5):80-82. doi: 10.32481/djph.2020.11.019. PMID: 34467171; PMCID: PMC8352535.

Slavery by Another Name | Episode 1. (2012, February 12). PBS. https://www.pbs.org/video/slavery-another-name-slavery-video/ structural racism. (2025).

Structural Racism. (2025b). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/structural-racism

Walla, K. (2018, October 5). If farmers of color don’t own land, “We don’t have a voice in the food system.” Food Tank. https://foodtank.com/news/2018/10/if-farmers-of-color-dont-own-land-we-dont-have-a-voice-in-the-food-system/

Retracing Our Paths - Remembering Our Origins

Photo by Muffin Creatives

H O M E

By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” —Maya Angelou

Where we are free, we feel safe. When we are safe, we feel known. Where we are known, we call that place home.

From the late 1800s, enslaved people began sharing their stories of captivity. Some of these stories were shared from person to person and from one plantation to another.  Some of the first-person accounts would survive several generations. These verbal accounts would be told by the grandchildren of enslaved people who were no longer enslaved but free.

I was surprised to learn how many of these oral histories exist. They provide a glimpse of what today seems unimaginable and remotely foreign until my mind flashes back to the images of young immigrant children and their parents being paraded through containment camps and separated by US Customs and Border Patrol Officers and caged like animals in 2019.

A parent is someone known to a child. Therefore, the child’s only reflection of home is the parent in a foreign land. I remember in grade school reading about a dark period in Germany’s history when, from 1933 to 1941, entire Jewish communities consisting of mothers, fathers, children, and their relatives were herded like cattle into railway box cars and carried to their deaths at several concentration camps throughout Germany and Poland.

I’m reminded of the Trail of Tears when, over twenty years (1830-1850), approximately one hundred thousand Indigenous people were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States and relocated onto government reservations known as “Indian Territory”. Many, due to the conditions of their surrender, did not survive the trip. But would die homeless en route to a wasteland void of fertility.

These examples are each different and speak to other aspects of dispossession. At best, each involves what is inhumane and traumatic; at its worst, extermination and death.

The Transatlantic Slave trade from the early 1500s to the mid-1800s was a great evil. Millions of Africans were kidnapped and forced onto European and American ships and trafficked across the Atlantic Ocean to be enslaved, abused, and forever separated from their homes, families, and cultures. Being extracted from their homes was only the beginning of the suffering they would face.

The following is a narrative from the National Humanities Center’s Vol. I 1500 -1865 titled “Capture: Selections from the Narratives of Former Slaves.” The Center is a private non-profit institute dedicated to education and public engagement that interprets the human experience. The subject is identified and archived only as “Aunt Adeline” in WPA (Works Projects Administration) records. The narrative was submitted by a man identified as  John Brown, who was enslaved in Alabama and interviewed in Oklahoma in 1937.

One day a big ship stopped off the shore and the natives hid in the brush along the beach. Grandmother was there. The ship men sent a little boat to the shore and scattered bright things and trinkets on the beach. The natives were curious. Grandmother said everybody made a rush for them things soon as the boat left. The trinkets was fewer than the peoples. Next day the white folks scatter some more. There was another scramble. The natives was feeling less scared, and the next day some of them walked up the gangplank to get things off the plank and off the deck. The deck was covered with things like they’d found on the beach. Two-three hundred natives on the ship when they feel it move. They rush to the side, but the plank was gone. Just dropped in the water when the ship moved away. Folks on the beach started crying and shouting. The ones on the boat was wild with fear. Grandmother was one of them who got fooled, and she say the last thing seen of that place was the natives running up and down the beach waving their arms and shouting like they was mad. They boat men come up from below where they had been hiding and drive the slaves down in the bottom and keep them quiet with whips and clubs.  (National Humanities Center n.d.)

Another account contained in Volume I under the same title is credited to a man by the name identified as Luke Dixon who was enslaved in Virginia and interviewed in Arkansas in 1937.

Ma lived to be a 103 years old. Pa died in 1905 and was 105 years old. I used to set on Grandma’s lap, and she told me about how they used to catch people in Africa. They herded them up like cattle and put them in stalls and brought them on the ship and sold them. She said some they captured they left bound till they come back and sometimes they never went back to get them. They died. They had room in the stalls on the boat to set down or lie down. They put several together. Put the men to themselves and the women to themselves. When they sold Grandma and Grandpa at a fishing dock in New Port, VA., they had their feet bound down and their hands crossed, up on a platform. They sold Grandma’s daughter to somebody in Texas. She cried and begged to let them be together. They didn’t pay no ‘tenshion to her. She couldn’t talk but she made them know she didn’t want to be parted. Six years after slavery they got together.  (National Humanities Center n.d.)

We learn from these two accounts that Africans who were abducted from their native land were no longer safe, and not able to question their captors. On the contrary, they would be questioned by all those who exercised authority over them. They would be wounded and maimed.  Many did not survive the horrific conditions onboard these ships. The ones that did were forever changed by their experiences.

They would have to learn a new language and endure harsh climates and conditions of enslavement to survive. Those fortunate enough to have access to their children for any duration would have to prepare them physically and psychologically for such a time of separation.

The psychological impact on any culture or group having to adapt to unsafe environments and conditions is that they will quickly learn to interpret any and every encounter with suspicion. Over time, the adult mind will be unable to differentiate people and or places that are safe from those that are not. The adult mind will begin to function solely to protect itself and the body it inhabits. While some may continue to show kindness toward those in similar circumstances, many will not.  Being subject to sale and transport at a moment’s notice prevented them from developing strong emotional bonds.  I was struck by how white ship captains, and their crews were able to force other Africans to inflict harm on their own people. They were forced to do so.  But over time, I imagine many of these enslaved people who were forced to turn on their kinsmen were given limited autonomy in return for their loyalty. And these African oppressors were simply able to eat and live to see another day.

The memory of home would dissipate more quickly for those entering adulthood.  Like smoke from a woodfire and the heat from dying embers, young captives would not experience the dissociation felt by men and women who were much older.  For their (older captives), loss of home would be more painful and inextricably bound to their identity and way of life.

In the second narrative by Luke Dixon, we are told that the mother and daughter who were separated after their transatlantic voyage and sold at auction were eventually reunited.  This was a rare occurrence but one that many enslaved relatives held onto.  The hope of seeing their loved ones again was a small flame that would not easily be extinguished.

The casualties of enslaved peoples would be felt not only by them but also by those left behind.  Those who remained in Africa.  Those left behind were the old and the very young.  Children whose parents were captured would inevitably become orphans, and their welfare became the responsibility of the adult community.

Most persons who live in a heightened state of insecurity usually develop anxiety and depression. These symptoms may lead further to post-traumatic stress that results in suicidal or homicidal tendencies. People who live in this perpetual state of depression or anxiety cannot fully exercise their roles and responsibilities within any sense of normalcy. Children raised in environments where there are no physical ties to home or property or where familial bonds are weak and non-existent go on to experience physical health problems as well. Cardiac, dermatological, and gastrointestinal issues are common among persons who are forced exiles.

According to Resmaa Menakem in his book My Grandmother's Hands, unhealed trauma can become part of someone’s personality. “As it is passed on and compounded through our bodies, it often becomes the family norm.  If it gets transmitted and compounded through multiple families and generations, it can turn into a culture”.  (Menakem, 2017,  p. 54)

Generational trauma involves understanding that every emotion we process is a burden our ancestors could not address. By learning to identify, feel, and release these burdens, we learn to break the cycle so that future generations who follow won’t have to endure the same pain.

Clinicians working with individuals who have experienced the trauma of forced migration and those unable to re-patriate or re-connect with their homeland (including their biological family) must ask themselves: What cultural resources will be supportive of their being able to cope and mitigate the damage caused by forced migration. The literature suggests that homes are strengthened and established through first generations of communities and churches.  

Persons who have experienced forced migration react and adapt to their new homeland differently.  The Descendants of Africa and the Americas  (Latin, Central, and South) must examine what has been lost historically. The homes and communities they inhabit are very different from those of their ancestors. 

Therapists and community workers who understand the importance of preserving one’s culture will engage in practices that promote healing and counteract trauma associated with violence and acquisition. The mental health community must work to secure safe places where education and emotional connections can flourish without fear. We must work to secure for them what we have obtained for ourselves—a place called home. 

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References:

Accounts of Slave Capture in Africa, Freedom, African American Identity: Vol. I, 1500-1865, Primary Resources in U.S. History and Literature, Toolbox Library, National Humanities Center. (n.d.). https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/freedom/text6/text6read.htm

 Menakem, R. (2017) My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies.

Retracing Our Paths - Remembering Our Origins

Photo by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz

By Sterling M. Hawkins, LCSW-C, LICSW

D I S P O S S E S S I O N

"Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won,
you earn it and win it in every generation."— Coretta Scott King

Colonial extinction and dispossession have occurred over the past 500 years. Dispossession involves a state where something you have is taken away from you, particularly your home or land, in most cases for the sole purpose of profit. Extraction and exploitation are materially connected. Colonization is a form of unequal exchange and involves those whose inhabitants are controlled by a more powerful country or group that is often far away. Conquest and European colonization between the 15th and 17th centuries brought disease to livestock and to enslaved peoples. When Europeans could not force enough indigenous labor to make colonization profitable they turned to the importation and enslavement of Africans that were violently extracted to supplement other indentured labor. Mass deaths in the 1500s occurred more than at any other time in American history because of disease. Eighty percent of Africans lost their lives resulting from smallpox, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and malaria. While not originally intended, pursuing profit through gold, silver, tobacco, and sugar resulted in genocide. At the very least enslaved Native Americans and Africans were expendable resources whenever their labor failed to generate a profit.

Terra nullus is a Latin term that means— “the land of no one” and refers to a land not under the sovereignty or control of any other state or socially or politically organized grouping. It was based on the Doctrine of Discovery which European explorers used to invade the sovereignty of Indigenous nations confiscate them as vacant and deem these lands and their inhabitants for their country. European explorers from— Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, and the Netherlands ventured out in search of conquest and capital from 1492 - 1800. Their desire was for adventure, wealth, gold, silver, land, and commercial crops to increase political power. The use of native indigenous peoples pre-date African slavery. The Spanish invaded the Inca dynasties to mine precious metals from modern-day Columbia. Colonists turned to the continent of Africa to extract Africans in 1619 because indigenous tribal lands were soon exhausted and crops such as sugar, cotton, and tobacco were used to supplement and replace gold and silver to meet the demand for European monarchs at home.

Why Slavery? Indentured servants required payment or other forms of protection that would decrease profits. Originally, the first Africans arrived in the American colonies in 1619. However, slaves from Africa had already arrived in the Caribbean and Latin America in the 1500s, including North, South, and Central America.

Since the purpose of establishing colonies was to make money for royal families, wealthy colonists were set on decreasing the costs associated with producing cash crops. The easy method available was slavery. The quickest way to increase wealth using Indigenous tribes proved difficult because of their vast knowledge of the terrain. Extraction of Africans made it less likely for escape and revolts, allowing colonists to exercise greater control over them. Besides colonists needed to learn the skills of Native peoples to survive. West Africa bordered Europe and American seaports, making slavery— the capture, exchange, and sale of human property more accessible (Project, n.d.).

Terra nullus served as the prologue for intergenerational trauma. Dispossession occurs when any Indigenous people group (Africans and Native peoples) are removed forcibly from their land with subsequent occupation by their oppressor. Or, cession by treaty, whereby the previous government (Chiefs, Clans, Tribes, Councils, and Confederacies) yields power.

African American History, along with Native American history, shares similar stories. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade and The Iconic Trail of Tears that relocated thousands of Native peoples to Oklahoma were an epic tragedy that uprooted Indigenous peoples from their lands. In 1838, the Georgia militia dispossessed the Cherokee from their homeland at gunpoint. Forced to leave most of their belongings behind, they witnessed white Georgians taking ownership of their cabins, looting, and burning prized possessions. They were loaded into stockades and held captive until the militia set out on multiple routes to cross Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas at 10 miles a day with meager rations.

“In addition to bearing the physical and emotional hardship of the trip, enslaved Blacks were enlisted to labor for the Cherokees along the way; they hunted, chopped wood, nursed the sick, washed clothes, prepared the meals, guarded the camps at night, and hiked ahead to remove obstructions from the roads.” (Miles 2012)

Sadly, the Black presence on the Trail of Tears is dismissed by both Blacks and Natives alike. Some Native tribes (Cherokee, Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Seminoles) were complicit in denying their role in slave ownership. Some Cherokees insisted that the tragedy rightfully should be theirs alone and not shared with Blacks, A few chose to exclude Blacks (many of whom had Native “blood) from a claim on this history and deny Black descendants from the circle of tribal belonging. (Miles 2012)

Likewise, some African Americans wished to avoid confronting the painful memory of Native peoples’ slave ownership, preferring instead to fondly imagine any Indian ancestor in the family tree and to picture all Native American communities in the South as safe havens for runaway slaves. (Miles 2012)

African American history and Native peoples have intertwined histories involving dispossession. Both experienced the brutal effects of colonization and exploitation by European settlers.

The Trail of Tears (1831-1850) marked the beginning of the forced relocation of Native peoples onto land parceled out by the US Government. During this time, Blacks remained enslaved by the Native tribes or by white settlers until the end of the Civil War ( 1861-1865) and the abolishment of slavery. After the Civil War, some Blacks received land allotments and limited tribal entitlements, depending on the laws of the individual tribes.

The intersectionality of race, gender, and class is critical to understanding the systemic nature of intergenerational trauma among marginalized societies and communities that have experienced dispossession. The effects of dispossession and enslavement have produced impoverishment, degradation, racism, sexism, and physical and mental health issues that never completely resolve but are suppressed, internalized, repackaged, and repeated and passed on to successive generations in ways that are often unclear to those who experience the symptoms.

The late author, feminist, and Civil Rights activist Bell Hooks, when addressing cultural oppression, writes— “I want there to be a place in the world where people can engage in one another’s differences in a way that is redemptive, full of hope and possibility. Not this— In order to love you, I must make you something else. That’s what domination is all about, that in order to be close to you, I must possess you, remake and recaste you.” (“Reel to Real Quotes by Bell Hooks,” n.d.)

I believe Hooks is correct. Unless there is redemptive engagement, there is no path forward and no reconciliation. The question white communities must ask themselves is— what are the most effective strategies for eliminating discriminatory practices that keep Blacks and other marginalized groups from experiencing dispossession and becoming re-traumatized? Likewise, Black communities must ask— what practices will preserve our cultural heritage, and promote freedom and equality that will aid our psychological healing and improved mental health?

“Contrary to what we may have been taught to think, unnecessary and unchosen suffering wounds us but need not scar us for life. It does mark us. What we allow the mark of our suffering to become is in our own hands.” (“Bell Hooks Quotes  (Author of All About Love),” n.d.)

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References:

Project, Connected Sociologies Curriculum. n.d. “Connected Sociologies - Colonial Dispossession and Extraction.” https://thesociologicalreview.org/projects/connected-sociologies/curriculum/mmw/colonial-extraction-and-dispossession/.

“https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/25/us/pain-of-trail-of-tears-shared-by-blacks-as-well-as-native-americans/index.html.” n.d. Https://Www.Cnn.Com/2012/02/25/Us/Pain-of-Trail-of-Tears-Shared-by-Blacks-as-Well-as-Native-Americans/Index.Html.

“Reel to Real Quotes by Bell Hooks.” n.d. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/668261-reel-to-real-race-sex-and-class-at-the-movies.

“Reel to Real Quotes by Bell Hooks.” n.d. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/668261-reel-to-real-race-sex-and-class-at-the-movies.“Bell Hooks Quotes  (Author of All About Love).” n.d. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/10697.bell_hooks.

Retracing Our Paths - Remembering Our Origins

Photo by Marina Leonova

By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

The following Essays were inspired by author Nikole Hannah-Jones and her book titled The 1619 Project. The 1619 Project published in 2021 (Random House, LLC, NY) is a collection of essays edited by Prof. Jones in collaboration with the New York Times. The book asserts that American history began in 1619 with the arrival of the White Lion, the first ship of enslaved Africans one year before the Mayflower arrived. The book argues that American democracy and wealth of the nation were largely built by enslaved Black Americans. But that this demographic in many ways is excluded from American history and remains suppressed due to racist institutions that persist from slavery.

These essays will attempt to go deeper into the fabric of certain principles of entitlement embodied in the Declaration of Independence that were denied people of color and the fallout from this failure in several key themes: Dispossession, Home, Subsistence, Profit, and Belief

What Do These Essays Have To Do With Mental Health?

Each essay will explore the concept of Intergenerational Trauma and recount deeply distressing and disturbing experiences documented throughout our history. While some may say that these experiences are now past they fail to see the present vestiges each has rooted in ancestral burdens that we who now live continue to carry. By identifying these burdens, we can begin the dialog and heal. The following Five Topic areas and their definitions will be used to explore Intergenerational Trauma in what otherwise may be mistaken as unrelated outcomes or occurrences of factors removed from the enslavement.

D I S P O S S E S S I O N

Persons who are forcibly displaced from their homeland are exposed to various stressors that impact their mental health and physical well-being before their migration and after their settlement and reintegration.

H O M E

The place where we reside or spend the majority of our time. It is a physical and geographical space. It’s also the tangible feeling you get from location, a sense of peace and joy from an environment, from loved ones where everyone knows they are welcome. The true meaning of home is diverse. However, what remains the same for everyone is that we desire to experience comfort and safety for it to be called such.

S U B S I S T E N C E

The action or fact of maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level requires that individuals be given the least amount of resources and materials possible, just enough to ensure their survival. Historically, people of color have been denied the resources and materials to live without the threat of poverty, disease, and death.

P R O F I T

The ability to obtain a financial advantage or benefit from labor or investment. For many people of color profit was denied or elusive at best. The effects of slavery and other forms of injustice have resulted in extreme income inequities designed to limit and remove the potential to make a better life for oneself.

B E L I E F

For many, religious and spiritual practices are key to understanding, recovering, and healing from trauma. Some faith traditions of Indigenous groups resemble only what could be classified as a preservative factor to insulate them and their communities from division and give meaning to life by offering solutions and reducing social isolation while providing a sense of identity, collective confidence, and transcendent hope amidst oppressive and inhumane conditions.

* * * * *

I N T E R G E N E R A T I O N A L T R A U M A

What Is Intergenerational Trauma?

Intergenerational Trauma is a theory that explains decades of generational conflict in households, families, and communities. It is transferred from a historical event with oppressive or traumatic repercussions to successive generations. People who suffer from Intergenerational Trauma may experience behavioral, and psychological symptoms related to the trauma that preceding generations have gone through, not limited to just parents or grandparents.

How was Intergenerational Trauma discovered?

Genetics is the study of genes—the units of a person’s genetic code, made from DNA. The term “epigenetics” originated with Conrad Waddington (1905–1975) a biologist and geneticist who coined the term “epigenetics” to define the branch of biology that studies the causal interactions between genes and the traits that they influence. Epigenetics focuses on physical changes that affect how genes are “expressed”. (Felsenfeld 2014)

Each person's DNA lays the groundwork for developing physical and psychological characteristics—providing complex instructions for creating proteins and other molecules. However, how these instructions are used can be modified by various factors.  These modifications occur naturally and help to steer development. For example, they enable cells in the brain in other parts of the body to perform specialized roles based on the same underlying genetic code. However, the epigenome is also susceptible to influence by exposure to toxins and other environmental factors.

Epigenetic changes may be caused by health-related factors such as diet, exercise, smoking, drug use, and early stress. For example, research suggests that prenatal exposure to famine may reduce the methylation of a gene associated with growth. Differences in DNA methylation have also been explored in individuals who have experienced other forms of early-life adversity, such as childhood trauma. Such epigenetic differences, if indeed caused by harsh early experiences, could potentially play a role in explaining increased vulnerability to physical and mental illness. (Psychology Today 2024)

On the simplest level, the concept of intergenerational trauma acknowledges that exposure to extremely adverse events impacts individuals to such a great extent that their offspring find themselves grappling with their parents’ post‐traumatic state. A more recent and provocative claim is that the experience of trauma – or more accurately the effect of that experience – is “passed” somehow from one generation to the next through non‐genomic, possibly epigenetic mechanisms affecting DNA function or gene transcription. (Yehuda -Lerner 2018)

The belief that the experience of parents and their ancestors influence future generations is well documented. History is taught, past down, and preserved through the witnesses and survivors of communal trauma, such as genocide and death. Cultural memory is conveyed through rituals, memorials, museums, the arts, and anniversaries. Intergenerational or Cultural trauma occurs “when members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks upon their group consciousness, marking their memories forever and changing their future identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways.” (Lehrner and Yehuda, 2018 as cited in Alexander, 2004)

In the case of the Holocaust, (1933- 1945) many members of the targeted community felt it was vital to demonstrate that the Nazis had failed in their agenda to destroy the Jewish community and that living well was the best revenge. After all, Jews had a long history of surviving oppression, and the Holocaust provided another instance not only of their victimization but also of their resilience. (Lehrner and Yehuda 2018)

“The population of Holocaust survivors was relatively unique in that the entire religious group was targeted, regardless of sex, age, temperament, or other risk factors, and the Holocaust ended after the war and so could be chronologically bounded. Despite the dispersion of survivors, they tended to settle in Jewish communities in the United States and Israel and could thus be identified and recruited for study. Furthermore, the second generation was composed of adults who were interested in research questions about intergenerational transmission of trauma effects and of age to consent and participate in such research. A research literature followed, chasing questions of whether and how a trauma not directly experienced may have had intergenerational influences, affecting the development of second and even third generations of offspring.” (Lerner and Yehuda 2018)

Another evidence of intergenerational trauma occurred when tens of thousands of people on September 11th, 2001 were directly exposed to the World Trade Center attack. There were documented approximately 1,700 pregnant women. Some of these women as a result of their exposure developed PTSD, involving trouble sleeping, nightmares, becoming easily startled or frightened, irritability, and aggression. Some of the children of these pregnant women exhibit symptoms that their mothers experienced on that day. 38 of these women who were at or near the World Trade Center at the time participated in a research study where saliva samples were taken and measured for the stress hormone cortisol. Researchers found that those women who had developed PTSD following exposure to the attacks had significantly lower levels of cortisol in their saliva than those who were similarly exposed but did not develop PTSD. About a year later, the researchers measured cortisol levels in the children and found that those born to women who had developed PTSD had lower levels of the hormone than the others. It was also observed that reduced cortisol levels were most apparent in those children whose mothers were in the third trimester of pregnancy when they were exposed to the attack. (Costandi 2018)

It is believed that “Adverse experiences may influence the next generation through multiple pathways. The most apparent route runs through parental behavior, but influences during gestation and even changes in eggs and sperm may also play a role. And all these channels seem to involve epigenetics: alterations in the way that genes function. Epigenetics potentially explains why the effects of trauma may endure long after the immediate threat is gone, and it is also implicated in the diverse pathways by which trauma is transmitted to future generations.” (Yehuda 2022)

Why is the topic of Intergenerational Trauma important?

Depression among people of color (African American, Latinx, and Indigenous groups) who have experienced discrimination are more likely to suffer from depression. Their symptoms occur with greater frequency, duration, and severity when compared with White Americans. Moreover, African Americans are less likely to receive mental health treatment than their White counterparts. These inequities are often linked to social, economic, and environmental determinants such as low income, under-resourced educational opportunities, inadequate housing, and insufficient access to quality mental health treatment. (Am Journal of Psychiatry 2022)

Identifying and understanding these risk factors particularly their impact on successive generations requires accounting for structural racism that is routinely experienced by racially and ethnically minoritized individuals.

Cumulative trauma is a term that is used to explain syndromes that result from repeated injury or are aggravated by repetitive insults. Traumatic experiences stemming directly from structural racism represent the failure of a trusted entity (institutions, society, or the government) to protect one from harm. (Am Journal of Psychiatry 2022)

Traumatic experiences can take many forms. Intergenerational trauma which stems from historical trauma by oppression related to culture, race, or ethnicity transcends multiple generations. Not only for survivors but also for descendants not yet born. Researchers now recognize that circumstances that can lead to intergenerational trauma include multiple causes that have their origin in:

• colonization

• enslavement, systemic racism, discrimination

• loss of language, culture, and traditions,

• separation of children from family members

• war

• famine and natural disasters

• global or national crisis, like the Great Depression or the Covid-19 Pandemic

• genocide

• long-term financial hardship or poverty

  (Raypole 2022)

The physical and psychological effects of one or more of these causes will directly impact what persons believe about themselves, others, and their social environment. The effects of intergenerational trauma can be lifelong and require that those who are experiencing symptoms linked to intergenerational trauma, develop coping skills and sources of support to begin to heal. It also requires that mental health providers who treat clients who suffer from mental illness become trauma-informed and knowledgeable about sources of trauma and the diverse influence it has on both the individual and collective experiences of marginalized groups.

_______________________________________________________

References:

Alexander, Jeffrey C.. "Chapter 1. Toward a Theory of Cultural Trauma". Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004, pp. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520936768-002

Costandi, Mo. 2018. “Pregnant 9/11 Survivors Transmitted Trauma to Their Children.” The Guardian, February 14, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2011/sep/09/pregnant-911-survivors-transmitted-trauma.

Fesenfeld, G. (2014)  A Brief History of Epigenetics. Cold Spring Harbor Biol. v.6, PubMed Central. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3941222/

Hankerson, Sidney H., Nathalie Moise, Diane Wilson, Bernadine Y. Waller, Kimberly T. Arnold, Cristiane Duarte, Claudia Lugo-Candelas, et al. 2022. “The Intergenerational Impact of Structural Racism and Cumulative Trauma on Depression.” ˜the œAmerican Journal of Psychiatry 179 (6): 434–40. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.21101000.

Psychology Today (2024) Epigenetics https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/epigenetics

Raypole, Crystal. 2022. “Understanding Intergenerational Trauma and Its Effects.” Healthline. April 20, 2022. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/intergenerational-trauma#impact.

Yehuda, Rachel, and Amy Lehrner. 2018. “Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma Effects: Putative Role of Epigenetic Mechanisms.” World Psychiatry/World Psychiatry 17 (3): 243–57. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20568.

Yehuda, Rachel. 2024. “How Parents’ Trauma Leaves Biological Traces in Children.” Scientific American, February 20, 2024. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-parents-rsquo-trauma-leaves-biological-traces-in-children/

—. 2022f. “The Intergenerational Impact of Structural Racism and Cumulative Trauma on Depression.” ˜the œAmerican Journal of Psychiatry 179 (6): 434–40. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.21101000.

Division and Diversity

Photo by Brett Achurch

“When there is no enemy within, the enemy outside cannot hurt you.” —Winston S. Churchill

By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

“Mending Wall” is the first poem in a collection of poems titled North of Boston by Robert Frost. The poem has forty-five lines and is not divided into stanzas. There are no rhymes. This poem, like others by Frost, portrays nature in the New England countryside and the people who live there. Frost uses nature to teach us about life. (Mending Wall, 2024)

The poem contrasts two types of persons, represented by the narrator (the primary character) and the neighbor (a secondary character), who highlights the disengenuous tone of the narrator. The narrator is evasive, deceitful, and negative, whereas the neighbor is honest, succinct, and positive. The only statement we hear from the neighbor is, “Good fences make good neighbors.” This contrasts sharply with the narrator’s line— “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.”

There’s a conversational tone between the narrator and the neighbor. Both men have different ideas about what makes a person a good neighbor. The conversation between the two men spans years. The narrator seeks to convince the neighbor of the wall’s futility and cites several reasons that a wall is not necessary. The narrator suggests that neither of the men keep livestock. And, that the forces of nature- “the frozen ground” and the forces of men, “the work of the hunters” erode all efforts to achieve permanence.

Underlying Frost’s account of the two men’s differing outlook on their shared fence is a question: Are boundaries necessary to maintain relationships between people? Although the narrator believes borders are not needed, the adage repeated by the neighbor— “Good fences make good neighbors,” ironically is observed in the relationship between them. In this poem the wall represents the differences between people and property.

As I travel the countryside of Ireland I observe many stone walls that divide property and pasturelands. Some are centuries old and have been damaged by the forces of nature and the forces of men. Others were built more recently or have been repaired. I listen to our tour guide describe Ireland’s history of division and diversity, and like in the poem reflect on how division and diversity helped to create tolerance and respect for differences. World leaders often refer to this mending as international diplomacy that encourages negotiation, dialog, cooperation and shaping peaceful resolutions. Such efforts influence the citizenry, It influences us, who we are and who we will become.

Relationships require us to be genuine, to acknowledge everything that we witness, even when it becomes uncomfortable to do so. And, even where differences and disagreements remain. As writer Margaret Renkl beautifully illustrates in her own reflection on Mending Wall. She writes— “Truth sometimes dawns too late. Time shifts more than stones. Tumbled down walls can’t always be mended.”

As I examine my own relationships I have reached a similar conclusion. I am learning to view my relationships through a wide-angled lens. Accepting like the neighbor that there are walls that should remain undisturbed, but not misunderstood. These boundaries serve to define who I am and what I believe, and distinguish me from my neighbors and what they believe. And that a world with fences makes good neighbors by minimizing conflicts and misunderstandings, creating a sense of mutual respect and allowing my neighbors and I to coexist peacefully.

___________________________________________________

References:

Mending wall. (2024, June 22). The Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44266/mending-wall

Renkl, M. (2023, June 4). https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/opinion/robert-frost-neighbors-fences.html. New York Times.

R E V I S E D

Photo by Ekaterina Astakhova

“Education is the kindling of a flame not the filling of a vessel.” —Socrates

By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

The goal of education is to help people develop their potential, learn to think critically and contribute to society. Several months ago, I was forced to re-examine the role that education has played in my life. I asked myself if I had achieved these goals, and my answer was “Yes.”

Personally I believe that I had. In fact, others were able to reaffirm my observations without bias. The avenues that allowed me to pursue a formal education as a young adult are different now that I am old. I would learn this in an attempt to climb the final rungs on the academic ladder in the pursuit of a doctoral (EdD) degree. The lessons were swift and steep. I learned several things post-enrollment through experience that my academic advisor never prepared me for. I learned that academic success can exact a greater price in old age than when one is young. And that some of the costs associated with learning undermine learning itself.

For example, I learned that I had given up a lot already, having entered retirement, by returning to the virtual classroom. I had given up a modest client caseload, time with my wife, and finances that would have gone toward things more tangibly gratifying with immediate utility or return on my investment. I had shelved a couple of hobbies with the hope that if my program progressed satisfactorily, I could resume where I left off. And that the education I had gained (had I continued in the program) would make up for any losses.

I learned that the program, as it is structured, would fail to teach me what is most important in this season of life. This objective was not a part of my course curriculum. What began as a three-year graduation window soon became five once I was made aware of the volume of work that would be required of me. I managed satisfactorily in the beginning but quickly became overwhelmed with the pace of the condensed schedule to complete two courses simultaneously per eight-week term. One would be challenging but doable. Two proved destructive and unsustainable. Choosing to drop one class and continue with the other would have extended my time and my costs. Outcomes for which I was unprepared. Given this difficult choice, I elected to withdraw from the program. I rationalized that my love for education would not be rewarded under such conditions as in the past.

I learned that for education to hold value for me in old age, it would need to have the potential to improve the lives of others, including my own. The short-term sacrifice for long-term reward is no longer logical and needs to be revised. To voluntarily make sacrifices only to encounter other unforeseen losses that may be irreparable seems pointless. The short-term sacrifice (5 years ) in my mid-sixties compared to similar sacrifices in my mid-twenties became long. And the rewards at seventy would be short. Therefore, I made the difficult decision to revise my goals while expanding my definition of what life-long education has now become.

You have heard it said that there are two types of education—formal and informal. For most of my life, I valued traditional (formal) classroom education (including virtual learning) over informal, less structured experiential education. While quick to acknowledge the valuable role informal education can play in life, I’ve undervalued it in my own life.

Author and commentator David Brooks has a name for informal education. He refers to it as The Other Education. He writes— “We don’t usually think of this second education. For reasons having to do with the peculiarities of our civilization, we pay a great deal of attention to our scholastic educations, which are formal and supervised, and we devote much less public thought to our emotional educations, which are unsupervised and haphazard. This is odd since our emotional educations are much more important to our long-term happiness and the quality of our lives.” (Brooks, 2009)

I believe my emotional education is also more important to the long-term happiness of others who walk alongside, behind, or in front of me. As a therapist, I know this, but I couldn’t see it in myself. I have only become aware of it retrospectively. In the words of George Whitman (1913-2011) , All the world is my school and all humanity is my teacher.” My takeaway from this experience is that education is not intelligence but is about helping, supporting, and giving guidance wherever it is welcomed. So that others can benefit whenever it is useful. Wisdom is shown not only in what we study but how we live. Wisdom is about the whole of life and not just what we know but how we apply our knowledge. In the words of Socrates, how we “kindle the flame.”

I am already engaged in such education and now feel empowered to do more. The clarity of my experience is liberating and has opened up possibilities to think, feel, and act more in tune with my core values and to experience richer and deeper relationships with those I educate and those who educate me.

___________________________________________________

References:

The Other Education. (2009, November 26). New York Times.

I Don't Wanna Talk About Love

Photo by Vie Studio

“You have to love.  You have to feel.  It is the reason you are here on earth…And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or hurt…let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness.  Tell yourself that you tasted as many as you could.” —Louise Erdrich

                                                                                                       -

By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

As we enter the New Year, I find myself thinking about the meaning of love. Can we define it or know what it is when we experience it? Is it a theoretical concept or principle that can be applied in our actions toward others? Is it something we feel, an emotion subject to the social and economic climate where we live and work?

Love is both a noun and a verb, depending on how it is used in a sentence. It can refer to affection (noun) when one is loved. Or the act of showing affection (verb) when one expresses love. To remain emotionally literate, it’s important not to confuse the noun with the verb. While many want to be the recipient of love, not all want to exercise it. Unrequited love toward a person or some thing is grievous. The type of love most want is reciprocal. Even when we cannot define it. I believe Love is best expressed as a verb because in doing so, I will never become confused or complacent. The writer and theologian Dr. Henri Nouwen said, “A gentle [loving] person is someone who treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. In our tough and often unbending world, our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us.” (In Gentleness by Henri Nouwen, 2014)

Love is not an abstract or lofty idea but a guiding principle that should inform our actions.

Love may be many things, known by different names and felt in a way that does not discriminate against age, race, sex, or politics. We may disagree on where love originated, but we know it when we experience it because it prompts us to act.

The late author and Poet Laureate Maya Angelou said, “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” (A Quote by Maya Angelou, n.d.-b)

We live in a season where the politics of hate exert enormous pressure to return evil for evil. Therefore, examining love in its simplest form is essential. I believe in both justice and mercy, which makes loving others complicated. Love may ask that I assist those in need and advocate for those who may be underrepresented, marginalized, or dismissed. Pursuing justice is never easy, and extending mercy is often unpopular. Yet, I think both are essential for social reform. The equation looks something like this— justice plus mercy equals love.

When I am conflicted about how I should love, I reflect on what many of the world’s major religions and philosophies teach—To love my neighbor as myself and to have empathy for those who are my enemies. While empathy can be an expression of love, it is not the same as love. Empathy is about attempting to understand someone’s emotions, whereas love is about having a positive emotional connection. I may express empathy by taking defensive rather than offensive actions in unresolved conflict. Empathy may sometimes require me to seek forgiveness when I have failed to understand my enemy or expressed an unwillingness to do so. Moreover, love may ask me to seek forgiveness when I have failed to love my neighbor in ways that I want to be loved.

We are currently observing our political, economic, and moral culture become desensitized in ways that incentivize hatred. This distorted view restricts our capacity for love.

Singers and songwriters can teach us a lot about love because every musical genre has stories about it.  Music provides us with endless expressions of the same thing-  a principled story of what should be but often is not.  Love songs are written again and again about the same thing.  It’s as if we need constant reminders of what it should look like, where it can be found, and how it should sound and make us feel.

Romantic love is perhaps the most challenging because it starts in one place and ends somewhere else.  Unlike a book, love is not linear.  Love does not always follow a straight path. The lyrics and melody are interrupted.  The quality of love is judged not only by our own expectations and observations but also the expectations of others.  What we say and don’t say, and what we do or don’t do.

The late singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith said that “love has a voice of its own. If we try to outshout it, then the love is gone.” (Nanci Griffith Rarities, 2021)

Griffith was right.  When we express negativity so loudly that it overshadows any expression of love, it implies that we are communicating in a manner so critical or hostile that we don’t care about others. Loving someone requires that we genuinely care about the words and actions we choose that have the power to heal or inflict injury (physical, emotional, and psychological). 

When we think we've learned to love well, it may still remain a mystery. Love asks for something from us that we do not know but have to learn or cannot afford. True Love seeks payment we must earn. True love is costly and can never be bought.  It will cost us everything if we wish to love well.

Perhaps Hal David, Burt Bacharach, Jackie DeShannon and others in 1965 were correct. “What the world needs now is love. . .” (Beth Cartwright, 2012)

After sixty years, little has changed. We’re still learning how to love. Will we ever get it right? In 2025, how will you love?

___________________________________________________

References:

A quote by Maya Angelou. (n.d.-b). https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/126888-love-recognizes-no-barriers-it-jumps-hurdles-leaps-fences-penetrates

In Gentleness by Henri Nouwen. (2014, February 7). Windows Toward the World. https://helenl.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/in-gentleness-by-henri-nouwen/

Nanci Griffith Rarities. (2021, August 11). Nanci Griffith - I Don’t Wanna Talk About Love (Official Music Video) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmCbZuC01n0

Beth Cartwright. (2012, September 2). Jackie DeShannon - What the world needs now is love [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUaxVQPohlU

R E F I R E D

Photo by Barbara Olsen

By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

 How do you understand life in a way that gives you a sense of integrity when a dream’s shelf life is ending?

From a very young age, I loved learning.  Although, at times the classroom and its instructors were not always welcoming.  A few courses loomed large and intimidating.  Despite these aversions,  I love the way that learning new things makes me feel.  Not in a prideful way but in a way that shapes my perspectives on life and in the best possible world, allows me to test my knowledge and experience, and distill it down to what’s applicable and what can be used to help others. I believe this is the single most important factor and the primary inspiration for any good reflected in my learning.

While serving others is a primary inspiration, there are parallel inspirations for my love for learning.  I believe God has gifted me with drive and opportunity.  Drive and opportunity require that I find channels to be responsible.  Being responsible means not treating drive or opportunity as limitless resources.

I’ve been fortunate to occupy both physical and virtual spaces in my educational journey.  My formal education began when I was 19.  I left my Mid-Atlantic home to attend a college in the Midwest.  I would transfer to 2 other schools, attempting to retain as many credits as possible before completing my bachelor’s at age 24.

After completing my bachelor’s,  I started working, but shortly thereafter crossed paths with faculty and alumni from the university in the Sunshine State where I then worked and lived.  One conversation led to another followed by several visits on campus, that culminated in my registering for a Spring semester class in the program in which I planned to major.

The following Fall, I resigned from my job, applied to enroll in graduate studies, and began attending school full-time.  Two years later, I graduated with my master’s at age 27.  It was challenging yet rewarding.  And I made a couple of friendships with whom I remain in contact.

Last year I retired from full-time agency employment and have continued working part-time in my practice.  Since completing my master’s degree more than 30 years ago I have occasionally contemplated returning to school to complete a doctorate.  However, marriage, career, and raising a family consumed my energies,  so I pushed the thought aside.  Financial constraints have always been a deterrent and the lack of connection with academia all combined to reduce the thought to an imagination, a mere dream.

Entering retirement has rekindled my interest in continued study at the doctoral level.  My wife still works full-time.  Our kids have completed their education, are out of the home, and are financially independent.  I have a couple of ongoing commitments.  But nothing that can’t be scaled back or eliminated to accommodate a return to graduate study.   I’ve consulted with my financial advisor and believe that  I’m securely positioned to resume my education without risking my retirement savings. 

Several months ago,  I began exploring the possibility of returning to school and what I would require to be successful. I identified a couple of schools and have applied to the school that I believe meets my needs.  I want to continue learning and adding to what I have gained over the years to continue serving others.  I concluded that if I could locate a program that was online and afford me the flexibility to learn at a reasonable pace, I could re-enter the classroom and hopefully survive the rigors at the doctoral level. 

There’s a good likelihood that I will be accepted by at least one of the two schools I’ve researched.  I have begun the Q and A dialog with Admissions which will prepare me to make the final decision within the next couple of weeks.  If everything goes according to plan,  I will be able to enroll and register for the Spring 2025 semester.

As I reflect on yet another epic journey,  I am cautiously optimistic about my dream’s shelf life. If I am admitted into the program and begin in the Spring and can remain on track without any setbacks, I should be completing the degree by my 68th birthday.

Feelings of self-doubt, and external distractions are ever-present.  The window for me to complete this journey is shrinking.  Therefore, I must exercise faith, and self-efficacy, and solicit the support of friends and former colleagues who have completed their doctoral journey or who will remind me of why I made this decision to begin with:

A first in my family of origin to complete a degree. As a person of color to experience inclusion, have a seat at the table and a voice in the room.  To inspire others to dream and see education as a tool that they can use to grow their mind and change the world one person at a time. A good education does this. A good education should equip one to end life well.  These are all things that inspire me.  The dream is taking shape.  I’m now refired!

In Search of the Golden Thread

Retirement a Psychological Journey

Photo by Jiri Mikolas

By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

“We are, finally, all wanderers in search of knowledge. Most of us hold the dream of becoming something better than we are, something larger, richer, in some way more important to the world and ourselves. Too often, the way taken is the wrong way, with too much emphasis on what we want to have, rather than what we wish to become.”

—- Louis L'Amour,

R E C O N C I L I A T I O N

Reconciliation for this essay will be defined as A process of making two different ideas and facts exist or be true at the same time. Entering retirement requires us to examine our place in time. It requires us to accept some changes that have been in the making for years that are irreversible. It also requires us to review possibilities within what remains unchanged and find something new. Retirement involves reconciliation and the idea that we are more than the sum of our parts. Retirement is an ending, an epilogue as well as a new beginning and can only be entered into with courage and humility. After all, it’s easy to overestimate our pre-retirement experiences, while underestimating the post-retirement challenges that lie ahead. For me, retirement involves adapting to change and discovering meaning in life. To some extent, it requires that I find people and resources that can support me through these changes.

* * * *

In 1938 researchers at the Harvard Medical School initiated a research study referred to as the Harvard Study of Adult Development, that asked participants about their lifestyles, habits, relationships, work, and happiness. The study has expanded since then to include others outside of Harvard. The study chronicles how people lived, loved, and worked in their 20s and 30s and follows their lives to see how they turned out over the following decades. This study has been regularly updated for over 80 years and contains a treasure trove of information concerning happiness and health. (Mineo 2017) Two things that are of great interest to me as I enter this phase of retirement.

While there is a lot of variation in the demographics from this study, two distinct populations have emerged. First, the best off are the “happy-well” who enjoy good physical health as well as good mental health and high life satisfaction. Second, at the other end of the spectrum are the “sad-sick” who are below average in physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction. To some extent when they were young, the happy-well senior citizens were able to accumulate and invest certain “generational wealth” that is difficult for most of us to control. Some of these include: having a happy childhood, descending from long-lived ancestors, and avoiding clinical depression. But some, investments that can be made and accumulated are under our control and these types of investments can teach us a great deal about how to plan for a late-life happy-wellness. Researchers found that we can control seven big investment decisions directly: [1] not smoking, [2] moderate drinking, [3] body weight and adequate nutrition, [4] exercise, [5] emotional resilience, [6] access to education, and [7] relationships. (Brooks 2022)

The study examines how each of these factors can influence our physical and mental health later in life. And, suggests that the best way to maximize your chances of happiness in your senior years is to pursue all seven of these goals with fervor. However, if you can choose only one put your heart into it.

As I review these findings it makes sense to me. Much of this we’ve been told all our lives. I have seen up close how smoking, excessive drinking, and living a sedentary lifestyle can ruin one’s health and late-life happiness. Therefore, I don’t focus on the things that are not a part of my present life equation or things that pose no threat to my future.

I’ve reconciled that I have a family history of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. And, that while a few of my paternal ancestors lived well into their 90s, my maternal ancestors did not fare as well. I’ve also reconciled that I have a couple of health conditions, that require monitoring. And, that I don’t have the physical or mental capacity to live like I’m in my 30s. I would be negligent or perhaps reckless to ignore such things.

What I believe about the research is that everyone young or old can examine how they are investing in practices that will enable them to increase the likelihood that they can live in a happy-well state. The factors we have no control over under the term “generational wealth” may not be worth exploring. Particularly if you’re already in the late season of life.

One of the interesting findings resulting from this study is that the single most important trait of happy-well elders is healthy relationships. While the study is based on population averages, I find this as no surprise. When our interpersonal relationships are healthy and conflicts that jeopardize our communication and connection to others are minimal, our overall health is enhanced by the nature or quality that these relationships play in our lives. The research suggests that people who maintain a connection to others: family, friends, or work remain healthier in old age. (Brooks 2022)

Some relationships are irreparable, let’s just be honest. We will carry the wounds from those relationships where either we harmed someone emotionally or were harmed ourselves. It is important to reflect on what we have learned from these experiences and use them in ways to guard against such harms reoccurring in the future.

I have reconciled that some of my interpersonal relationships have not always been positive. As I enter retirement, I am fully aware that my future in some ways is reflected in my history. That my history has taught me what is possible when I work with what I have to resolve impediments to future success. This in essence is what it means to be human, to be fallible, vulnerable, and weak, while at the same time being fortified and strengthened by the knowledge you carry into the future that enables you to become a better person. American author and poet Mary Oliver in her poem titled “The Summer Day” gets to the heart of what confronts us when approaching the final chapters in life. In the closing lines of the poem she writes:

“I don’t know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down into the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me what else should I have done? Doesn’t everything die at last and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Oliver asks provocative questions that force us to accept what good there is in life as we presently experience it. Life is temporary. Therefore, we must pay attention, kneel down in the grass, be blessed, and stroll through the fields whenever and wherever we find them. Even if doing so consumes our days. For the beauty of the field and those persons in it will soon disappear along with our memories of them.

I am reconnecting with some family and friends in ways that are supportive and healthy. I accept that I will not always be acknowledged or affirmed in ways that are meaningful to me. I have learned to accept what is no longer possible or irreparable and engage with people in ways to make a positive difference wherever I can. Such efforts I believe carry mutual benefit, and in the best circumstances are reciprocated.

Other concerns that exist somewhere in the middle between happy-well and sad-sick involve having enough savings to remain solvent well past retirement. And whether part-time work will generate sufficient income to support my wants without concern that this income will be sacrificed to meet essential needs.

I’ll soon be eligible to apply for Medicare and will need to decide whether to enroll in the Traditional plan or one of the many Medicare Advantage Plans. Even after careful analysis, the health insurance industry and the government’s ability to regulate prohibitive factors that limit costs and coverage to consumers is to some degree arbitrary and dependent upon a host of factors that can push me closer to or further away from a happy-well state.

“There are moments in life when we are reminded that we are unfinished, that the story we have been telling ourselves about who we are and where our life leads is yet unwritten. Such moments come most readily at the beginning of something new.” —-Maria Popova

Questions that may be helpful for retirees entering this phase may include:

• What mindfulness and spiritual practices serve to guide my life and decision-making?

• What established interests or preferences can I share with my partner, spouse, or close friends?

• Which former co-workers and associates am I still in contact with? And, are these connections still meaningful?

• What short and long-term goals have I achieved or still desire? Do any of these hold intrinsic value? And, for which of these goals am I truly hopeful, independent of others’ expectations?

Everyone loves a happy ending, especially in the story of their own life. My retirement is the beginning chapter of what I hope will be a satisfying ending. Louis L’Amour said it best — “the greatest gift anyone can give to another is the desire to know, to understand. Life is not for simply watching spectator sports, or for taking part in them; it is not for simply living from one working day to the next. Life is for delving, discovering, learning.”

Through delving, discovering, and learning you will find the golden thread and reclaim the ending to your story. As I enter this new phase I see the work that is finished and the work that lies ahead that in the end will allow me to give my greatest gift.

___________________________________________________

References:

Brooks, Arthur C. (2022) The Seven Habits that Lead to Happiness in Old Age. Retrieved on 7 January 2024. Available at https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/02/happiness-age-investment/622818/.

Louis LAmour, (1989) Goodreads Education of a Wandering Man Quotes. Retrieved on 8 January 2024. Available at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/882365-we-are-finally-all-wanderers-in-search-of-knowledge-most

Mineo, Liz (2017) Good Genes Are Nice, but Joy is Better. Retrieved on 10 January 2024. Available at https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/

Popova, Maria (2023) The Marginalian A Spell Against Stagnation: John O’ Donohue on Beginnings. Retrieved on 31 December 2023. Available at https://mailchi.mp/themarginalian/beginnings?e=600125deab

In Search of the Golden Thread

Retirement a Psychological Journey

Photo by Mathias Reding

By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves;  we must die to one life before we can enter another.”  

— Anatole France                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

R E F O R M A T I O N

Reformation for this essay will be defined as the act or process of changing and improving something. But more than that reformation should be seen as a type of transformation. Transformation is best defined as a change in form, appearance, nature, or character. I will use these terms (reformation and transformation) synonymously to describe changes I have observed as a new retiree over the past several months and how those changes are shaping my life.

When I speak of reformation I’m referring to physical and psychological changes. Physical changes refer to my behavior, and what I feel physically when performing certain activities. Their frequency and the level of comfort or discomfort I experience when performing them. Taking a walk, preparing a meal, and reading a book are activities that I engage in. On the other hand, thoughts and emotions generated from within about my activities and associations with individuals are psychological.

Psychological changes are more complex and require a more intense effort than physical change alone. Retirement by its very nature involves physical and psychological change. What I have noticed over the past couple of months is change in 3 areas— Time, Identity, and, Autonomy. There’s an overlap between all three. Rather than give definitions I will give descriptions of how I am experiencing— Time, Identity, and Autonomy within the context of reformation.

Indigenous communities have a distinct relationship with the measurement and keeping of time. Unlike Industrialized cultures that use time as a form of control, with its emphasis on productivity and its accompanying rewards and penalties based on “clockwork” Indigenous societies function in ways consistent with their cultural beliefs. Time is often intertwined with the seasons, guiding their agricultural activities and enmeshed in the songs and stories that define their ancestry. Time is a fluid construct and serves as a story being written and re-written without interruption. In slowing down I recognize that my life is the result of an accumulation of the choices I have made over a lifetime. In essence, it is a story that I can begin to reclaim.

My morning and evening routines remain generally the same. I’m usually awake by seven and am in bed by eleven. What happens between 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM has become more discretionary. I used to exercise in the evenings, which resulted in fewer workouts because I was mentally and physically fatigued. Now I work out when possible in the morning.

When I was working full-time even when I was not out in the community, but parked on my laptop working remotely from home I felt tired and had difficulty concentrating. The sheer volume of mandatory training, documentation, emails, and phone messages requiring completion or follow-up had become untenable. Now instead of retrieving and responding to messages and completing trainings, I can devote more time to learning and performing tasks directly related to my interests.

I started learning a new software program and updating some of my digital files. I completed my part-time work schedule, and will not resume seeing clients for at least another two weeks. I went from working a 45-hour week to my new schedule which I estimate will average between 12 -15 hours each week. The remaining 25-plus hours are available for me to complete light work projects around the house, reading, writing, and conditioning for the cycling season that will begin in March. The 3 DIY home projects I wish to complete are outdoors. Therefore, at least for the winter months, these tasks are excluded from my schedule. I do however plan to revisit exploring what material possessions I own that serve neither a present nor future need. The winter months will give me time to sift through personal belongings and make decisions about what things to give away and discard. I anticipate this project will extend well into summer.

I’m involved in a Men’s group that meets one evening per week. And, a Writers’ Group that meets twice per month. Both of these groups require some preparation outside of the group to participate and engage with group members.

In addition to these activities, I belong to a couple of cycling clubs that meet weekly and ride routes varying in length from March through November. I have reading and writing goals that now have a chance of being met. These activities are all transformative.

A former co-worker and fellow retiree who attended my November retirement lunch said that in the beginning, I would have what feels like lots of time. But gradually, it will begin to fill up, and what I had in the beginning, after a while won’t feel like much at all. She said this as a warning, having been retired 6 years already and now having what she believes to be a busy yet fulfilling life.

I’m not there yet, and I plan to carefully guard what now has become a way for me to assign value to the things I do based on their importance to me and not an agency workplace.

Outside of the United States people are not as attached to their professional roles. Ask a person from Central Africa, or Central or South Asia who they are and they will probably respond by telling you things about their cultural identity, and what they like rather than things that they do. Inhabitants of highly industrialized countries like the U.S., Japan, and Germany generally, measure one’s worth, based on their education or profession. Persons who are college-educated and work in prestigious fields from less industrialized countries will see their education and work as composites of their personality. They will likely tell you about where they grew up their family of origin, their politics, places that they’ve visited or lived, and what recreational or leisure pursuits they enjoy. Social conditioning plays a huge role in how we define ourselves. And I’m often prone to answer the question— “Who are you?’ by telling others what I do.

Retirement begins with reflection. My identity and how I define myself is changing. For the present, I still identify with being a social worker, because I remain licensed to practice in this profession, and will continue working on a limited basis. However, letting go of my professional identity, and highlighting other aspects of who I am and what I enjoy doing will gradually become more important. For retirees entering the reformation phase, two questions may be helpful with the transition:

• What pleases you?

• What gives your life meaning?

When asking these questions I am quickly able to generate a list of people and things that are both meaningful and pleasurable. During my professional career, I have enjoyed projects that involved Service Delivery and Research and Development. In short, improving processes that enhance social and emotional well-being, communication, and accessibility to resources. I also enjoy Education and working as a mentor with others just beginning their professional journey, and the collaboration required in creating good Team Dynamics.

Additionally, I enjoy being around others who seek meaning and connection in ideas and their relationships. Those who are loyal, insightful, conscientious, and can analyze what makes things work. I am energized by those who have a clear vision of how best to serve the common good. And lastly, I enjoy working and spending time with others who are pragmatic and organize their work, their home, and their life on a set of values or traditions. In the words of Marie Kondo all of these things — spark joy.

Road cycling with a group or solo I find pleasurable. I enjoy live music, the arts, learning folklore, reading, writing, and listening to short stories. . . These are a few of my favorite activities.

I’ve also learned to appreciate sacrifice and suffering, which while not pleasant, has proved valuable in my learning to be tolerant and forgiving when I encounter others unlike me with very different beliefs and ways of engaging with the world.

My point here is to identify for you what aspects of my personality are influenced by my professional life, and how in retirement I will seek to reclaim aspects of my work life and relationships that I most prize. Identifying activities and people that make life pleasurable and meaningful assumes that to some degree, I will have the autonomy to do so.

One of the things I regret is that my previous work life impacted how much quality time I spent with others. I often found myself working on weekends and holidays to keep up with the flow. I knew others on the Team that I worked with were doing the same thing. We all accepted it more or less for the privilege of serving in a healthcare community where we each believed that our work made a difference in the lives of those we served. However, the cumulative effects of always being on someone else’s schedule, even when you’re not, add up. I know that there were some activities and relationships that were diminished or avoided because they didn’t fit with my schedule. Reformation in the area of autonomy says that I must be intentional with time when I structure my activities and relationships around people and things that bring pleasure and meaning. In short, making time to let those closest to me know that I love and care for them through the strengthening of old bonds and the creation of new ones. Autonomy says I can become more available and accessible to others on my own terms, and not because I am required to do so because it’s my job.

The essence of autonomy is spending time with others— doing things that bring enjoyment, laughter, contemplation, and meaning in life. Other questions that can help new retirees determine how they will use their time require that they perform a self-assessment and ask —Why is my life useful? And, what am I able to remain committed to?

As I continue navigating this phase I will be asking these questions and exploring activities and relationships that help fuel the satisfaction and meaning that I derived from my agency work. In the third and final essay—Phase 3- I will look at Reconciliation.