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Wednesday, 17 January 2007 07:20 |
By COBY MANGUM
To honor Martin Luther King Jr.ës legacy and better accomplish his dream, everyone needs to understand how stress-related issues linked to slavery continue to affect African-Americans, Dr. Joy DeGruy-Leary told several hundred people at the Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast last Saturday at the Grove Park Inn.
DeGruy-Leary was the keynote speaker at the 26th annual event, which was presented by the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County.
DeGruy-Leary,
an assistant professor at Portland State University, is the author of
"Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome." She holds a doctorate in social work
research.
Joining her in
the program were Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy, Buncombe County Board
of Commissioners Chairman Nathan Ramsey, newly elected Rep. Heath
Shuler, D-Waynesville; representatives of the MLKJA and various members
of the local faith community.
The Rev. Rod Whiteside of New Vision Church served as master of ceremonies.
 Speakers
at the Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast join hands after singing
"Lift Evëry Voice and Sing" at the conclusion of the program last
Saturday morning at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. From left are the
Rev. John Harrison, Freida Nash, Lucille Ray, Dr. Joy DeGruy-Leary and
the Rev. Rod Whiteside. Musical selections were led by Ministers for
King Choir. Staff photo by DAVID FORBES
Whiteside welcomed the crowd by linking Kingës protest marches to the current state of race relations in the U.S.
"Itës not the beginning (of the journey), not the end, but the stops in between," Whiteside said.
In her
invocation, Frieda Nash of the Asheville Bahaëi Community said, "Let
the religions agree and make the nations one." She implored the
audience to "overlook the shortcomings of all mankind."
A moment of silence was then observed for Kingës widow, Coretta Scott King, who died last year.
Whiteside opened
his comments on a light note by recounting a prior conversation he had
with Asheville police officers and then presenting one of them with a
box of Cheerios ÇƒÓ a police nickname for doughnuts, he said.
Bellamy said that Kingës dream continues to have great meaning for the City of Asheville.
"The legacy of
Kingës dream has not yet reached maturity," she said, listing projects
and initiatives approved by Asheville City Council that reflect Kingës
work. Among them were improvements to the transit system and plans for
enhanced business and residential services in neighborhoods.
"Weëve done more
than we ever have for affordable housing, crime and land-use
oversight," she said. "However, we need you to be active in our
community organizations and work together."
Ramsey agreed,
adding, "As imperfect as we are, our nation still represents that
shining city on the hill ... (Whatës most important) is what we can do
for those who have no hope of living the American dream."
Shuler then
praised the community members in attendence and pledged to uphold
Kingës legacy in his first term as 11th Congressional District
representative.
"(This event is)
a testament that there is still a dream to be fulfilled." Shuler said.
When he spoke of seeing Nancy Pelosi take office as the first female
Speaker of the House, the crowd responded with a standing ovation.
Breakfast
coordinator and MLKJA chairwoman Oralene Graves-Simmons named 10 area
students recipients of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Award.
"These kids already have resumes filled with their volunteer work," she said.
Presenting the
humanitarian service award winner, Doris Giezentanner, Graves-Simmons
said of the fromer councilwoman, "Her work in the community is so
profound, we almost take it for granted ... She was able to get
African-Americans and women onto different board and the board of
commissioners."
DeGruy-Leary was
then introduced by MLKJA member Julia Nooe. "As soon as her feet hit
Buncombe soil, she started speaking ... and thinking out loud," Nooe
said about the morningës featured speaker. "I think sheës a force to be
reckoned with."
DeGruy-Learyës
address highlighted the principal theory of her book and much of the
research data she compiled in writing it. She began by recounting a
trip to South Africa that she made immediately following the
dismantling of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela.
DeGruy-Leary
said she expected people in South Africa to have negative attitudes
about what had happened there and toward her as an American.
"(However,) I
didnët feel the level of hostility in terms of race in South Africa
that I felt in the Portland airport," she said.
To understand
this from a sociological perspective, DeGruy-Leary started looking
further into a concept sheëd encountered in her study of psychology ǃÓ
post-traumatic stress syndrome.
The difference, she said, between South Africa and the United States is that South Africa accepted its racist history.
"Americaës pathology is our denial," she said, adding that acceptance is a critical step in overcoming trauma.
According to
"Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome," clinically induced and socially
learned residual stress-related issues were passed along through
generations as a result of slavery.
She also
described ways that racism was justified in Euro-American culture,
forcing African-Americans to continue to adapt to trauma even after
slavery ended.
Within a 1735
taxonomy study that would become the roots of modern anthropology,
personality and customs were attached to what were then seen as the
four classifiable races. Traits for "Homo afros" included laziness,
capriciousness and other negative qualities, she said.
"(Thereës) not a
shred of science here," DeGruy-Leary said. Over time, this thinking
allowed people to justify the opression of African-Americans by
thinking, "If this is what these people are, do they not deserve what
weëve done to them?" she said.
Continuing her
historical narrative, DeGruy-Leary discussed the "Negro problem" ÇƒÓ a
subject once studied in American schools ÇƒÓ which was a way of asking
how to "adjust a people inferior in culture and nature to a superior
culture."
"Did the trauma continue" after slavery? DeGruy-Leary asked. "You bet it did."
"No one healed ÇƒÓ so we adapt, we adjust, we normalize ... People say, ǃÚthatës their culture. Itës not ÇƒÓ itës adaptation."
Among the
adaptive behavioral patterns that still exist today among
African-Americas, DeGruy-Leary said, is trivializing the
accomplishments of their children ÇƒÓ a method that was used by slave
mothers to protect their children from being sold.
"Let the healing begin," she said in closing to a standing ovation that lasted several minutes.
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