Food for thought for the young black community; Brainwashed, an online event promoting both physical and mental nourishment

BY JANIECE CAMPBELL

Loneliness. Contentment. Worry. Enlightenment. Curiosity. Gratification. These are just a few of the varying emotions anticipated by fellow participants as the virtual event “Brainwashed” began. The Zoom affair, presented by the Toronto-based youth safe space Yantics, is a three-session discussion that explores the mental health of African, Caribbean and black young people and how colonization still has an impact on members of the diaspora 500 years later.

Founded by Siya Gwaan in 2015, “Yantics is an emerging online social networking platform created to connect, showcase and find solutions for youth by allowing them to share with one another and use each other as resources to discuss their various life experiences,” she says. The production of the latest event by Yantics, Brainwashed, was curated for a multitude of reasons related to her own personal life experiences, requests from the black community and an overwhelming need to break generational curses to begin the healing process.

“I chose the name Brainwashed for two reasons. During a conversation with my father, I told him we were all brainwashed by the powers and structures that be, to a certain degree.” His inner Rasta came out and he said, “Washed would imply my mind is clean and our society has not cleansed my mind.” Slightly corny, but I completely understood his statement. We’re all led to believe and think certain things because of the environments we were raised in, but we’re making steps to rid (or wash) our minds of these detrimental teachings and mindsets.”

Running each Sunday afternoon from April 11^th to April 25^th, the insightful two-and-a-half-hour conversation dives into tough topics such as trauma and systemic racism, while also taking time to advocate for change by learning techniques on how to identify and manage these challenges with the assistance of mental health professionals.

I’ve had the opportunity to attend two out of three sessions thus far, and I wanted to share with young readers some mindful takeaways from the discussions.

Have you ever been forced to sit between your mother’s legs and bare the intense burns of a hot comb or the tingling sensations of that chemically aromatic white cream on your scalp all for the sake of silky, straight hair? Have you ever felt slightly unloved because your parents lacked the ability to be openly affectionate? How about something deeper, like a parent struggling to accept that you’ve been sexually abused, quite possibly by a member of the family? These are all examples of generational trauma, defined as the transmission of traumatic effects from a historical event to younger generations. In this case, that historical event is slavery.

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, or P.T.S.S. is a theory that further explains these adaptive behaviours forced onto African communities and their descendants as a means of survival from centuries of slavery and is also the direct consequence of multi-generational trauma.

It’s not that your mother hated your kinky coils, but rather she was taught to view straight hair as socially acceptable and that it would perpetuate economic advancement. It’s not that our parents don’t love us, it’s that the coping mechanism from generations before them was to cut off any endearing emotions for family, for fear that they may be sent off to another plantation by slaveowners. And it’s not that a parent may be in denial about your abuse, but rather they might also have an abusive past and had never been given an outlet to heal themselves, which then fuels the difficulty to provide support to someone else. In all of these scenarios, the trauma from generations prior eventually trickled down the familial line, ultimately causing emotional distance and the defensive behaviours we see in older generations today. And if we aren’t careful to notice and address it, we may internalize it and pass it on to the generations following us.

Another look at the effects of P.T.S.S. in today’s society can be found in our food consumption. Black people are disproportionately affected by serious life-threatening ailments such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. This is due to the fact that much of the food we eat is laden with excess salt, sugar and fatty oils. This stems from slavery, where the daily meals of African slaves consisted of animal scraps, cornmeal, flour and peas, though this high caloric diet was easily worked off by our ancestors through plentiful hours of working in the fields. Centuries later, that high starch and fat cuisine eventually became “soul food,” a tasty delicacy that unfortunately doesn’t have much nutritional value and lacks in vitamins.

The problem with this diet, besides it being evidently unhealthy, is that we were not introduced to it by choice. The original West-African diet is actually extremely nutritious, containing bountiful fruits and leafy greens, nuts, beans, whole grains and tubers such as yams and sweet potatoes. There were no dairy products whatsoever and very little to no meat at all. However, being forced out from our original dwellings by colonized societies, the limitations placed on our food back then are now causing health issues in our communities currently.

We’ve already broken the physical chains of slavery. Now it’s time to break the beliefs that still persist in our minds due to colonization.

For those who missed this great event, have no fear. You can follow @YanticsDotCom on Instagram for more information on future workshops and events.