I Got Something To Say, "Let's Talk About It?"

12/09/2025

11/09/2025

Meet our host Natasha
She’s the quietly commanding voice that turns silence into conversation. Mid-to-late twenties, Natasha brings elegant poise, razor-sharp questions, and a warmth that makes every guest feel seen. With a vintage mic in hand and a spotlight glow framing her, she guides the room through the tough topics with grace and unflinching clarity.

KeeKee – Co-Host
The electric mind behind the calm smile. KeeKee reads three books a week, slices through nonsense like glass, and still remembers your name after one chat. Sleek modern mic, headphones on, she sparks insight and keeps the energy honest, thoughtful, and alive.
Together, they’re the heartbeat of I’ve Got Something to Say – two voices, one mission: real talk, real change, every episode.

09/15/2024

Generational Differences among African Americans in Their Perceptions of Economic Opportunity
RESEARCH : Jul. 4, 2018DEMOGRAPHICS | URBAN DISPARITY
AKIN BRUCE

Why do more African-American Millennials than those in the earlier generations believe that blacks have the same opportunities as whites?
This post is the third of a series of five articles written by Rice University undergraduate students who participated in the spring semester Kinder Houston Area Survey course. Read the first and second post.

Different generations of African-Americans grew up in worlds with measurably different opportunities, and their experiences may have had a lasting impact on their worldviews. The Silent Generation (born 1928-1945) endured the full effects of the Jim Crow laws. Baby Boomers (1946-1964) were the children of the Civil Rights Movement. Generation X (1965-1980) came of age during the Fair Housing Act and the Black Power Movement. Millennials (1981-2000) benefited greatly from these major successes, despite the continuing realities of racism and discrimination. Are there significant differences between African-American generations in their assessments of black opportunity in America? And if so, in what ways do their perceptions differ?

The findings from the Kinder Houston Area Survey in the years from 1989 to 2018 show that generation is, in fact, a significant predictor of the belief among African-Americans in the extent of equality of opportunity, even after controlling for differences in education, religion, political party, and income. As indicated in the chart, when asked if “blacks and other minorities have the same opportunities as whites in the U.S. today,” fewer Millennials, by a whopping eleven percentage points, disagreed with that assertion, compared to Generation X, the cohort just before theirs, which was next most likely to disagree with that statement. In fact, each of the successive generations exhibited a stronger belief in equality of opportunity than their earlier counterparts.

Graph of attitudes on economic opportunity
Why do more African-American Millennials than those in the earlier generations believe that blacks have the same opportunities as whites? It may be because de jure segregation had basically ended when this most recent generation was coming of age. The KHAS data have shown that race relations in Houston are improving over time. As children and young adults, members of the older generations of African-Americans were more likely to encounter blatant and unmistakable racism in some form.
Today, overt interpersonal racism is less common, but structural racism is alive and well. Although racial discrimination is still prevalent, the KHAS results suggest that black Millennials are less likely than their elders to believe that the continuing racism has severely curtailed their opportunities to succeed in American society today.
We still have a long way to go before equality of opportunity could be said to exist between blacks and whites; note that almost half (47 percent) of Millennials continue to believe that “black people in the U.S. are still a long way from having the same chance in life that white people have," but the survey findings show that the prospects may be improving. The data indicate that younger African-Americans are more optimistic than their elders about their chances in life, and this suggests that opportunities for blacks have indeed been changing for the better overall.

09/15/2024

Generational Trauma & PTSD Within the Black Community

By Bobby Shriver

Minorities in the United States have made positive progress over the decades in terms of equality, achievement, and recognition, particularly in the Black community. Yet today the Black community and other marginalized groups experience generational trauma and additional mental health difficulties as a result of decades of institutionalized racism and various societal forces.

Evidence indicates that intergenerational trauma can be passed down for hundreds of years, spanning dozens of generations. This means that even slavery still plays a role in current Black generational trauma, no matter that it ended over 150 years ago.

So what exactly are the health struggles that the Black community faces as a result, and what can you do to best support those impacted?

Trauma Passed Down: PTSD in the Black Community
While studies show that trauma can be generationally inherited and even impact your DNA makeup, researchers at Penn State College of Medicine indicate that because multiple generations were directly impacted by American slavery, PTSD in the Black community could be a true problem with potentially compounding and worsening DNA changes. And this research doesn’t factor in the trauma associated with decades of racial injustice Blacks have experienced post-slavery, including Jim Crow segregation, as well as current challenges like police brutality.

This specific trauma experienced by Blacks has been coined “post-traumatic slave syndrome” by Dr. Joy DeGruy. She defines post-traumatic slave syndrome as “a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continues to experience oppression and institutionalized racism today.” In light of this, many African Americans who’ve descended from slaves continue to experience trauma passed down through generations in ways that impact their daily lives.

The Impact of Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome
According to Forbes, there are three main areas that Black generational trauma manifests itself today:

Self-Esteem
Since slavery, Black people have been associated with negative racial stereotypes, and these continue to be internalized and passed down to new generations, leading to feelings of hopelessness and depression. These feelings can sometimes cause learned helplessness, or the frustrating belief that you can’t change your situation, no matter what you do.

Health Complications
Because of prolonged racial discrimination, many Black people experience physiological, psychological, and emotional strain. This leads to complications like high stress, hypertension, increased risk of high blood pressure, less sleep, and even accelerated biological aging.

Internalized Oppression
It’s common for racist stereotypes to be internalized within marginalized groups, including African Americans. As a result, some Blacks may distance themselves from their own culture and race in hopes of advancing in society and avoiding racism.

Further examining the health complications resulting from PTSD in the Black community, the public health term “weathering” was established by Dr. Arline Geronimus in 1990. Likened to a rock constantly exposed to the elements, racial weathering connects the poor health of marginalized peoples to the ongoing stressors of racism.

According to The New York Times, people of color and lower socioeconomic status have more severe and frequent rates of stress as a result of racial weathering. Yet these same communities can’t easily escape their stressors (even physiologically) due to a lack of support and higher chances of discrimination, violence, and job instability.

How to Support Those Affected by Intergenerational Trauma
As you consider the weighty ramifications of Black generational trauma, it’s easy to wonder how you can better understand or support those affected. Author of My Grandmother’s Hands and Meadows Senior Fellow Resmaa Menakem offers an important perspective: “We’re not very good at understanding nuance … especially when talking about a human endeavor. Understanding nuance involves reps and practices, just like if you were going to learn a musical instrument. It’s something to be developed over time.”

We’re not very good at understanding nuance … especially when talking about a human endeavor. Understanding nuance involves reps and practices, just like if you were going to learn a musical instrument. It’s something to be developed over time. — Resmaa Menakem, Meadows Senior Fellow

Menakem continues, “It’s about conditioning, honing, and reps. It’s about doing the practices with a Black or Brown person … over and over again. Then meet with another Black, Brown, or Indigenous person and do the practices and reps with them. Now you’ve developed a communal nuance that’s different from individual nuance. That’s how you be with people.”

And for white people desiring to make a difference, Menakem shares, “Get together with other white people and commit together for the rest of your life to do work around race … so your children’s children’s children don’t have to deal with it.”

Find Healing from Trauma at The Meadows
If you or someone you love is struggling from unresolved PTSD or emotional trauma —even intergenerational trauma — The Meadows is here to help. With nearly five decades of providing successful outcomes in trauma and addiction treatment, The Meadows is your most trusted resource for true healing and restored health. Contact us today to start your journey of lasting recovery.