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Race, Gender, and Community

Not only is resiliency an individual trait, communities collectively overcome adversity when faced with mass violence, natural disasters, and unprecedented pandemics. Biases, fear, and hatred also create stress, trauma, and life-threatening events for groups of select persons. How can communities foster resilience?

Incidents of increased prejudice and violence during COVID reflect a long history of how power, prejudice, and public health have intersected throughout American history. For Asian Pacific American History Month, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History held conversations in a series called Viral Histories: Stories of Racism, Resilience, and Resistance in Asian American Communities with community leaders combating racism while serving on the front lines.

Viajando por Las Americas: From Guatemala to Washington, D.C. by Michelle Aranda Cross. 2017 Folklife Festival on the Move, Crafts, Immigration & Migration. August 31, 2017

The Digital Transgender Archive was born out of two researchers’ frustration with finding materials by and about transgender people. The online hub encompasses more than 20 public and private collections of documents, ephemera, and memorabilia from gender-nonconforming people in an attempt to make their history more visible. This Transgender Archive’s Oldest Artifacts Tell a Story of Courage and Community by Erin Blakemore. SmithsonianMag.com, March 29, 2016

Racial and Ethnic Socialization (RES) is a process through which parents influence “children's racial identity and self-concept, beliefs about the way the world works, and repertoire of strategies and skills for coping with and navigating racism and inter-and intra-racial relationships and interactions.” (From Resilience in African-American Children and Adolescents: A Vision for Optimal Development)

The RESilience Initiative of the American Psychological Association provides resources for parents and others to assist them in promoting strength, health, and well-being among the youth of color. Positive racial identities serve as protective factors and bolster resilience.

Building community resilience is going from surviving to thriving. THRIVE: Tool for Health and Resilience In Vulnerable Environments is a framework for understanding how community conditions impact health and a tool for engaging others to take action to improve those conditions.

Founded in 2001, The Greater Good Science Center, based at UC Berkeley, provides a bridge between the research community and the general public. The center studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society. Its aims are to:

• Equip individuals with science-based knowledge and skills that shape their beliefs and broadly improve social and emotional well-being;
• Empower people to become agents of change in their organizations and communities, thus changing institutions from the inside out.
• Engage in “field-building” by fostering a broad, inclusive cultural conversation about the importance of compassion, connection, gratitude, and meaning, while bringing a trusted, science-based voice to the public.

There's an NIH for Research

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is the National Institutes of Health lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. Mind and body practices are included in this field of study. The 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) showed that yoga, chiropractic, and osteopathic manipulation, and meditation are among the most popular mind and body practices used by adults. Stress management programs commonly include relaxation techniques. Find more information about the benefits of relaxation techniques that may aid in stress management and help build resilience.

Book

Resilience is a key ingredient for psychological health and wellness. It’s what gives people the psychological strength to cope with everyday stress, as well as major setbacks. For many people, stressful events may include job loss, financial problems, illness, natural disasters, medical emergencies, divorce, or the death of a loved one. But if you are queer or gender non-conforming, life stresses may also include discrimination in housing and health care, employment barriers, homelessness, family rejection, physical attacks or threats, and general unfair treatment and oppression—all of which lead to overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness. So, how can you gain resilience in a society that is so often toxic and unwelcoming? The Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook will teach you how to cultivate the key components of resilience: holding a positive view of yourself and your abilities; knowing your worth and cultivating a strong sense of self-esteem; effectively utilizing resources; being assertive and creating a support community; fostering hope and growth within yourself, and finding the strength to help others.

The Queer & Transgender Resilience Workbook | Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC | New Harbinger Publications | 2018 | 224 pages | ISBN: 978-1626259461 | WorldCat

Author

Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC (she/they) is a Professor in the School of Social Work with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology and serves as Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity/Chief Diversity Officer at Tulane University. Her scholarship and community organizing explores the resilience, trauma, and identity development experiences of queer and trans people, with a focus on young people and BIPOC people. She has written extensively on multicultural and social justice competency development in the helping professions, and equity and justice efforts in higher education. Dr. Singh is the author of The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing and The Queer and Trans Resilience Workbook. Dr. Singh founded the Trans Resilience Project to translate her LGBTQ+ research findings into school and community-based change efforts, including NIH funded work with trans and non-binary people in Project AFFIRM. Her TEDx Talks, have explored gender liberation, and she has been described as a transformative speaker inspiring “real-world” social change. Anneliese passionately believes in and strives to live by the ideals of Dr. King’s beloved community, as well as Audre Lorde’s reminder that “without community, there is no liberation.”

Official Website of Anneliese Singh, PhD

Book

True resilience is much more than enduring terrible conditions. We need resilience every day to raise a family, work at a job, cope with stress, deal with health problems, navigate issues with others, heal from old pain, and simply keep on going. Dr. Rick Hanson shows you how to develop twelve vital inner strengths hardwired into your own nervous system. Then no matter what life throws at you, you’ll be able to feel less stressed, pursue opportunities with confidence, and stay calm and centered in the face of adversity. This practical guide is full of concrete suggestions, experiential practices, personal examples, and insights into the brain. It includes effective ways to interact with others and to repair and deepen important relationships. 

Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness | Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | Harmony | 2020 reprint | 304 pages | ISBN: 978-0451498861

PRH Audio · Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Forrest Hanson, read by Rick Hanson

Author

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. His books are available in 26 languages and include Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture. He edits the Wise Brain Bulletin and has numerous audio programs. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA and founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, he’s been an invited speaker at NASA, Oxford, Stanford, Harvard, and other major universities, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. His work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, and NPR, and he offers the free Just One Thing newsletter with over 120,000 subscribers, plus the online Foundations of Well-Being program in positive neuroplasticity that anyone with financial need can do for free.

Official Website of Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

Book

In The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health, psychologist and African American mental health expert, Rheeda Walker, offers important information on the mental health crisis in the Black community, how to combat stigma, spot potential mental illness, how to practice emotional wellness, and how to get the best care possible in system steeped in racial bias. 

This breakthrough book will help you:

• Recognize mental and emotional health problems
• Understand the myriad ways in which these problems impact overall health and quality of life and relationships
• Develop psychological tools to neutralize ongoing stressors and live more fully
• Navigate a mental health care system that is unequal

The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health | Rheeda Walker, PhD | New Harbinger Publications | 2020 | 232 pages | ISBN: 978-1684034147

Author

Rheeda Walker, PhD is a tenured professor of psychology in the department of psychology at the University of Houston. She is a behavioral science researcher and licensed psychologist who has published more than fifty scientific papers on African American adult mental health, suicide risk, and resilience. Walker is recognized as a fellow in the American Psychological Association due to her scholarly accomplishments. Dr. Walker has been a guest expert psychologist on T.D. Jakes’s national television talk show, and her work has appeared or been cited in The Washington Post, CNN Health, the Houston Chronicle, and Ebony magazine. Her expertise has been critical to mentoring doctoral students in cross-cultural psychology since 2003. Walker was previously a lead consultant in the statewide African American Faith-Based Education and Awareness initiative in Texas. She conducts workshops, and coordinates with churches and other organizations to address emotional wellness.

Official Website of Rheeda Walker, PhD