HOW OUR CHILD'S BRAINS CAN PLAY A ROLE IN MANAGING RACIALLY STRESSFUL SITUATIONS

Psychologist Howard C Stevenson specializes in Community and Clinical Child Psychology. His five-year PLAAY project (Preventing Long-Term Anger and Aggression in Youth) was sponsored by the National Institutes of Mental Health In that work, Stevenson speaks to a need for skills that allow for open expression within racially stressful situations if we hope to heal the racial tensions that threaten to tear the fabric of society apart. Through racial literacy -- the ability to read, recast and resolve these situations -- psychologist Howard C. Stevenson helps children and parents reduce and manage stress and trauma. During his Ted Talk Stevenson takes us back to our youth and hearing those famous words when entering a supermarket “don’t ask for nothing…don’t touch nothin”. A “Talk” many of us have either had or give today - one that we often laugh at in retrospect, but Stevenson proposes a higher racially connective meaning in this “Talk”. A meaning driven by false assumptions of a black child being a danger or misbehaving simply…by…being…black. As parents we set rules and govern behaviors for our children that may not always be as a relevant for other parents. Despite race we share many things, but there is an unease in social environments like store visits that bring many of us BDads to protect our children from racial judgement and bias. This protection isn’t just par for the course, but in today’s world, a necessary mammalian behavior to ensure the survival of our children. It’s become more important now than ever that we as parents of all races, talk to our kids about how to, in Stevenson’s words - “Read, Recast, and Resolve” racially challenging situations to ensure safety. Stevenson’s talk explores the mental processes that drive us to threatening experiences when confronted with racially stressful situations and how this mental disruption can be deconstructed to mitigate physical and terminal threats. His literacy program helps us learn more about an approach to decoding racial threats that can help our youth build confidence and stand up for themselves in productive ways.