According to psychologists, trauma is not something one can "get over." It is not as easy as shaking it off and waking up to a world where all lives, including black lives, make a difference. 

We are unwilling to "feel some kind of way" about what has happened to us or to someone we love. Because of our history, we have pulled away from our communal pain. We don't speak publicly about our personal experiences of injustice, pain, or trauma.  We have learned how to protect our spirits by shielding ourselves from unpleasantness.  We have developed callouses around the thin surfaces of loving and desiring to be loved.  We are getting physically sick from the stress of "tucking our stuff away."

Imagine if each of us had the power to make a difference.  Imagine if we could create conversations, communities, and committed action in our lives, in our work, and in our online presence.  

If and when we are willing to name our pain and our trauma, our truths can bring important awareness to the disparities in how we are treated and in how we perceive inequity and injustice in our personal daily lives.  I'm building this board so that we can share our truths about our experiences, unedited and uncut.  We need to share our experiences to get it out of us and into the light.  We can't have reconciliation until we tell our truth.*

I am a teacher at heart and I realized that the most productive thing I could do in this moment in our country is to offer to create a safe space of dialogue.  I am asking you to use this wall to share, to name, to witness, to listen, to acknowledge, and affirm each other.  

Here are some instructions on how to tell your truth on this wall:

I look forward to see what the end will be.

Sarita McCoy Gregory, Ph.D.

*Unless you show up with some unproductive, unenlightened, or offensive post.  There's is no room on this wall for any of that.