Colorism and the Poetics of Resistance Among Black Youth: An Application of the Colorist-Historical Trauma Framework

Abstract

The colorist-historical trauma framework offers scholars, practitioners, and educators a new lens with which to more effectively combat racial disparities in society through the understanding of the intergenerational transmission of colorism in the historical trauma response of African Americans. This article applies the colorist-historical trauma framework to the colorism poems of young African Americans who demonstrate that poetry, as a device of healing, can be a useful mechanism of passing on more than the challenges associated with colorism, but also the art of resistance. The results of this thematic analysis produced three emerging concepts about the poetics of 16 young African Americans and have implications for mental health practitioners, educators, and scholars that uplift the healing process of poetry.