To highlight exactly what police brutality does to the African American psyche by explaining the meaning, long term impact, and implications of racial trauma by drawing parallels between police shootings today and lynchings in the past.
I. Introduction
A. Attention Device—It is no secret that the Black community does not have a good relationship with the police.It’s as if every day we hear news about police brutality. People protesting it, people experiencing it, and people filming it. Because of technology human beings are able to spread and share information faster than ever before. History is not a static concept. It is happening all around us all the time. And for the first time, anyone anywhere can document it and instantaneously share it with the world.
B. Thesis Statement—What is my speech about?
Racial trauma is a phenomenon that can impact a group of people for generations and has a multitude of negative impacts. This has had negative impacts on the Black Community psychologically.
C. Relevancy Statement—
It is no secret that Americans as a group are being desensitized to violence. We are exposed to it all of the time. This is dangerous. It is having negative psychological impacts on all of us.
D. Credibility Statement– My entire life has been directly impacted by an instances of racially based violence that occurred in my family almost a century before my birth. In 1907 in Gainesville, Texas my great great great grandfather was violently lynched. The impact of his lynching has spanned across generations. As a result I have witnessed first hand the impacts of racial trauma, not only in my family, but in my community. As an African American woman I can speak first hand about this phenomenon because I have experienced it myself.
E. Forecast of Main points—What are my 3-5 speaking points
1. I will be drawing historical parallels between police brutality and lynchings in American history. I plan on then explaining the psychological phenomenon that is racial trauma and explaining the impact that it is having on the black community.
Transition–Link to First point—How I get into my 1st main point.
1. 1 or 2 sentences written to transition into the body and 1st point
2. Entire Intro should be 1-1:30 seconds
II. Body (3-5 Main Points)
A. Point #1— Police brutality is a widespread issue disproportionately impacting the African American community.
a.We are as a group being traumatized. The normalization of violent beatings, sexual assaults, and graphic murders is negatively impacting the African American community.
b.
2.It is negatively impacting us psychologically.
a. It is literally making us sick.
b.When you examine the way these assaults are being photographed and shared, it parallels very closely to some of the racial violence African Americans experienced in the past, most notably lynchings.
B. Point #2
1.America has a history of unjust killings of African Americans sans consequences.
a. From the mid 1860s-1960s it is estimated that around 3,446 African Americans were lynched across the United States. Many historical documents report that this is simply the number of documented lynchings. Many have simply never been recorded.
B. “Moderation was out of place when race supremacy was at stake….It re-established the correlative status of the troublesome black man, which was as nothing, with no rights, no protectors, no personal dignity, and no human worth. To allow a black rapist or murderer the due process of law would be to treat him as a citizen, a fellow American, a fellow human being…. lynching worked to deny this fellowship and to insist on the utter worthlessness of any black man who offended against white people.”
2.One of the hallmarks of lynchings is that the body of the victim would be left on display, to send a message.
a.We can do anything we want to you and there is nothing you can do about it. This is our America. In my personal experience, to be African American is to experience the feeling of otherness.
b.When I watch black men and women be beaten and murdered on film, when I hear about police officers avoiding conviction in a system that protects them and condemns me, it makes me sick. Literally.
C. Point #3
Racial Trauma is defined as
a.Some of the physical manifestations of racial based trauma include increased aggression in an attempt to appear tough and distance themselves from role of victim, increased vigilance and self isolation, sensitivity to threats, increased substance use, and a narrowing sense of time. When anything can happen to you at anytime you start to live solely in the present because death is imminent.
b.Some of the mental health issues that can result are very similar to those of victims of PTSD. These stresses can actually be passed down through generations.
2.This is negatively impacting the African American community as whole.
a.We are constantly receiving the message that not only is there a risk at all times of being assaulted.
b.When we attempt to draw attention to the fact that our safety is always at risk we are harshly condemned in the public eye and by protesting our condition we put ourselves further in harm’s way.
Transition–This leads to a large crisis of identity. I want nothing more than to be a patriot. I really truly wish that I could be proud of my country, this land I was born in. When I witness the treatment of my people, when I see that I am neither wanted nor welcome, that makes this an impossibility. How can I love a place that would love nothing more than to be rid of me?
III. Conclusion (Should be 1-1:30 seconds long)
A. Summary of Main Points
My mother has a saying “how you feel and what is real do not always match up.” Do not get so lost in your own perspective that you cannot see what is right in front of you. Regardless of the way that you feel about this topic police brutality is about more than a hashtag. It is a huge issue in our society that is negatively impacting marginalized groups and something needs to be done.
B. Re-State Thesis
1. State funded violence against African Americans is traumatizing us as a group. If something isn’t done it will cause irreparable damage to the black community for generations to come.
C. Clincher—ties to attention device, “Tying the Bow on the Package.”
My mother has a saying “how you feel and what is real do not always match up.” Do not get so lost in your own perspective that you cannot see what is right in front of you. Regardless of the way that you feel about this topic police brutality is about more than a hashtag. It is a huge issue in our society that is negatively impacting marginalized groups and something needs to be done.
Works Cited