Race-based trauma and how it affects African American adolescents academically, socially, and emotionally has been an issue of increased concern due to racial disparities in the American education system. Consequently,… Click to show full abstract
Race-based trauma and how it affects African American adolescents academically, socially, and emotionally has been an issue of increased concern due to racial disparities in the American education system. Consequently, a myriad of race-based interventions have been created in an effort to support African American adolescents. In this article, the author details the findings from a phenomenological study that examined the lived experiences of 10 African American emerging adults who having participated in race-based interventions during their secondary education successfully integrated the interventions to mitigate race-based trauma academically, socially, and emotionally. The qualitative data revealed three key findings that the participants valued in race-based interventions (1) interventions that were aware of their needs as African Americans (2) interventions that provided access and exposure to tools to best mitigate race-based trauma, and (3) interventions that exposed them to various platforms that allowed them to witness, develop, practice, and activate the tools the interventions provided.
               
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