Trauma From Slavery Can Actually Be Passed Down Through Your Genes
©Lydia Ortiz
Last night, as social media sites were filled with status updates and tweets regarding the Warriors’ heroic game-seven win and Bernie Sanders’ massive rally in Oakland, California, it became almost impossible to miss the many comments about Roots, the legendary 1977 miniseries based off of the Alex Haley book, which was remade and broadcast on the History Channel. Aside from the commentary that comprised the live-tweets, one of the more common statements many people were delivering online was how they weren't going to watch Roots because they wanted to go to work in peace the next day.
On face value, it's easy for a non-black person to wonder why African Americans, over a century removed from slavery, can still harbor such strong feelings just from watching a TV show. And, to be fair, I think we even wonder that about ourselves sometimes. It's a question that has been tackled by some of our greatest and most eloquent writers, but apparently it’s also addressed by a component of our society that many of us never expected: science.