Brandon Shimoda writes on page 41 of The Afterlife Is Letting Go that:
What does it mean for people to survive a trauma, and how can anyone be sure that they have survived, rather than, more simply, not died?
Someone reminded me how Dr. Joy DeGruy writes in Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome that knowledge of self, people, origins, family legacies and lore equip us with layers of life that transcend trauma. A few days ago, Chris asked me about the limits and failings of a liberal lifestyle choice to put one’s child in a specific school setting as a singular act of justice while neglecting to confront, challenge and contest the structural issues that dictate terms of power in K-12 education by being a part of an organized small or large group of people seeking to change the standards and norms. I picked Olufemi Taiwo’s Elite Capture back up two years after I read it. The only note that I have of that first reading is: Taiwo writes how trauma unifies us all.
As I ruminated on Chris’ text, I remembered Tsuru for Solidarity, wondering what the cousins and friends of Tsuru might be in the Carolinas, in Appalachia, the Great Lakes, the Great Plains, and for the Rockies whether the shared identity that defines the community is ethnicity, town, hobby, or spiritual beliefs. The options are seemingly endless.
