As a black person, have you ever felt anxiety being in a room full of Black people that you don’t quite understand?
Growing up, I was terrified of Black people.
It wasn’t until I was much older that I could name this and understand it as generational trauma and internalised anti-blackness.
Being afraid of my blackness was a heavy, shameful truth to admit. In healing, I realised I absorbed a toxic narrative that Blackness was inherently tied to violence and dysfunction. It became clear how oppressive systems teach us from a young age that Blackness is something to be feared, managed and policed. We aren’t born with this fear, but it has become an intergenerational inheritance rooted from systems that benefit when we’re disconnected from the humanity within ourselves and each other.
In this podcast episode, I share my own journey of navigating these messages, from childhood beliefs about inherent violence to the complex ways anti-Blackness becomes internalised and played out in adult life.
We’ll explore how this fear isn’t a personal failing, but a survival strategy adapted in response to a system that tells us, “You just need to be the right kind of Black.”
Join me as we explore:
- The Systemic Echo: How racial messages from media, work, and institutions get recycled through our families and relationships.
- The Relational Shield: Naming the harms of intergenerational trauma, why we might find it easier to be vulnerable in white spaces or feel the need to prove we’re “not like other Black people.”
- The Internal Weight: Navigating the “magical negro” complex, overachievement, and the struggle to feel worthy without proximity to whiteness.
This isn’t just about looking at the harm; it’s about finding the path back to belonging to ourselves. Join me as we peel back the layers of complexity and ask, ‘Who could I be if I stopped being afraid of my Blackness?
If this episode resonated with you, I invite you to deepen this work with my free heartwork questions around this topic.
- Download your free guide at www.heal.juneallen.net in the free resources tab.
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Please note: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for psychotherapy.