Institutional racism can cause lifelong trauma. How experts hope to help kids in need [sacbee.com]

What a powerful story!
From the story:  

In response to Warren’s comments, Dr. Flojaune Cofer, the director of state policy and research for public health advocates and an epidemiologist on the panel, explained the need to disrupt institutional racism and implicit bias within the educational system.

Institutional racism — systems which perpetuate inequality — and implicit bias — which determines who is deserving and who isn’t — intersect in the educational system, Cofer said.

“We’re not doing good trauma work if we only focus on the individual,” she said. “You can do all the great work you can in a school, but you send those kids home at the end of the day. That’s why it’s really important for us to understand childhood trauma from the lens of safety, but also to understand that our perception of safety is not just what happens at home, it’s what happens everywhere we go.”

Breaking down systems which perpetuate prejudice and inequality can happen, Cofer said, when work is done differently — when it involves those directly affected in a larger dialogue.