Black children, on average, experience their first microaggression by age 6, according to an expert on race-based trauma. (Getty Images)
By Margo Snipe, Capital B, October 16, 2023
Ignored complaints of students using racist slurs, Black children getting in trouble for reporting instances of discrimination, and white students mockingly reenacting the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers are all outlined in a lawsuit that hit a Georgia school district earlier this year.
The case is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the repeated stress Black youth are exposed to as they’re growing up. Racism, and the chronic stress that it causes, is weathering Black Americans’ health, driving health disparities from anxiety to heart disease and cancer. And, it’s starting at an incredibly young age.
For Black kids, that stress is often caused by racism that comes in school settings: from peers, teachers, or administrators. It’s bleeding into both a mental and physical health crisis, and for Black boys and girls, exactly how that stress looks and affects their bodies can vary by gender.
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