Finding the words to heal from racial trauma

Why is it so hard for families to talk about racism? From the perspective of cultural psychologist Dr. Richard Lee, the silence that follows racial trauma is often due to a lack of racial literacy and can result in further problems. In this candid talk, he shares how his own experience with racial trauma as a child is now a catalyst for having critical conversations about race.

A Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Morse-Alumni Distinguished University Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Richard Lee explores how a person’s culture, ethnicity, and race affect their mental and physical well-being as well as their future success. Through his career in psychology, Dr. Lee has discovered children become aware at an early age of how they are treated unfairly based on these factors. He believes that by teaching parents how to approach the conversation around discrimination, together we can start to heal racial trauma and improve outcomes for future generations.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more about the TEDx program.