In Part 1 of Transformational Healing: Facing Hard Truths, I explored the limitations of the medical model of trauma and recommended community-led strategies to shift healing from something we must “afford” individually to something we intentionally cultivate together. In this post, I share how Black communities have developed survival strategies in response to the harms we have endured; however, these strategies can cause a different form of harm by denying or diminishing our histories and cultures. I propose using community-centered storytelling to create new narratives that honor our experiences to cultivate collective healing.

The Emotional Cost of Harmful Narratives

Centuries of policies and practices have perpetuated biases and racism that continue to shape perceptions and treatment of Black people. In the U.S., Black bodies have been simultaneously valued for their physical strength and labor, while also being viewed as threats to be controlled. Black people’s expressions of emotion, identity, or culture that diverge from white dominant norms are often labeled as unacceptable. This ongoing censure of Black identity and cultural expression has normalized unjust treatment and allowed harmful conditions to persist unchallenged. These narratives have not only influenced how we are seen, but also how we see ourselves, and how we believe we must behave.

In response, Black communities developed survival strategies to endure these conditions—strategies that, over time, have unconsciously shaped our psyches. One enduring approach is the commitment to always appear strong, never allowing others to see us buckle or break.

While these survival strategies helped us endure slavery, Jim Crow laws, and ongoing systemic racism, they have also limited our capacity to form healthy emotional bonds, both interpersonally and within our communities. Many Black people, especially from older generations, carry the belief that sharing their truth won’t lead to change or support, and will unnecessarily burden others. This mindset has contributed to widespread skepticism toward mental health resources and a sense of apathy around seeking help.

I first encountered this survival strategy as a child. I was crying because my feelings were hurt, but I was told I had nothing to cry about. That message echoed throughout my childhood. Over time, I internalized the belief that expressing pain was unacceptable, that life was not that hard, and that whatever I was feeling was mine alone to carry. I began to believe that everything bad that happened was somehow my fault. But as life grew too heavy to bear alone, I could no longer hide that I was buckling under the weight. I took a frightening leap and allowed others to see my pain, hoping I might find support. In doing so, I quickly learned that my struggle wasn’t unique. Looking back, I realize that I was not allowed to pause and see how the environment I was in shaped my decisions and thus my experiences, views, and relationships.

Reclaiming the Narrative: Community-Centered Healing Strategies

On the surface, it may appear that Black people carry stigma around seeking support. But this stigma is a cultural survival strategy, one rooted in not letting other people see us break. This shield has helped us remain resilient in the face of injustice and oppressive living conditions. While the appearance of strength has been essential to our survival, naming our traumas and revealing the cracks allow us to release what we are “supposed” to be so we can be who we are. Releasing moves us from isolated struggle and internalized blame to shared understanding and collective transformation. To do this, we must undo the harmful narratives that define what is considered “acceptable” Blackness, so we can express the fullness of our humanity and live wholly. Community-centered, ethical, and transformative storytelling offers the space for Black communities to name our pain, honor our truths, and reshape the narratives that have long distorted our identities—for ourselves and for others with whom we interact and have relationships. Below, I offer storytelling practices to support narrative change and foster mindset shifts.

Community-Centered Storytelling Practices to Expand Access to Collective Healing:
  • Establish ethical storytelling principles – Center co-creation and honor dignity, cultural values, and diverse modes of expression.
  • Use transformative storytelling practices – Highlight lived experiences, personal journeys, and emotional depth to counter harmful stereotypes, stigmas, and norms.
  • Embrace art as a healing tool – Music, dance, visual arts, and performance allow us to connect over shared experiences such as grief, love, anger, and hope, while also providing alternatives to written and verbal processing.
  • Reclaim public space for storytelling – Murals and community art projects serve as public affirmations of history, resistance, and healing.
  • Name root causes – When telling our stories, reveal the systemic and historical forces shaping Black people’s behaviors and choices, shifting the focus from individual blame to structural understanding.

Strategy in Action: Storytelling & Public Art as a Healing Tool

In many Black communities, public art is more than creative expression; it is a pathway to healing. Through murals, poetry, and performance, communities reclaim their histories and narratives in ways that are visually powerful and emotionally affirming.

In Bronzeville, Chicago, community-led art projects preserve cultural memory and celebrate the resilience and brilliance of Black artists, poets, and activists. Murals honoring figures like Gwendolyn Brooks—one of the most influential and widely read poets of the 20th century, the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize, and a committed social justice activist—not only commemorate history, they also create shared spaces for reflection, pride, and emotional connection.
Public storytelling and artistic expression provide Black communities with platforms to share our truths, culture, and histories—not only with each other but with communities. These expressions challenge white dominant norms that have long defined “acceptable” Blackness, and instead, cultivate spaces for empathy, visibility, joy, and collective healing.

Closing Thoughts: Transforming Trauma for Collective Healing

Healing is rooted in community care. It begins when we name both our pain and our joy and reclaim the right to express them fully. When healing is woven into the rhythms of everyday life, it becomes a shared responsibility, moving at the pace of the people rather than the pace of institutions. This nurtures emotional safety, deepens community bonds, and builds collective resilience.

So I leave you with this to ponder:

How can we weave healing into the fabric of our daily lives, both for ourselves, for our communities, and in our relationships with other communities?
What might be possible if healing isn’t something we have to advocate or struggle for, but something ever-present and accessible to all of us?

Let’s imagine and build a world where healing is not just possible, but promised. Together, we can create the conditions where wholeness is not the finish line, but where we begin.

Here are some resources to learn more about community-centered storytelling practices:

About The Author

Mariah Laird, MPH, CHES, Associate, skillfully designs and conducts qualitative research and evaluation that seeks to improve public health and strengthen institutions that promote public health. Her scholarship is grounded in her public health training and life experiences as a Black woman. She works assertively to draw out the perspectives of the community that others may overlook and ensures research and evaluation studies produce feasible and tangible action steps to drive the improvement of public health and organizational change strategies.