Structure

My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies is divided into three large sections. Part I is entitled "Unarmed and Dismembered" and explains the genesis of racialized trauma and the pain that such trauma leaves behind. Within Part I, Menakem defines and addresses white-body supremacy in white persons, Black persons, and police bodies. Part I chapters also explain the transmission models of white-body supremacy and the myth of white fragility. These early chapters contain miniature history lessons, especially about methods of torture in the Middle Ages. Especially important to Menakem is describing European trauma from before the time of slavery so that the reader understands that trauma predates slavery. At the close of Part I is a personal call to accountability. Menakem urges readers to understand that they are responsible for healing their own trauma.

In Part II: Remembering Ourselves, Menakem...