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Racial trauma therapist reflects on damage and pain after Tyre Nichols' killing

Protesters project an image of Tyre Nichols during rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, in Washington, DC, on Jan. 27, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Protesters project an image of Tyre Nichols during rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, in Washington, DC, on Jan. 27, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

As the investigation into Tyre Nichols’ death continues, a shocked, but maybe not surprised, nation wonders: Can there be substantive change? And how does the Black and Brown community — in Memphis and around the country — move forward? Is it possible?

Resmaa Menakem is a Minneapolis-based trauma therapist who’s worked with combat-weary soldiers in Afghanistan, conducted anti-racist trainings with the Minneapolis police force and counseled traumatized members of his own community before and after George Floyd’s murder. He’s also author of the acclaimed “In My Grandmother’s Hands” and the more recent “Upheaval and Racial Reckoning.”

He joins Here & Now‘s Robin Young to talk about police reform, healing and generational trauma.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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