Decolonizing Trauma: Black Feminist Epistemologies and Community Healing in the African Diaspora

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 29–42

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001297

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Decolonizing Trauma: Black Feminist Epistemologies and Community Healing in the African Diaspora

Names of Author: Prof. Maya Linwood-Carter¹

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of African American and Diaspora Studies, Howard University, Washington, D.C., United States.

Abstract:
Mainstream Western clinical psychology often pathologizes distress through individualistic diagnostic frameworks that overlook the historical, racial, and gendered dimensions of intergenerational trauma. For Black women navigating systemic racism, economic precarity, and patriarchal violence across the diaspora, conventional mental health interventions frequently feel alienating or culturally unresponsive. In response, Black feminist practitioners and community organizers have cultivated holistic healing methodologies rooted in ancestral memory, somatic storytelling, and collective care. This paper explores community-based mental health initiatives led by Black women in the United States and the United Kingdom. Grounded in Black feminist epistemology and decolonial psychology, the study analyzes participatory healing circles and narrative interviews with 32 facilitators and participants. The findings reveal that centering culturally grounded, relational healing practices disrupts medicalized isolation, affirms embodied resilience, and transforms personal recovery into a catalyst for collective social justice.

Keywords: Black feminist epistemology, decolonial psychology, intergenerational trauma, community healing, African diaspora, mental health, somatic care, solidarity

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 18, 2026; Revised: July 25, 2026; Accepted: July 29, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Linwood-Carter, M. (2026). Decolonizing Trauma: Black Feminist Epistemologies and Community Healing in the African Diaspora. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 29–42. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001297

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