Combating the Conspiracy of Silence: Clinician Recommendations for Talking About Racism-Related Events With Youth of Color

Abstract

Graphic videos of race-based violence, including police brutality toward Black people and anti-Asian hate crimes, have exploded over the past year. While documentation of these horrific acts has brought visibility to the pervasiveness of racial discrimination, it has also resulted in youth of color being exposed to racial stressors more than ever before across numerous social media and news platforms.^1-3 Beyond the significant race-related stress already experienced by youth in school contexts,⁴ this increased exposure to racism via media is concerning, as both direct and vicarious exposure to racial discrimination can compromise psychological well-being of youth and cause trauma-like symptoms, such as intrusive thoughts, vigilance, and depression.^3,5.