Resmaa Menakem opens by examining how historical racial trauma, particularly connected to American slavery and its aftermath, may transmit across generations through both cultural and genuine physiological mechanisms, drawing on trauma research and somatic therapy approaches.

Why this transgenerational trauma transmission framework matters:

• This framework connects established trauma research regarding physiological trauma transmission to the specific historical context of American racial trauma, providing significant additional dimension to understanding contemporary racial dynamics
• Menakem's approach, combining historical analysis with somatic (body-based) therapy background, provides distinctive grounding for this examination
• This opening establishes the book's foundational premise, motivating its subsequent detailed examination of specific somatic and historical dimensions

This opening establishes the book's foundational premise, examining historical racial trauma's potential transmission across generations through both cultural and physiological mechanisms.