A professor and proponent of Critical Race Theory is calling for black staff members to get special bereavement leave and counseling services to deal with “racial battle fatigue (RBF).”
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In an article in Times Higher Education, Angel Jones, a visiting professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, defined racial battle fatigue as “the psychological and physiological consequences of experiencing racism.”
She added that while the phenomenon is “well documented,” its symptoms are often ignored.
“Psychological consequences of RBF include anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, while physiological consequences include elevated heart rate, tension headaches and stomach ulcers,” Jones wrote. “We experience these symptoms on a regular basis as a result of our first-hand racial trauma as well as the trauma we experience when we see people such as Philando Castile, Eric Garner and Patrick murdered on camera.”
Despite being a black woman and a successful and respected scholar, Jones insists that America and its institutions are racist, and she promotes policies designed to create “equity.”
“I am a proud educator who loves what I do. But before that, I am a Black woman,” Jones wrote. “A Black woman who is expected to return to ‘business as usual’ on Monday after seeing a member of my community murdered on Friday. Although it is customary for employees to receive support and understanding while grieving the loss of a loved one, the same care is rarely shown to the Black community when we lose someone in horrific and traumatic ways.”
“Where’s our Black bereavement leave?” she added.
In order to alleviate racial battle fatigue, Jones argued special funding should be directed toward the mental health of black employees.
“Where are our counseling services? Where is our grace for missed meetings and deadlines while we mourn?” the professor asked. “Yes, we have jobs to do and students to support, but we also have trauma to process.”