America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing

Joy DeGruy Leary is a priceless asset to us all. She has lifted the bandages from the 400 year-old abscess of slavery that remains un-healed.

Many black and white Americans have been taught that slavery ended by legislative means in 1865 – so the issue is neatly side-stepped in the school curricula, print and broadcast. However the hallmark of classroom teaching and responsible journalism must be proper context – for full understanding. The removal of the shackle is important, but what about the emotional damage suffered by the enslaved?

Dr. Leary has raised this argument brilliantly, for years, lecturing far and wide…Dr. Leary’s message on “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” has helped…grapple with multiplicity of problems today….

Now Dr. Leary has set down her highly important message/thesis in print And so, to quote the wondrous physician: “Let the healing begin.”

—Gil Noble, Producer, Like It Is WABC-TV

Dr. Leary’s book is seminal research in the field of differential cross-cultural diagnosis for mental health. Cultural Competence is a requirement for mental health and behavioral science workers. This text is required reading for all learners and practitioners….It opens a window to innovative models for healing in our multi-ethnic, pluralistic and linguistically diverse society.

—Edwin J. Nichols, Ph. D. Clinical/Industrial Psychologist

Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary’s Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing is a master work. Her deep understanding, critical analysis and determination to illuminate core truth are essential to addressing the long-lived devastation of slavery. Her book is the balm we need to heal ourselves and relationships. It is a gift of wholeness.— Susan Taylor, Editorial Director, Essence Magazine

At last the book that all people who are truly interested in understanding the lingering psychological and social impact of enslavement on Africans and Europeans has arrived.…a milestone in the understanding of the relationship between racism and slavery…. to understand how the ghost of slavery haunts us all.

—Dr. Ray Winbush, Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University

Dr. Joy Leary’s mesmerizing, riveting book is vital reading for our time. The corrosive residue of unmitigated and unrelieved atrocities called chattel slavery scours out the very core of our national identity. Neither the descendents of chattel slavery nor its designers have been unscathed. One – doomed to mythologize its meaning, the other to turn searing pain into self-loathing. We ignore our history at our own peril. With Dr. Leary’s potent word we can and will heal.

—Adelaide L. Sanford, Vice Chancellor, Board of Regent, State of New York