Racial Battle Fatigue is developed from “the stress of unavoidable front-line racial battles in historically white spaces [which cause people of color to feel] mentally, emotionally, and physically drained” (Smith, Yosso, and Solórzano, 2006, p. 301).
Chronic racial stress injuries “can become lethal when the accumulation of physiological symptoms …are untreated, unnoticed, misdiagnosed, or personally dismissed" (Smith, Yosso, and Solórzano, 2006, p. 301).
Chronic racism causes physical and mental health symptoms including (Smith, 2004, 2005a, 2005b):
dizziness
high blood pressure
rapid breathing
elevated heart rate
disrupted sleep
muscle tension and pain (e.g., neck, jaw, & shoulders)
headaches
suppressed immunity
metabolic function system impairment (risk for heart disease, stroke, & type2 diabetes)
digestion problems
ulcers
loss of appetite
fatigue
exhaustion
depression
anxiety
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
rapid mood changes
difficulty thinking
lowered work performance
Over time, chronic racial stress releases stress hormone flooding which leads to systemwide inflammation and chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and obesity (Geronimus, 2023). This process called "weathering," refers to early onset disability and death in communities of color.
In fact, the very skills enabling BIPOC success in predominantly white institutions like universities and offices, expose us to concentrated racist toxicity.
“Weathering is about hopeful, hardworking, responsible, skilled, and resilient people dying from the physical toll of constant stress on their bodies, paying with their health because they live in a rigged, degrading, and exploitative system” (Geronimus, 2023, p. 11).
References
Geronimus, A. T. (2023). Weathering: The extraordinary stress of ordinary life in an unjust society. Hachette UK.
Smith, W. A. (2004). Black faculty coping with racial battle fatigue: The campus racial climate in a post- Civil Rights era. In D. Cleveland (Ed.), A long way to go: Conversations about race by African American faculty and graduate students (pp. 171–190). Peter Lang.
Smith,W. A. (2005a). Battle fatigue on the front lines of race: Teaching about race and racism at predominantly White institutions. Sage Journals, 51(4).
Smith,W. A. (2005b). Racial battle fatigue, race-related stressors, and the academic challenges for college students of color: An interdisciplinary theory. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Smith, W. A., Yosso, T. J., & Solórzano, D. G. (2006). Racial primes and Black misandry on historically White campuses: Toward critical race accountability in educational administration. Educational Administration Quarterly, 43, 559-585.
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