Sacred Justice: An Exploration of Equity and Self-Actualization Through Poetry

Oppression is many things – including a form of collective trauma. Each type of oppression is anywhere from hundreds to thousands of years old, and permeates us individually and collectively through society’s dominant ideology, institutions/systems, interpersonal and intergroup behavior, and the internalized (conscious and unconscious) beliefs that are formed within every person.

Because of the sheer scale of influence that oppressions have in shaping the nature and texture of every society, they have profound impacts on all of our individual and collective experiences of childhood and adulthood – both in the places we are oppressed and the places we are privileged. For oppressed groups, traumas related to oppression generally begin at or before birth, and intergenerational oppression (intergenerational trauma) is often passed on in the body through epigenetic links. In addition to compromising the physical survival needs (such as housing, healthcare, food, etc.) of many oppressed groups, oppression also directly and indirectly compromises parenting/caregiving, attachment, and the overall sense of love and connection a person can access during the critical years of childhood development.

Oppressions, therefore, ultimately shape, influence, and directly inflict both childhood and other traumas. Oppressed people then carry and enact the consequences of any unresolved traumas. This very real imprint on people’s internal and external landscapes means that people with oppressed identities are often left with a significantly diminished sense of what is possible for themselves and their lives, as well as a reduced sense of power and agency. Now, on top of the daily struggles of oppression in the United States, the aggressive attacks by Donald Trump and his supporters constitute a reign of terror that is lighting up old traumas and inflicting new ones for oppressed groups.

The poem featured here is called Sacred Justice (A Love Poem to Myself). Written by Dara Burwell, Co-President of Transformative Alliances LLC, it describes restoring a profound sense of self, body, and agency in the face of childhood trauma, lifelong oppression, and the enormous harms being perpetrated by Donald Trump and his supporters.

Dara composed this poem as a reminder to herself of who she is and the power she occupies. She hopes this poem resonates with and offers strength to a range of oppressed peoples.