African Psychology :Going Beyond the Psychology that Enslaved Us | Dr Erica McInnis | TEDxTrafford

Quick Overview

Dr. Erica McInnis advocates for drawing energy and wisdom from African ancestral knowledge, specifically Kemetic and Kemet-centered African psychology, as an essential spiritual approach for healing racial trauma experienced by global majority people, contrasting this with the psychology that has historically enslaved them.

Key Points: Dr. Erica McInnis argues that people of the global majority must rely on African psychology to counteract the psychological impact of enslavement and colonization. She draws energy and wisdom from ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) gods and goddesses, specifically referencing the goddess Sekhmet, as a source for healing racial trauma. McInnis founded an online school teaching African-centered psychology, which currently has under 1,000 students learning healing methods rooted in ancestral experiences. She contrasts the upward social/economic status trajectory often observed for white travelers with the downward trajectory often imposed upon Black immigrants and travelers. The speaker suggests that African psychology offers a spiritual approach to well-being, emphasizing self-determination and healing from ancestral trauma. McInnis encourages the audience to actively practice drawing down the wisdom of their 'good ancestors' and elders to become warriors for good.

Context: This TEDxTrafford talk, titled "Rooted & Rising: Stories of Identity & Community Resilience," features Dr. Erica McInnis discussing the importance of African psychology as a tool for healing racial trauma. McInnis shares personal experiences, including overcoming adversity like poverty and cancer, which led her to seek knowledge from ancient African wisdom traditions, particularly Kemetic spirituality, contrasting it with Western psychological frameworks she feels have historically been used to oppress.

Detailed Analysis

Dr. Erica McInnis opens her talk by posing a critical question: Can we rely on the psychology that has enslaved us to save us? She immediately challenges the audience to consider the psychological frameworks that have historically marginalized people of African descent, drawing a contrast between the upward mobility often afforded to white travelers versus the downward trajectory imposed on Black immigrants. McInnis recounts personal hardship, including growing up poor in Manchester and surviving cancer at age 28, which spurred her search for alternative sources of strength. She found profound resources in African psychology, specifically drawing upon the energy of ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) gods, like Sekhmet, the goddess of medicine and healing. She emphasizes that African psychology is a spiritual approach focused on self-determination and healing from multigenerational racial trauma. McInnis notes that she established an online school to teach these principles, which currently educates under 1,000 students in the UK. She concludes by leading the audience in a chant derived from African tradition, urging them to 'rise up on the shoulders of our good elders, and draw down the wisdom of our good ancestors' to embody the warrior spirit needed for collective healing.