The descendants of enslaved bamileke in America: Coping with intergenerational trauma of the transatlantic slave trade

Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS) refers to a state characterized by the presence of multigenerational trauma among a community, stemming from prolonged periods of enslavement spanning centuries, and persisting due to ongoing experiences of oppression and institutionalized racism in contemporary society. This paper examines the physical, mental, and socioemotional consequences of institutionalized oppression from the 1600s to the present day. It focuses on the impact of this oppression on the Bamileke community in America, analyzing various sectors of society.“The Descendants of Enslaved Bamileke in America: Coping with Intergenerational Trauma of the Transatlantic Slave Trade” was to enable the target audience to express their responses of historical trauma in their own words- phenomenological interviews and observation were used in this study. Ethnographic data collection in Cameroon and in the USA was conducted. The results of the study indicate that participants are still engaged in a coping process in response to previous trauma, with a predominant focus on restoration-oriented coping that can shift to loss-oriented coping when triggered by current events.