I am often asked about the motivation behind developing the concept of Urban Trauma® and the Allyship Identity Model. Why did I decide to write about it, and what triggered me to make this my life’s mission and passion?

One morning early in my career, I was sitting around a table, surrounded by people who did not look like me, who were trying to figure out how to help “these poor” Black and Brown children. They spoke about our beautiful children as if they were defective and in dire need of salvation. They had no personal insight into how our children came to live in their neighborhoods, how their families struggled, or how their schools lacked the resources to provide them with a proper education. I knew that structural racism was alive and well; I have often witnessed its path of destruction, both personally and professionally. At that moment, I decided that I would not be a spectator watching others make decisions for our kids, our families, our community – so instead I stepped up and challenged the status quo.