Joy DeGruy facts for kids
Joy Angela DeGruy is an American author, teacher, and researcher. She is known for her important book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. This book talks about how big historical events, like slavery, can affect people for many generations. Dr. DeGruy used to be a professor at Portland State University. Now, she leads her own company, DeGruy Publications, Inc., and a non-profit group called Be The Healing, Inc.
Joy DeGruy's Early Life and School
Joy DeGruy was born on October 16, 1957, in Los Angeles, California. She was the youngest of four children. Her parents, Oscar and Nellie DeGruy, came from Louisiana. Her great-grandparents on her mother's side were from Belize.
Joy went to elementary, junior high, and high school in Los Angeles. While in high school, she also took college classes. Dr. DeGruy has shared that her high school counselor once told her she wasn't ready for college. But she proved them wrong!
She earned a bachelor's degree in Speech Communication from Portland State University. She then got two master's degrees: one in Social Work from Portland State and another in Clinical Psychology from Pacific University. Later, she earned her Ph.D. (a very high degree) in Social Work and Social Research from Portland State University.
For her Ph.D. research, she studied why some African American male youth might act violently. She looked at ideas like Sociocultural Theory and Social Learning Theory. She also used her own new idea, called Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. This idea later became the main topic of her famous book.
Teaching Career
From 2001 to 2014, Dr. DeGruy was a professor at Portland State University. She taught many classes to students studying social work. These classes included topics like how people behave in society, working with communities, and understanding different cultures. She also taught about the lasting effects of trauma on African American communities.
Research and Books
Dr. DeGruy's most famous work is her book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing. In an interview with Essence Magazine, she explained her research. She said that very difficult experiences can affect families for many generations. She believes that no one has truly measured how slavery affected people. She also noted how living in a difficult environment for centuries caused deep emotional and mental harm, not just physical harm.
Dr. DeGruy's ideas come from a lot of research. She studied people and collected information in both America and Africa. The American Psychological Association (APA) recognized her work. They said her book has been used as a source in over 1,700 other research papers and books. This shows how important and widely recognized her ideas are in the field of psychology and social work.
See also
- Gail E. Wyatt
- bell hooks
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- African-American Studies
- Whiteness Studies
