Tanisha G. Hill-Jarrett- 1Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- 2Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
The radical imagination entails stepping outside the confines of the now and into the expansiveness of what could be. It has been described as the ability to dream of possible futures and bring these possibilities back to the present to drive social transformation. This perspective paper seeks to provide an overview of the radical imagination and its intersections with Afrofuturism, a framework and artistic epistemology that expresses the Black cultural experience through a space of hope where Blackness is integral. In this paper, I propose three processes that comprise the radical imagination: (1) imagining alternative Black futures, (2) radical hope, and (3) collective courage. I consider the neural networks that underlie each process and consider how the Black radical imagination is a portal through which aging Black adults experience hope and envision futures that drive social change. I conclude with considerations of what brain health and healing justice looks like for aging Black Americans— specifically, how invocation of the Black radical imagination may have positive brain health effects for a demographic group at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
1. Introduction
“Colonization of the imagination is the most dangerous and subversive form there is: for it is where all other forms of decolonization are born. When the imagination is unshackled, liberation is limitless.”
-Walidah Imarisha.
Our thoughts create our reality. In a world where racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism and other forms of oppression maintain a false social hierarchy and unequal distribution of power, the radical imagination is the foundation to re-envisioning the future and building a new, balanced world. Defined as the “ability to imagine the world, life and social institutions, not as they are but as they might otherwise be,” the radical imagination brings “possible futures ‘back’ to work on the present, to inspire action” (1). To fully unpack the radical imagination requires consideration of its etymology. While the word “radical” in today’s day and age often has a negative connotation and is used synonymously with extremism, “radical” is derived from the Latin word, radix, which translates to “root.” Perhaps not coincidentally, ideas that are deemed “radical” are oftentimes grounded in the understanding and/or identification of systemic inequity, oppression, and power imbalance as root causes of societal problems (2). To be radical, in its truest form, is to get to the root of the problem.
The imagination is the generative foundation for all new ideas and involves the social and cultural creation of meaning (3). Early conceptions of the imagination included the belief that imagining was restricted to solely visual mental imagery (4), but it is now known that the imagination encompasses other perceptual modalities [e.g., auditory, tactile, olfaction; motoric (5, 6)] and underlies prosocial behavior [e.g., empathy (7, 8)] at both the individual and collective levels. As will later be discussed, it is the collective imagination – a group process through which knowledge and new ideas are co-produced (9)– that undergirds many social justice movements toward Black collective liberation. The imagination also exists on a temporal plane in that it can be oriented toward past happenings, alternative presents, or possible futures (3). All three aspects of time are inextricably linked and deeply racialized (10, 11). For example, Black Americans are unjustly cut from accessing all elements of time: (1) they are cut from their past and family lineage via the transatlantic slave trade (11); (2) cut from the present via labor inequities that are rooted in capitalism and the historical commodification of the Black body for capital, which impact access to time, rest, and leisure (12–14) and (3) cut from the future via premature deaths and abbreviated lifespans evidenced by health disparities (15–20), mass incarceration (21, 22), and state-sanctioned violence (23, 24). It is through this intentional manipulation and monopolizing of time that the imagination is squelched, and social and systemic inequities persist. Thus, for Black Americans, the collective invocation of the imagination is a longstanding form of resistance and a critical means of making it to the future. In a society where aging is a privilege, the Black imagination is a tool for survival.
“Any serious motion toward freedom must begin in the mind.” (25) The imagination is a mechanism through which we are not only able to envision new, freer worlds, but we can actualize them. To radically reimagine requires more than the deconstruction of problematic policies or dismantling existing power structures (although both are important components of it); it additionally encompasses the process of rebuilding from a space of possibility. The radical imagination extends beyond mere fantasy. It is a central driver of cognition and perception in that society can only create that which its members can imagine (9, 26). When equipped with deep understanding and acknowledgment of the past, the radical imagination can become a portal to a more just, equitable word (27).
In this perspective paper, I argue there are three components of the Black radical imagination which include: (1) imagining alternative Black futures, (2) radical hope, and (3) collective courage. I explore the neuroanatomical underpinnings of these processes and values, and then consider their relationship to brain health. Lastly, I delineate how the Black radical imagination is a necessary conduit to possible futures rooted in health and healing justice for Black Americans. I reflect on what it means to disrupt existing power imbalances and place Black Americans as the central story writers and designers of an equitable future.
2. Imagining alternative Black futures
People of the African diaspora have long been building new futures to escape trauma and cultivate shared realities. The paradox and illegitimacy of ancient Western criticism was that people from the continent of Africa were considered lacking in imagination and incapable of “true sophistication” required for social evolution, while also, ironically, deemed “too imaginative” in their belief of the supernatural, deities, Dogon myths, and orishas (28). Dating back as far as 500–300 BCE (29), these traditional ideas and belief systems within African societies were the earliest forms of Black imagination and ways of existing that countered the Western gaze.
The term “Black radical imagination,” first appearing in Robin D.G. Kelly’s, Freedom’s Dreams (25), is the process of Black people collectively envisioning a revolutionary and liberated future. Early conjuring of the Black radical imagination is apparent in the kidnapping and forced relocation of ~12.5 million people from the continent of Africa to the Americas via the transatlantic slave trade from 1500 to 1865. This treacherous and inhumane journey overseas required those captured to imagine alternative forms of resistance that ranged from refusing to eat to staged ship revolts. Some even made the difficult decision to jump overboard to cheat the ultimate death: enslavement and control.
Upon arrival to the Americas, through collective struggle and solidarity, those who were Black and enslaved identified ways to undermine slavery and actualize their birthright: freedom. Despite attempts to erase the enslaved of their culture and customs, commodify their labor, and indoctrinate them into Western practices, Black people resisted through subtle acts of defiance (e.g., sabotaging crops, damaging equipment, feigning illness) and through clever communication and escape tactics in this foreign land. For example, the different hairstyles Black women wore contained intricate designs like conrows or Bantu knots and were used as maps hidden in plain sight to escape to freedom (30). Women also hid rice and seeds in their hair to grow once they escaped to a free territory. Songs contained embedded messages for those escaping North to freedom via the secret routes of the Underground Railroad. The spiritual, “Wade in the Water,” was sung by enslaved persons to warn those enroute to freedom to avoid trails and use the river to hide their body scent and to evade search dogs (31). Harriet Tubman, an abolitionist and former slave who escaped to freedom, is one of the most widely known conductors of the Underground Railroad. It was her ability to dream of new worlds and incorporate celestial knowledge (using the North Star as a guide) that allowed her to make 13 rescue missions to help others achieve freedom in the North. Although lesser known, Tubman was also a spy in the Union Army and the leader behind the Combahee River raid, freeing 800 enslaved people (32, 33). It was these visions of alternative (free) futures, resourcefulness, and ingenious strategizing that have long carried Black Americans through turbulent times.
The Black radical imagination has been a cornerstone of Black American culture and the social struggle for equity that exists to this day. This collective dreaming of alternative futures is the impetus behind U.S. movements and initiatives for liberation (e.g., Civil Rights Movement, Freedom Riders, March on Washington, Black Lives Matter). Imagining in this context is not a discrete process, but one of co-creation that shapeshifts over time and with the needs of the marginalized community (1). It is shaped by the material and social conditions of society (34). The Black imagination remains a site of resistance to oppression to this day. The process of imagining as a liberation praxis remains integral to the generation of Black possible futures (35).
2.1. Afrofuturism and the imagination
“The Black voice is forced to be imaginative because otherwise it will be silenced.”
-Jonathan Horstmann
Afrofuturism intersects with the Black imagination to provide a framework for communicating ideas around possible futures and creating spaces of Black empowerment. Afrofuturism is an epistemology and form of artistic expression that explores the African diaspora experience through alternate realities and futures using imagination, technology, and mysticism (36). Coined in 1993 by Mark Dery in his essay “Black to the Future” (37), the practice of Afrofuturism dates to the narrative work of the enslaved and abolitionist discourse of the 18th and 19th centuries (28, 38). Afrofuturism reasserts Black agency in a way that places people of the African diaspora as central storywriters and occupants of past, present, and future. Importantly, the Afrofuturist is not ignorant of historical happenings, but they are not limited by it either (39).
In fact, Afrofuturism has been used by Black American artists, activists, scholars and others as a framework to reclaim and unveil lost histories (40) and reimagine the future through a lens of hope where Blackness is integral and all Black people are safe. It directly counters society’s failure to “articulate and witness Black life” free of struggle (41). The creation of counternarratives and counter futures that upend stereotypes and give Black people control over their image is core to Afrofuturism. Thus, Afrofuturists determine who is seen and how they are seen. From Octavia Butler’s pioneering science fiction and speculative writings to Sun Ra and the Arkestra’s jazz compilations to the visuals and narrative of the movie Black Panther, Afrofuturism, spans mediums and leans fully into the expansiveness of Black possibility. Existing research denotes the benefit of Black people envisioning possible futures in which they are central (42). Afrofuturism has been utilized as a “praxis for designing equitable futures centered around joy and healing” (43). Because Black bodies are politicized in society, Afrofuturism is political, transformative, and revolutionary (44).
2.2. Cognitive neuroscience of the imagination
A cognitive neuroscience perspective considers imagination to be the representational engagement with that which is absent. Abraham (6) synthesized empirical data and theory from cognitive neuroscience literature which resulted in five ways to categorize the imagination within a single framework: mental imagery (perceptual/motor) imagination, intentionality imagination, novel combinatorial imagination, phenomenology imagination, and altered states of imagination. While these processes are described as distinct, they are not independent of one another.
Mental imagery-based imagination is the representation of a sensory experience without direct external stimulus (45). There is evidence that brain regions responsible for sensory perception or motor generation are also activated when those processes are imagined (45). For instance, imagining the sounds of a song activates the auditory cortex (46) and imagining hand movement activates the premotor cortex (47) which maintains the same somatotopic organization in mental representation (48).
Intentionality imagination encompasses both the recollective and social domains and requires one to make appraisals or some form of judgment about actions or events (that could be geared toward the past or the future). Abraham (6) indicated that this could be imagination involving autobiographical or episodic memory (e.g., remembering high school prom), theory of mind (e.g., considering what another person is thinking), self-referential thinking (e.g., considering your own thoughts), or moral reasoning (e.g., evaluating the acceptability of another’s actions). These elements of imagination contain a shared functional neuroanatomical architecture of the default mode network. Specifically, the default mode network consists of the medial prefrontal cortex, retrosplenial and posterior cingulate cortices, anterior lateral temporal cortex, inferior parietal cortex, and mesial temporal lobe (6, 49).
Novel combinatorial imagination consists of the generation of new ideas via creativity, openness, and consideration of the unknown. Abraham (6) noted that key elements of this form of imagination involves extending beyond the status quo, explorative thinking, and combining knowledge in novel ways. Sub-operations of this form of imagination include problem solving and expression, counterfactual reasoning, divergent thinking, hypothesis generation, and hypothetical reasoning (6, 50). Existing data suggests novel combinatorial imagination is also associated with activity in the default mode network. When tasked with the generation of novel open-ended ideas, the medial prefrontal and frontopolar cortex is activated, whereas more lateral aspects of these brain regions are associated with idea selection and determination of relevance (6, 51).
Phenomenology imagination reflects the engagement and response to esthetics that is largely subjective in nature. This form of imagination consists of attentional focus, cognitive engagement/appraisal, and emotional connection in relation to an object (52). Of the existing literature, esthetic appreciation was strongly associated with activity in the anterior insula irrespective of sensory modality (53), consistent with its role in interoceptive states of awareness (54, 55).
Lastly, Abraham (6) defined altered states imagination as those which involve a change in one’s awareness or mental state. This diverse range of altered states consist of dreaming, temporary induced states (e.g., use of psychedelics, hypnosis), or states associated with neurological and/or psychiatric symptoms (e.g., delusions, hallucinations, confabulation). Whereas dreaming is associated with activation of default mode network (56, 57) and deactivation of cognitive control networks (58), hypnotic states are associated increased activity in cognitive control networks (i.e., lateral prefrontal regions) and deactivation of the default mode network (59). This dissociation is thought to reflect the distinction between the involuntary vs. voluntary nature of dreaming and hypnosis, respectively. Meditation contains both volitional and nonvolitional elements and therefore includes activation of both the default mode and cognitive control networks (60, 61).
The capacity to imagine the future is a critical element of the human mind. While these processes and neuroanatomical correlates underlying the imagination have been discussed as discrete, the imagination has also been considered a “global emergent process” rather than something localized to a specific brain region (62). The radical imagination may be most consistent with the novel combinatorial form of imagination as it is geared toward the construction of ideas and things that have not yet happened. While there is evidence of the benefits of collectivism and working in community (63), including group wellbeing and support (63, 64), the field of neuroscience has yet to consider the brain health implications of what it means to imagine in connection with others who have a similar lived experience. Further, given the functional activation of sensory and motor cortices without direct sensory input (45), can the imagination initiate neuroplasticity and physiological changes that buffer cognitive decline? In addition to the political nature of the Black imagination, what cognitive health implications does collective dreaming have specifically for Black Americans, who are disproportionately impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) (19, 65)?
2.3. Imagination to promote neuroplasticity
Current evidence indicates Black Americans have approximately a 1.5 to 2 times higher risk of developing ADRD compared to non-Hispanic, white Americans (65–69). A significant proportion of this disparity is likely explained by the social and structural determinants of health (e.g., education, quality healthcare, community, and neighborhood built environment) with racial differences observed across many of these determinants due to historical and contemporary racism as well as unequal distributions of power (70).
For Black Americans, acknowledging the reality of present times while also imagining possible (freer) futures requires the difficult art holding of multiple truths: that racism is insidious and continues to disadvantage racial and ethnic minorities, but change is possible and necessary. Invocation of the radical imagination, through intentional shifts in one’s thinking about the construction of the future, may modify ADRD risk via neuroplasticity given the malleable nature of the brain even into late adulthood (71–73).
The concept of neuroplasticity has garnered interest in the field of dementia given the potential to influence cognitive and/or brain reserve (74) and delay clinical symptoms of cognitive decline despite underlying neuropathology. Neuroplasticity is defined as “the ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functioning, or connections.” (75) Neuroplasticity can result in changes in neural structure, rewiring of existing neural connections, neurogenesis and synaptogenesis, or neurotransmitter and neurotrophin expression (76–78). Current data suggest external drivers of neuroplasticity are based on the novelty, complexity, and enriching nature of one’s environment (78). Thus, experiential exposure to education (79, 80), social engagement (81), and cognitively stimulating activities (82) are thought to support the brain’s capacity to resist the clinical manifestation of dementia (83, 84). Lifestyle factors, such as physical exercise and diet, also modulate neuroplasticity (83).
It is possible that one can modify the structural organization of the brain through the act of radically re-imagining an equitable society. Although lesser discussed, several internally-driven factors, related to the process of imagining, induce neuroplastic change. For instance, conceiving new ideas and integrating concepts that are seemingly unrelated requires cognitive flexibility, divergent thinking, and creativity. Routine engagement in these cognitive processes resulted in increased gray matter volume as well as functional changes in brain regions associated with higher level cognitive control (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex) and posterior brain regions among adults (85). Additionally, thinking about the future requires aspects of both episodic and semantic memory (86, 87) in that imagination requires, to some degree, an extraction of stored information and recombination of that information in new ways, which may also promote neuroplasticity (88). Visualization (i.e., the generation of mental imagery) is a powerful technique associated with neuroplastic change (89) and can be a simple way to tap into the imaginary and, quite literally, “see” ideas of the future. Taken collectively, there is evidence that neuroplasticity can occur in response to different forms of stimulation even if the stimulation is the result of mentally driven efforts as opposed to external ones. Thus, for Black Americans, designing the future and projecting oneself at its center is a revolutionary and necessary act that can also leverage the dynamic nature of the brain. The long-term brain health benefits of what it means to engage the radical imagination and build possible futures remains an area ample for study.
3. From imagination to radical hope
A vision for the future without belief that the outcome is attainable leaves little worth acting upon. Hope is the process of looking to the future with a desired outcome in mind and maintaining belief that the outcome can be actualized. Radical hope specifically adopts a social justice orientation (90) and is considered radical because the hope is driven by the desire for a future rooted in equity and questions of when equity will be achieved trumps questions of how it will happen. Radical hope is a core tenant of the framework for radical healing for People of Color and Indigenous Individuals (91), and emphasizes Black agency and the design of new futures through a decolonized imagination. Within this framework, radical hope is the fuel that keeps the vision ablaze.
Hope has been instrumental to the livelihood of Black Americans and is described as “a gift from [the] ancestors that fuels [our] will to survive racial trauma.” (92) Radical hope carried those kidnapped from the continent of Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to survive the atrocities of the Middle Passage and make it to the Americas. Radical hope is further evidenced in their pursuit of self-taught education and literacy while enslaved, which was key to physical and intellectual emancipation (93, 94) and subverted white domination. The belief that they could achieve freedom in times of precarity and horror exemplifies radical hope. It was the rebuilding of new cultural practices as the old ones were stripped – that is, the development of new traditions, rituals, and narratives that are now cultural staples in present-day Black America – that came from a space of radical hope and possibility (94).
If Black American history has taught us anything, it is that radical hope must not be extinguished or else run the risk of societal stagnation, or even worse, suppression. In author and poet Langston Hughes’ Harlem (A Dream Deferred) (95) published in 1951, he raises the important question:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore -
And then run?
Without having to reference hope directly, Hughes’ lines of questioning challenges Black Americans to maintain the collective dream to upend the very real, harrowing happenings of that time: Jim Crow racial segregation, voter suppression, and police brutality. He advocates for Black Americans to have resolve–a steadfast hope–especially in times when the desired outcome is delayed or seemingly out of reach.
Black American hope has often been situated within a religious and/or political context and there are numerous examples in history of the symbiotic relationship between the Black Church and Black political action (96). We experience themes of hope in Martin Luther King, Jr’s infamous “I Have a Dream Speech.” At the Democratic National Convention in 1988, Reverend Jesse Jackson said, “Use hope and imagination as weapons of survival and progress, but you keep on dreaming, young America […] Keep hope alive!” (97) Hope is also laced throughout Barack Obama’s presidency and encapsulated by his campaign slogan, “Yes we can.” Radical hope is a throughline of the Black consciousness and imagination that keeps Black Americans afloat in times of precarity.
Most literature approaches the study of hope through a very Western, individualistic lens which emphasizes a bootstrap mentality and belief that the future is shaped exclusively by individual effort and self-determinism. It is important to distinguish this notion from that of radical hope which goes beyond individual desires and actions (98) – radical hope is about committing to a new collective future among a group of people experiencing injustice.
Although new frameworks are emerging that conceptualize hope as a culturally determined value [e.g., see Cherrington’s Afrocentric framework (99) and Mosley and colleagues’ psychology theory of radical hope (98)], most existing research on hope has come from a Western perspective including Herth’s psychological model (100) and Snyder’s Theory of Hope (101, 102). According to Synder, hopefulness is a cognitive process comprising three components: (1) goals thinking - clear conceptualization of a desired future outcome; (2) pathways thinking - the generation of routes and strategies to obtain the outcome; and (3) agency thinking - the perception that one can achieve those goals. This theory lends itself to examining potential neuroanatomical and functional correlates of hope.
3.1. Cognitive neuroscience of hope
Prefrontal brain regions likely underlie some components of hope given its emphasis on planning and positing future outcomes (103). Of the few studies examining the neural underpinnings of hope, one study found that higher dispositional hope was associated with lower fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), a measure of fluctuation in resting state BOLD-fMRI signal, in the bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (104). Hope was also a significant mediator of the relationship between spontaneous brain activity in the orbitofrontal cortex and symptoms of anxiety. Several studies implicate the orbitofrontal cortex as a region responsible for reward processing and emotion-related learning (105, 106), such that human motivational states (i.e., willingness to act and engage in social behavior) is largely dependent on processing of rewards and punishers. This evaluative process may be closely linked to agency thinking (i.e., belief that one can achieve goals) in Synder’s model of hope given the orbitofrontal cortical influence on motivated behavior.
Another study found greater gray matter volume in the supplementary motor area (SMA) was associated with higher hope (107). The SMA, responsible for planning voluntary movements, is also important for mapping cognition to action. This includes inhibiting a response plan, alternating to a new response, and minimizing competing stimuli that interfere with task goals and cause distraction (108). Left SMA lesions are also linked to the executive control (mental manipulation) component of working memory (109) and most closely corresponds to pathways thinking hope.
There is a wealth of positive psychology literature that demonstrates the psychological and physical benefits of hope at the individual level [(see 98) and (110) for an overview], which include greater life meaning and satisfaction (111–113), fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression (112, 114–116), less suicidality (112), and feelings of autonomy and purpose (117). Hopefulness is also associated with better recovery from physical illness and injury (116, 118, 119), and positive health behaviors (120).
A large body of work demonstrates that group self-efficacy (i.e., the shared belief that one’s group can achieve social change) predicts motivation to partake in collective action (121, 122). Feelings of hope are uniquely associated with Black Americans’ collective self-efficacy in that willingness to act on a social matter was present for Black Americans with high hope, but this association was not observed among white Americans in the sample (123, 124). This finding highlights the mobilizing power of hope for Black Americans and how hope is deeply woven into the fabric of Black American existence. Both hope and self-efficacy are necessary antecedents of action toward the future and speak to the unified reclamation of agency that is characteristic of the Black American culture. More studies are needed to understand what it means to hope within a community context and to have a shared sense of purpose.
In sum, radical hope “stretches the limits of what is possible…and belief that it is worth taking the next step” (96, 125). It requires Black Americans’ deep examination of our relationship with the past and the future, belief that an alternate future is possible, and a commitment to acting on that future (97, 126).
4. A communal courage
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear.”
-Nelson Mandela.
The impetus behind any major social justice movement is imagining new ways of being and maintaining hope, but the spark that initiates action and fosters change is courage. Courage is the willingness to act upon imagined possibilities despite fear or possible failure. Asserting one’s presence in the future, in a day and age where Black lives are far too often ended prematurely, is a courageous and necessary act.
A core element of courage within a social justice context is that the motivation to act comes from the needs of the community. Most social justice movements have a figurehead who becomes the “face” of the movement, but the work is maintained and propelled forward via on-the-ground mobilization of the community. Thus, it is the collective action — the cooperative behavior of a group to achieve a common goal – that is the backbone of movements for equity. Existing literature suggests that collective action is driven by identity, perceived unfairness, and perceived efficacy (127). There is also alignment of emotions and values across the group which maintains a level of cohesiveness. Amongst the most critical of these shared values is courage. A society, or subgroup, can develop a collective emotional orientation, like communal courage, based on a shared sense of social identity (128). This develops as a byproduct of having shared cultural experiences, processes of socialization, and even racialization.
While there are many different conceptualizations of courage (129), Williams and colleagues (130) delineate the importance of civil courage – brave behavior that is specific to social change. This is differentiated from other forms of courage in that civil courage includes indignation about injustice (131). It is also distinguished by the fact that there is a major social cost, or even ostracism, at risk but action is taken regardless due to strong moral imperative (132). This form of courage is exemplified by the Little Rock Nine as the Black teenagers integrated the Arkansas high school in 1957 with escort from the National Guard after being harassed by anti-integrationists. Civil courage was also demonstrated by the four North Carolina A&T students who staged the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins and asked to be served food at a “white-only” Woolworth counter. In both circumstances (and many others), the Black American community moved in solidarity in demonstrating their unwavering support in response to these courageous actions. For example, the college students’ refusal to move and be served food in the Black standing area sparked a wave of 300+ students who joined the protest in solidarity and rippled to other regions around the country to initiate a sit-in movement. This courage in the face of injustice despite huge risk, including the risk of death, remains a testament to the Black American spirit.
Collective courage within a modern-day social justice context may be fostered through: (1) overlap in aspects of identity or lived experience or collective memory, (2) agreement and understanding of the root cause of injustice (e.g., racism), (3) identification of shared goals toward a greater purpose or belief, (4) tolerance of uncertainty and/or risk, and (5) belief that a just and equitable society is possible.
4.1. Cognitive neuroscience of courage
The decision to act in a prosocial manner is a conscious one that requires a specific level of evaluation about the consequences of acting. Civil courage specifically has been noted to rely on (1) internalization of social norms and (2) competency to act when needed (133). There is evidence that the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex plays a role in social reasoning and social norms (134). Additionally, civil courage requires adequate management of fear. Thus, courage is the pursuit of a desired outcome and the willingness to act despite the presence of fear. Fear is an evolutionary safeguard and primary emotion that arises in response to perceived threat or danger (128, 135). It is well established that the amygdala plays a primary role in processing threat and modulates the fear response (136–138). The ventral midline thalamus is additionally critical for one’s response to visual threat in that its nuclei, the xiphoid nucleus and nucleus reuniens, have projections to the basolateral amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex, respectively (139). Activation of the latter pathway (nucleus reuniens ➔ medial prefrontal cortex) is responsible for the promotion of saliency and arousal. In animal models, activation of this pathway was associated with confrontational responses to threat (139) most consistent with the concept of courage.
One study with a human sample showed fMRI BOLD activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and right temporal pole was positively correlated with overcoming fear among volunteers who feared snakes but had a live snake moved toward them in an experimental paradigm (140). Somatic arousal (measured by skin conductance level) was attenuated as self-reported fear increased and the participant chose to overcome fear; somatic arousal was elevated in conditions where there was high reported fear and the participant choose to retreat/escape the threat. The subgenual anterior cingulate cortex may be part of the functional neuroanatomical network of courage in that it may inhibit fear-based somatic arousal and increase parasympathetic activity during courageous acts.
Courage operating at the collective level (i.e., communal courage) may have an influence on cognitive health and wellbeing via the social support afforded through ingroup membership, particularly when identifying with a group based on belief in a social justice issue. Social support promotes resilience to stress and adversity (141). Both stress and adversity are factors that have adverse effects on cognitive functioning via hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) dysregulation (142) and inflammation (143), and may increase risk for dementia (144, 145). Lifetime stress is associated with memory decline among middle aged Black Americans (146). In their systematic review of the literature, Kelly and colleagues (147) found higher levels of social support was associated with better general cognitive functioning, and less social support was associated with slower processing speed with a portion of these findings attributable to depression symptoms. Strong social support built through engaging in a collective goal or vision for the future may operate as a buffer against the stress that can come with acting in courageous ways.
5. Toward health and healing justice
The Black radical imagination is a conduit to possible futures rooted in health and healing justice for Black Americans. Both health and healing are liberatory for communities experiencing systemic oppression, which has been described as “society selectively concentrating trauma” (148). For those who are subjects of oppression, this trauma becomes embodied [i.e., integrated at the biological level (149)] and there is a wealth of evidence demonstrating its negative effects on Black bodies (16, 17, 20, 150) and minds (151–156). For example, the detrimental impact of oppression is evidenced in the links between systemic racism and Black women’s higher allostatic load (157) and advanced cellular and biological aging (158, 159). In fact, the weathering hypothesis (i.e., the postulation that Black women’s chronic exposure to stress to accelerates aging and results in health decline) was developed to characterize these environment-biological interactions specific to the intersectional oppression Black women experience (158, 160).
Both chronic stress and trauma contribute to changes at the neuroanatomical and cognitive levels (161–163). However, the neurological and neuropsychological impact of an American history fraught with racism is just now being more deeply explored. Racial discrimination, a direct form of race-based traumatic stress, is associated with lower total brain volume (164), lower fractional anisotropy in the corpus callosum, cingulum, and superior longitudinal fasciculus (165), and heightened activation in brain regions associated with threat vigilance (middle occipital cortex) and threat response (ventromedial prefrontal cortex) (166). There is also evidence that experiences of discrimination are associated with higher levels of spontaneous activity in the amygdala and stronger functional connectivity between amygdala with other neural regions (167) and future work is needed to determine whether this translates to an increase in physiological arousal and/or vigilance. These findings highlight how interpersonal encounters of race and identity-based mistreatment get “under the skin” to influence brain biology.
There is emerging evidence of the links between racism and ADRD among Black Americans (53, 70, 168). Cognitive aging is strongly impacted by the social environment and may be accelerated among Black American by exposures to structural racism across the life course. For instance, laws, public policies, and societal beliefs, shaped by structural racism, differentially allocate health-promoting resources and disadvantage racially and ethnically minoritized populations (169). Manifestations of structural racism can be observed in laws and practices impacting differences in educational quality (170), racial residential segregation (15), access to green space (171), political disempowerment/voter suppression (172), policing (152, 173), and mass incarceration (21, 22), all of which are associated with health inequity (174, 175) and may confer ADRD risk among Black Americans.
Collectively, these findings are confirmation of what Black people have long known – the body keeps the score. The Black body also tells its history. Trauma is transmitted across bodies and over time, and there is evidence that trauma manifests intergenerationally (176). As such, Black healing and health, down to changes initiated at the cellular level, are inextricably linked to Black liberation. Black healing is a liberatory praxis and can be achieved through the radical imagination.
Thus, part of the radical imagination encompasses Black people designing and discovering new ways of being in relation to one’s body to facilitate health and healing. This discovery must also center the experiences and desires of young Black girls (177) as well as elders -- those who exist at the margins of society and are overlooked in the process of knowledge production. Importantly, the onus should not be placed on Black people to “fix” a societal problem that was not designed by them; however, Black people deserve to and can live well despite existing injustices. Re-imaging collective wellness is one way of doing so.
The Kindred Southern Healing Justice Collective (178), a grassroots collective of southern healers and health practitioners who address trauma through models of collective wellness, is an excellent example of the radical imagination and healing in practice. Cara Page, one of the founding members of the collective introduced the framework of healing justice (179) – which “identifies how we can holistically respond to and intervene on generational trauma and violence, and to bring collective practices that can impact and transform the consequences of oppression on our bodies, hearts and minds.” Healing justice addresses significant gaps in Western medicine through its application of indigenous and ancestral knowledge systems and focus on holistic (mind, body, social, spirit) wellness. Healing within community for Black Americans may look like participation healing circles (180, 181), storytelling or oral tradition practices (182, 183), or engaging in rituals or ceremonies (184), which are culturally-affirming, strengths-based, and empirically supported approaches.
Little academic literature focuses specifically on healing justice as a framework, except for one systematic review (185), likely because “alternative” forms of healing are often overlooked due to epistemic exclusion (186, 187)--a general devaluating and delegitimizing of work that does not fit within Western ways of knowing or healing. However, a great deal of care has been given to healing justice in organizing and social justice spaces.
Extending the Black radical imagination to address issues of cognitive health disparities and the impact of systemic oppression on brain health is critical for Black aging futures and healing justice. Consider: What would it mean for Black Americans to have the space and time to dream of a better future and truly believe the desired outcome is possible? What would it look like for those outcomes to be actualized in this lifetime? What would Black healing look like at the deep cellular level, and what implications would it have for future incidence of ADRD and other physical and mental health conditions? It is through the radical imagination that we create new realities where all have an equal chance of making it to the future.
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
Author contributions
The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health under grant T32AG078115-01.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
1. Haiven, M, and Khasnabish, A. The radical imagination: Social movement research in the age of austerity. Halifax; Winnipeg: London: Fernwood Publishing; Zed Books (2014).
2. Khasnabish, A, and Haiven, M. Why social movements need the radical imagination [internet]. openDemocracy. (2014). Available at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/why-social-movements-need-radical-imagination/
3. Zittoun, T, Glăveanu, V, and Hawlina, H. A sociocultural perspective on imagination In: A Abraham, editor. Cambridge Handbook Imaging. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. Descartes, R, and Cottingham, J. Meditations on first philosophy: with selections from the objections and replies; a Latin-English edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2013).
7. Gaesser, B. Constructing memory, imagination, and empathy: a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Front Psychol. (2013) 3:576. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00576/abstract
8. Rankin, KP, Kramer, JH, and Miller, BL. Patterns of cognitive and emotional empathy in frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Cogn Behav Neurol. (2005) 18:28–36. doi: 10.1097/01.wnn.0000152225.05377.ab
10. Cooper, B. The racial politics of time [internet]. TEDWomen (2016). Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/brittney_cooper_the_racial_politics_of_time
12. Phillips, R. Black quantum futurism: Theory & practice. Philadelphia, PA: AfroFuturist Affair, House of Future Science Books (2015).
13. Phillips, R. Colonized time, racial time, and the legal time of progress. Poverty Race. (2022) 31:1–2, 10–12.
14. Hersey, T. Rest is resistance: a manifesto. 1st ed. New York Boston London: Little, Brown Spark (2022).
15. Williams, DR, and Collins, C. Racial residential segregation: a fundamental cause of racial disparities in health. Public Health Rep Wash DC 1974 (2001). 116:404–6. doi: 10.1093/phr/116.5.404
16. Williams, DR, Null, YY, Jackson, JS, and Anderson, NB. Racial differences in physical and mental Health: socio-economic status, stress and discrimination. J Health Psychol. (1997) 2:335–1. doi: 10.1177/135910539700200305
17. Williams, DR. Miles to go before we sleep: racial inequities in Health. J Health Soc Behav. (2012) 53:279–5. doi: 10.1177/0022146512455804
18. Williams, DR, Priest, N, and Anderson, NB. Understanding associations among race, socioeconomic status, and health: patterns and prospects. Health Psychol Off J Div Health Psychol Am Psychol Assoc. (2016) 35:407–1. doi: 10.1037/hea0000242
19. Mayeda, ER, Glymour, MM, Quesenberry, CP, and Whitmer, RA. Inequalities in dementia incidence between six racial and ethnic groups over 14 years. Alzheimers Dement. (2016) 12:216–4. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2015.12.007
20. Heckler, MM. Report of the Secretary’s task force report on Black and minority Health volume I: executive summary. Government Printing Office (1985). Available at: http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/23627 (accessed January 20, 2023).
21. Schnittker, J, Massoglia, M, and Uggen, C. Incarceration and the Health of the African American Community. DBR. (2011) 8:133–1. doi: 10.1017/S1742058X11000026
22. Tucker, RB. The color of mass incarceration. Explor Ethn Stud. (2017) 37-38:135–9. doi: 10.1525/esr.2017.37_38.1.135
23. Gaynor, K, Kang,, and Williams,. Segregated spaces and separated races: the relationship between state-sanctioned violence, place, and Black identity. RSF Russell Sage found. J Soc Sci. (2021) 7:50. doi: 10.7758/rsf.2021.7.1.04
24. Willingham, BC. Black women and state-sanctioned violence: a history of victimization and exclusion. Can Rev Am Stud. (2018) 48:77–94. doi: 10.3138/cras.2017.018
26. Balug, K. The imagination paradox: participation or performance of visioning the city. Geoforum. (2019) 102:278–6. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.08.014
27. Dillard-Wright, J. A radical imagination for nursing: generative insurrection, creative resistance. Nurs Philos [Internet]. (2022) 23:25. doi: 10.1111/nup.12371
29. Mark, JJ Orisha. World History Encyclopedia. (2021). Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/Orisha/
30. Quampah, B, Owusu, E, Adu, VNFA, Agyemang Opoku, N, Akyeremfo, S, and Ahiabor, AJ. Cornrow: a medium for communicating escape strategies during the transatlantic slave trade era: evidences from Elmina Castle and Centre for National Culture in Kumasi. (2023).
31. Jones, AC. Wade in the water: The wisdom of the spirituals. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colorado: Leave A Little Room (2005).
32. Allen, TB. Harriet Tubman, secret agent: how daring slaves and free blacks spied for the union during the civil war. Washington, D.C.: Enfield National Geographic Publishers Group UK (2009).
34. McBride, KD. Collective dreams: Political imagination and community. Pennsylvania: Penn State University Press (2015).
35. Boyles, AS, Tufts, L, Judson, J, and Monterrosa, AE. Transforming imagination into liberation praxis: Black feminist perspectives on policing at the intersection of race, place, gender, and the white gaze. Justice Legitimacy Polic Transform Inst. (2022).
36. Womack, Y. Afrofuturism imagination and humanity. (2017). Sonic acts festival; 2017; Amsterdam The Netherlands Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlF90sXVfKk
39. Womack, Y. Afrofuturism: The world of black sci-fi and fantasy culture. 1st ed. Chicago: Chicago Review Press (2013).
40. Toliver, SR. Defining Afrofuturism. Reading Black Futures (2023). Available at: https://readingblackfutures.com/defining-afrofuturism/
42. Dando, MB, Holbert, N, and Correa, I. Remixing Wakanda: envisioning critical Afrofuturist design pedagogies. Proc FabLearn 2019 New York, NY: ACM.
43. Bosley, B, Harrington, CN, Morris, SM, and Le Dantec, CA. Healing justice: a framework for Collective healing and well-being from systemic traumas. (2022). Des interact Syst Conf [internet]. Virtual event Australia: ACM; Available at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3532106.3533492
44. Jenn, N. 8 great reads to get into Afrofuturism. Book Riot (2018). Available at: https://bookriot.com/best-afrofuturism-books/
45. Pearson, J, Naselaris, T, Holmes, EA, and Kosslyn, SM. Mental imagery: functional mechanisms and clinical applications. Trends Cogn Sci. (2015) 19:590–2. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.08.003
46. Zatorre, RJ, and Halpern, AR. Mental concerts: musical imagery and auditory cortex. Neuron. (2005) 47:9–12. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2005.06.013,
47. Gerardin, E, Sirigu, A, Lehéricy, S, Poline, JB, Gaymard, B, Marsault, C, et al. Partially overlapping neural networks for real and imagined hand movements. Cereb Cortex. (2000) 10:1093–04. doi: 10.1093/cercor/10.11.1093
48. Wolfensteller, U, Schubotz, RI, and von Cramon, DY. Understanding non-biological dynamics with your own premotor system. NeuroImage. (2007) 36:T33–43. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.03.040,
49. Broyd, SJ, Demanuele, C, Debener, S, Helps, SK, James, CJ, and Sonuga-Barke, EJS. Default-mode brain dysfunction in mental disorders: a systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. (2009) 33:279–6. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.09.002
50. Abraham, A, and Bubic, A. Semantic memory as the root of imagination. Front Psychol. (2015) 6:325. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00325
51. Abraham, A. Creative thinking as orchestrated by semantic processing vs. cognitive control brain networks. Front Hum Neurosci. (2014) 8:95. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00095
52. Marković, S. Components of aesthetic experience: aesthetic fascination, aesthetic appraisal, and aesthetic emotion. Iperception. (2012) 3:1–17. doi: 10.1068/i0450aap
53. Brown, S, Gao, X, Tisdelle, L, Eickhoff, SB, and Liotti, M. Naturalizing aesthetics: brain areas for aesthetic appraisal across sensory modalities. NeuroImage. (2011) 58:250–8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.06.012
54. Uddin, LQ, Nomi, JS, Hébert-Seropian, B, Ghaziri, J, and Boucher, O. Structure and function of the human insula. J Clin Neurophysiol Off Publ Am Electroencephalogr Soc. (2017) 34:300–6. doi: 10.1097/WNP.0000000000000377
55. Tayah, T, Savard, M, Desbiens, R, and Nguyen, DK. Ictal bradycardia and asystole in an adult with a focal left insular lesion. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. (2013) 115:1885–7. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2013.04.011
56. Nofzinger, EA, Mintun, MA, Wiseman, M, Kupfer, DJ, and Moore, RY. Forebrain activation in REM sleep: an FDG PET study. Brain Res. (1997) 770:192–1. doi: 10.1016/S0006-8993(97)00807-X
57. Domhoff, GW, and Fox, KCR. Dreaming and the default network: a review, synthesis, and counterintuitive research proposal. Conscious Cogn. (2015) 33:342–3. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.019
58. Domhoff, GW. The relationship between dreaming and autonoetic consciousness: the neurocognitive theory of dreaming gains in explanatory power by drawing upon the multistate hierarchical model of consciousness. Dreaming. (2023) 33:1–18. doi: 10.1037/drm0000233
59. Oakley, DA, and Halligan, PW. Hypnotic suggestion and cognitive neuroscience. Trends Cogn Sci. (2009) 13:264–11. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2009.03.004
60. Garrison, KA, Zeffiro, TA, Scheinost, D, Constable, RT, and Brewer, JA. Meditation leads to reduced default mode network activity beyond an active task. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. (2015) 15:712–11. doi: 10.3758/s13415-015-0358-3
61. Tomasino, B, Fregona, S, Skrap, M, and Fabbro, F. Meditation-related activations are modulated by the practices needed to obtain it and by the expertise: an ALE meta-analysis study. Front Hum Neurosci [Internet]. (2013) 6:e00346. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00346/abstract
62. Erickson, J. Facing Proteus: the neuroscience of imagination and the imagination of neuroscience. Summerland: Pacifica Graduate Institute (2018).
63. Kothari, A. Collective dreaming: democratic visioning in the Vikalp Sangam process. Eco. Political Weekly. (2019) IIV:70–76.
64. Nezlek, JB, and Humphrey, A. Individualism, collectivism, and well-being among a sample of emerging adults in the United States. Emerg Adulthood. (2021) 11:520–4. doi: 10.1177/21676968211054596
65. Manly, JJ, and Mayeux, R. Ethnic differences in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Crit Perspect racial Ethn differ Health late life. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press (2004). 95–141.
66. Tang, MX, Cross, P, Andrews, H, Jacobs, DM, Small, S, Bell, K, et al. Incidence of AD in African-Americans, Caribbean Hispanics, and Caucasians in northern Manhattan. Neurology. (2001) 56:49–56. doi: 10.1212/WNL.56.1.49
67. Shadlen, MF, Siscovick, D, Fitzpatrick, AL, Dulberg, C, Kuller, LH, and Jackson, S. Education, cognitive test scores, and black-white differences in dementia risk. J Am Geriatr Soc. (2006) 54:898–5. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00747.x
68. Evans, DA, Bennett, DA, Wilson, RS, Bienias, JL, Morris, MC, Scherr, PA, et al. Incidence of Alzheimer disease in a biracial urban community: relation to apolipoprotein E allele status. Arch Neurol. (2003) 60:185–9. doi: 10.1001/archneur.60.2.185
69. Plassman, BL, Langa, KM, Fisher, GG, Heeringa, SG, Weir, DR, Ofstedal, MB, et al. Prevalence of dementia in the United States: the aging, demographics, and memory study. Neuroepidemiology. (2007) 29:125–2. doi: 10.1159/000109998
70. Adkins-Jackson, PB, George, KM, Besser, LM, Hyun, J, Lamar, M, Hill-Jarrett, TG, et al. The structural and social determinants of Alzheimer’s disease related dementias. Alzheimers Dement. (2023) 19:3171–85. doi: 10.1002/alz.13027
71. Draganski, B, Gaser, C, Kempermann, G, Kuhn, HG, Winkler, J, Buchel, C, et al. Temporal and spatial dynamics of brain structure changes during extensive learning. J Neurosci. (2006) 26:6314–7. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4628-05.2006
72. Lövdén, M, Wenger, E, Mårtensson, J, Lindenberger, U, and Bäckman, L. Structural brain plasticity in adult learning and development. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. (2013) 37:2296–10. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.02.014
73. Chen, SHA, and Goodwill, AM. Neuroplasticity and adult learning In: K Evans, WO Lee, J Markowitsch, and M Zukas, editors. Third international handbook of lifelong learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education. New York: Springer International Publishing (2022)
74. Stern, Y, Arenaza-Urquijo, EM, Bartrés-Faz, D, Belleville, S, Cantilon, M, Chetelat, G, et al. Whitepaper: defining and investigating cognitive reserve, brain reserve, and brain maintenance. Alzheimers Dement. (2020) 16:1305–11. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.219
75. Mateos-Aparicio, P, and Rodríguez-Moreno, A. The impact of studying brain plasticity. Front Cell Neurosci. (2019) 13:66. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00066
76. Nithianantharajah, J, and Hannan, AJ. Enriched environments, experience-dependent plasticity and disorders of the nervous system. Nat Rev Neurosci. (2006) 7:697–9. doi: 10.1038/nrn1970
77. Pascual-Leone, A, Amedi, A, Fregni, F, and Merabet, LB. The plastic human brain cortex. Annu Rev Neurosci. (2005) 28:377–1. doi: 10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144216
78. Mandolesi, L, Gelfo, F, Serra, L, Montuori, S, Polverino, A, Curcio, G, et al. Environmental factors promoting neural plasticity: insights from animal and human studies. Neural Plast. (2017) 2017:1–10. doi: 10.1155/2017/7219461
79. Seblova, D, Eng, C, Avila-Rieger, JF, Dworkin, JD, Peters, K, Lapham, S, et al. High school quality is associated with cognition 58 years later. Alzheimers Dement Diagn Assess Dis Monit. (2023) 15:e12424. doi: 10.1002/dad2.12424
80. Crowe, M, Clay, OJ, Martin, RC, Howard, VJ, Wadley, VG, Sawyer, P, et al. Indicators of childhood quality of education in relation to cognitive function in older adulthood. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. (2013) 68:198–4. doi: 10.1093/gerona/gls122
81. Krueger, KR, Wilson, RS, Kamenetsky, JM, Barnes, LL, Bienias, JL, and Bennett, DA. Social engagement and cognitive function in old age. Exp Aging Res. (2009) 35:45–60. doi: 10.1080/03610730802545028
82. Boots, EA, Schultz, SA, Almeida, RP, Oh, JM, Koscik, RL, Dowling, MN, et al. Occupational complexity and cognitive Reserve in a Middle-Aged Cohort at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. (2015) 30:634–2. doi: 10.1093/arclin/acv041
83. Phillips, C. Lifestyle modulators of neuroplasticity: how physical activity, mental engagement, and diet promote cognitive Health during aging. Neural Plast. (2017) 2017:1–22. doi: 10.1155/2017/3589271
84. Fratiglioni, L, and Wang, HX. Brain reserve hypothesis in dementia. J Alzheimers Dis. (2007) 12:11–22. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2007-12103
85. Sun, J, Chen, Q, Zhang, Q, Li, Y, Li, H, Wei, D, et al. Training your brain to be more creative: brain functional and structural changes induced by divergent thinking training: the neural plasticity of creativity. Hum Brain Mapp. (2016) 37:3375–87. doi: 10.1002/hbm.23246
86. Klein, SB. The complex act of projecting oneself into the future: the complex act of projecting oneself into the future. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. (2013) 4:63–79. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1210
87. la Corte, V, Ferrieux, S, Abram, M, Bertrand, A, Dubois, B, Teichmann, M, et al. The role of semantic memory in prospective memory and episodic future thinking: new insights from a case of semantic dementia. Memory. (2021) 29:943–2. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2021.1936069
88. Schacter, DL, Addis, DR, Hassabis, D, Martin, VC, Spreng, RN, and Szpunar, KK. The future of memory: remembering, imagining, and the brain. Neuron. (2012) 76:677–4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.11.001
89. Roche, RAP, and Seán, C. Pioneering studies in cognitive neuroscience. Berkshire: Open University Press (2009).
90. Lear, J. Radical hope: Ethics in the face of cultural devastation. 1. paperback ed. Cambridge London: Harvard University Press (2008).
91. French, BH, Lewis, JA, Mosley, DV, Adames, HY, Chavez-Dueñas, NY, Chen, GA, et al. Toward a psychological framework of radical healing in communities of color. Couns Psychol. (2020) 48:14–46. doi: 10.1177/0011000019843506
92. Modern Health. Healing circles for Black communities: when Hope turns radical. Available at: https://circles.modernhealth.com/circle/7796895b498a48 (Accessed 2023).
93. Williams, HA. Self-taught African American education in slavery and freedom. Chapel Hill; London: The University of North Carolina Press (2009).
94. Grant, CA. Radical Hope, education and humanity. Future Black. 1st ed. London: Routledge (2020).
95. Hughes, L, Rampersad, A, and Roessel, DE. The collected poems of Langston Hughes. 1st Vintage classics ed. New York: Vintage Books (1995).
96. Gates, HL. The Black church: This is our story, this is our song. New York: Penguin Press (2021).
97. Keep Hope Alive. Democratic National Convention. Atlanta, Georgia (1988). Available at: https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/blackspeech/jjackson.html
98. Mosley, DV, Neville, HA, Chavez-Dueñas, NY, Adames, HY, and Lewis, JA. French BH. Radical hope in revolting times: proposing a culturally relevant psychological framework. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. (2020) 14:e12512. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12512
99. Cherrington, AM. A framework of Afrocentric hope: rural south African children’s conceptualizations of hope. J Community Psychol. (2018) 46:502–4. doi: 10.1002/jcop.21956
100. Herth, K. Development and refinement of an instrument to measure hope. Sch Inq Nurs Pract. (1991) 5:39–51; discussion 53-56.
101. Snyder, CR. TARGET ARTICLE: Hope theory: rainbows in the mind. Psychol Inq. (2002) 13:249–5. doi: 10.1207/S15327965PLI1304_01
102. Snyder, CR, Harris, C, Anderson, JR, Holleran, SA, Irving, LM, Sigmon, ST, et al. The will and the ways: development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. J Pers Soc Psychol. (1991) 60:570–5. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.60.4.570
103. Friedman, NP, and Robbins, TW. The role of prefrontal cortex in cognitive control and executive function. Neuropsychopharmacology. (2022) 47:72–89. doi: 10.1038/s41386-021-01132-0
104. Wang, S, Xu, X, Zhou, M, Chen, T, Yang, X, Chen, G, et al. Hope and the brain: trait hope mediates the protective role of medial orbitofrontal cortex spontaneous activity against anxiety. NeuroImage. (2017) 157:439–7. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.05.056
105. Kringelbach, M. The functional neuroanatomy of the human orbitofrontal cortex: evidence from neuroimaging and neuropsychology. Prog Neurobiol. (2004) 72:341–2. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2004.03.006
106. Rolls, ET. Emotion, motivation, decision-making, the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and the amygdala. Brain Struct Funct. (2023) 228:1201–57. doi: 10.1007/s00429-023-02644-9
107. Wang, S, Zhao, Y, Li, J, Lai, H, Qiu, C, Pan, N, et al. Neurostructural correlates of hope: dispositional hope mediates the impact of the SMA gray matter volume on subjective well-being in late adolescence. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. (2020) 15:395–4. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsaa046
108. Nachev, P, Kennard, C, and Husain, M. Functional role of the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor areas. Nat Rev Neurosci. (2008) 9:856–9. doi: 10.1038/nrn2478
109. Cañas, A, Juncadella, M, Lau, R, Gabarrós, A, and Hernández, M. Working memory deficits after lesions involving the supplementary motor area. Front Psychol. (2018) 9:765. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00765
111. Rand, KL, Martin, AD, and Shea, AM. Hope, but not optimism, predicts academic performance of law students beyond previous academic achievement. J Res Pers. (2011) 45:683–6. doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2011.08.004
112. Wong, SS, and Lim, T. Hope versus optimism in Singaporean adolescents: contributions to depression and life satisfaction. Personal Individ Differ. (2009) 46:648–2. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.009
113. Bailey, TC, Eng, W, Frisch, MB, and Snyder, CR. Hope and optimism as related to life satisfaction. J Posit Psychol. (2007) 2:168–5. doi: 10.1080/17439760701409546
114. Alarcon, GM, Bowling, NA, and Khazon, S. Great expectations: a meta-analytic examination of optimism and hope. Personal Individ Differ. (2013) 54:821–7. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.12.004
115. Chang, EC, Yu, EA, and Hirsch, JK. On the confluence of optimism and hope on depressive symptoms in primary care patients: does doubling up on bonum futurun proffer any added benefits? J Posit Psychol. (2013) 8:404–1. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2013.818163
116. Peleg, G, Barak, O, Harel, Y, Rochberg, J, and Hoofien dan,. Hope, dispositional optimism and severity of depression following traumatic brain injury. Brain Inj. (2009) 23:800–8. doi: 10.1080/02699050903196696
117. Gallagher, MW, Lopez, SJ, and Preacher, KJ. The hierarchical structure of well-being. J Pers. (2009) 77:1025–50. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00573.x
118. Krause, JS, and Edles, PA. Injury perceptions, hope for recovery, and psychological status after spinal cord injury. Rehabil Psychol. (2014) 59:176–2. doi: 10.1037/a0035778
119. Warwick, A. Recovery following injury hinges upon expectation and hope. J Trauma Nurs Off J Soc Trauma Nurses. (2012) 19:251–4. doi: 10.1097/JTN.0b013e31827598f7
120. Schiavon, CC, Marchetti, E, Gurgel, LG, Busnello, FM, and Reppold, CT. Optimism and Hope in chronic disease: a systematic review. Front Psychol. (2016) 7:2022. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02022
121. Bandura, A. Self-efficacy: the foundation of agency In: WJ Perrig and A Grob, editors. Control of human behavior, mental processes, and consciousness: Essays in honor of the 60th birthday of August Flammer. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers (2000)
122. Van Zomeren, M, Leach, CW, and Spears, R. Protesters as “passionate economists”: a dynamic dual pathway model of approach coping with Collective disadvantage. Personal Soc Psychol Rev. (2012) 16:180–9. doi: 10.1177/1088868311430835
123. Phoenix, DL. Black hope floats: racial emotion regulation and the uniquely motivating effects of hope on black political participation. J Soc Polit Psychol. (2020) 8:662–5. doi: 10.5964/jspp.v8i2.847
124. Cohen-Chen, S, and Van Zomeren, M. Yes we can? Group efficacy beliefs predict collective action, but only when hope is high. J Exp Soc Psychol. (2018) 77:50–9. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2018.03.016
125. Grey, MC. The outrageous pursuit of hope: Prophetic dreams for the twenty-first century. New York: Crossroad Pub. Co (2000).
126. Scioli, A. Hope and spirituality in the age of anxiety In: RJ Estes, editor. Adv Qual life Turbul world. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands (2006)
127. Lizarazo Pereira, DM, Schubert, TW, and Roth, J. Moved by social justice: the role of Kama Muta in Collective action toward racial equality. Front Psychol. (2022) 13:780615. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.780615
128. Jarymowicz, M, and Bar-Tal, D. The dominance of fear over hope in the life of individuals and collectives. Eur J Soc Psychol. (2006) 36:367–2. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.302
129. Snyder, CR, Lopez, SJ, and Pedrotti, JT. Positive psychology: The scientific and practical explorations of human strengths. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE (2015).
130. Williams, MT, Faber, S, Nepton, A, and Ching, THW. Racial justice allyship requires civil courage: a behavioral prescription for moral growth and change. Am Psychol. (2023) 78:1–19. doi: 10.1037/amp0000940
131. Broz, S. Civil courage: good people in an evil time, building and promoting resilience. Afr Health Sci. (2008) 8:S37–8.
132. Greitemeyer, T, Osswald, S, Fischer, P, and Frey, D. Civil courage: implicit theories, related concepts, and measurement. J Posit Psychol. (2007) 2:115–9. doi: 10.1080/17439760701228789
133. Willems, J. Learning civil courage: a citizens’ perspective. Educ Res. (2021) 50:679–1. doi: 10.3102/0013189X211044159
134. Barbey, AK, and Grafman, J. An integrative cognitive neuroscience theory of social reasoning and moral judgment. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. (2011) 2:55–67. doi: 10.1002/wcs.84
136. Öhman, A. The role of the amygdala in human fear: automatic detection of threat. Psychoneuroendocrinology. (2005) 30:953–8. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.03.019
137. Neurobiology of fear responses. The role of the amygdala. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. (1997) 9:382–2. doi: 10.1176/jnp.9.3.382
138. LeDoux, J. The emotional brain, fear, and the amygdala. Cell Mol Neurobiol. (2003) 23:727–8. doi: 10.1023/A:1025048802629
139. Salay, LD, Ishiko, N, and Huberman, AD. A midline thalamic circuit determines reactions to visual threat. Nature. (2018) 557:183–9. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0078-2
140. Nili, U, Goldberg, H, Weizman, A, and Dudai, Y. Fear thou not: activity of frontal and temporal circuits in moments of real-life courage. Neuron. (2010) 66:949–2. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.06.009
141. Ozbay, F, Johnson, DC, Dimoulas, E, Morgan, CA, Charney, D, and Southwick, S. Social support and resilience to stress: from neurobiology to clinical practice. Psychiatry Edgmont Pa Townsh. (2007) 4:35–40.
142. McEwen, BS. Neurobiological and systemic effects of chronic stress. Chronic Stress. (2017) 1:769232. doi: 10.1177/2470547017692328
143. Ravi, M, Miller, AH, and Michopoulos, V. The immunology of stress and the impact of inflammation on the brain and behaviour. BJPsych Adv. (2021) 27:158–5. doi: 10.1192/bja.2020.82
144. Radford, K, Delbaere, K, Draper, B, Mack, HA, Daylight, G, Cumming, R, et al. Childhood stress and adversity is associated with late-life dementia in aboriginal Australians. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. (2017) 25:1097–06. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2017.05.008
145. Stuart, KE, and Padgett, C. A systematic review of the association between psychological stress and dementia risk in humans. J Alzheimers Dis. (2020) 78:335–2. doi: 10.3233/JAD-191096
146. Zuelsdorff, M, Okonkwo, OC, Norton, D, Barnes, LL, Graham, KL, Clark, LR, et al. Stressful life events and racial disparities in cognition among middle-aged and older adults. Zahodne L, ed. J Alzheimers Dis. (2020) 73:671–2. doi: 10.3233/JAD-190439
147. Kelly, ME, Duff, H, Kelly, S, McHugh Power, JE, Brennan, S, Lawlor, BA, et al. The impact of social activities, social networks, social support and social relationships on the cognitive functioning of healthy older adults: a systematic review. Syst Rev. (2017) 6:259. doi: 10.1186/s13643-017-0632-2
148. Glover Blackwell, A, and Hemphill, P. Radical Imagination podcast. Episode: Radical Healing. (2022).
149. Krieger, N. Theories for social epidemiology in the 21st century: an ecosocial perspective. Int J Epidemiol. (2001) 30:668–7. doi: 10.1093/ije/30.4.668
150. Robinson-Lane, S, Hill-Jarrett, T, and Janevic, M. “Ooh, you got to holler sometime” pain meaning and experiences of Black older adults. (2021). My University; 2021 [cited 2023 Jan 19]. Available at: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/171081
151. Hill-Jarrett, TG, and Jones, MK. Gendered racism and subjective cognitive complaints among older black women: the role of depression and coping. Clin Neuropsychol. (2022) 36:479–2. doi: 10.1080/13854046.2021.1923804
152. Alang, S, VanHook, C, Judson, J, Ikiroma, A, and Adkins-Jackson, PB. Police brutality, heightened vigilance, and the mental health of Black adults. Psychol Violence. (2022) 12:211–11. doi: 10.1037/vio0000418
153. Seblova, D, Avila, JF, Kraal, AZ, Starks, TM, Adkins-Jackson, PA, Brickman, AM, et al. Relationship of daily, institutional and structural racism with cognition in ethnically/racially diverse middle-age Americans. Alzheimers Dement. (2022) 18:S11. doi: 10.1002/alz.067224
154. Avila, JF, Rentería, MA, Jones, RN, Vonk, JMJ, Turney, I, Sol, K, et al. Education differentially contributes to cognitive reserve across racial/ethnic groups. Alzheimers Dement. (2021) 17:70–80. doi: 10.1002/alz.12176
155. Pieterse, AL, Todd, NR, Neville, HA, and Carter, RT. Perceived racism and mental health among Black American adults: a meta-analytic review. J Couns Psychol. (2012) 59:1–9. doi: 10.1037/a0026208
156. Jones, MS, Womack, V, Jérémie-Brink, G, and Dickens, DD. Gendered racism and mental Health among Young adult U.S. Black women: the moderating roles of gendered racial identity centrality and identity shifting. Sex Roles. (2021) 85:221–1. doi: 10.1007/s11199-020-01214-1
157. Allen, AM, Wang, Y, Chae, DH, Price, MM, Powell, W, Steed, TC, et al. Racial discrimination, the superwoman schema, and allostatic load: exploring an integrative stress-coping model among African American women. Ann N Y Acad Sci. (2019) 1457:104–7. doi: 10.1111/nyas.14188
158. Geronimus, AT, Hicken, M, Keene, D, and Bound, J. “Weathering” and age patterns of allostatic load scores among blacks and whites in the United States. Am J Public Health. (2006) 96:826–3. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.060749
159. Geronimus, AT, Hicken, MT, Pearson, JA, Seashols, SJ, Brown, KL, and Cruz, TD. Do US Black women experience stress-related accelerated biological aging?: a novel theory and first population-based test of Black-White differences in telomere length. Hum Nat. (2010) 21:19–38. doi: 10.1007/s12110-010-9078-0
160. Geronimus, AT. The weathering hypothesis and the health of African-American women and infants: evidence and speculations. Ethn Dis. (1992) 2:207–1
161. Sandi, C. Stress and cognition. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. (2013) 4:245–1. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1222
162. McEwen, BS, Bowles, NP, Gray, JD, Hill, MN, Hunter, RG, Karatsoreos, IN, et al. Mechanisms of stress in the brain. Nat Neurosci. (2015) 18:1353–63. doi: 10.1038/nn.4086
163. McEwen, BS, and Sapolsky, RM. Stress and cognitive function. Curr Opin Neurobiol. (1995) 5:205–6. doi: 10.1016/0959-4388(95)80028-X
164. Meyer, CS, Schreiner, PJ, Lim, K, Battapady, H, and Launer, LJ. Depressive symptomatology, racial discrimination experience, and brain tissue volumes observed on magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Epidemiol. (2019) 188:656–3. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwy282
165. Fani, N, Harnett, NG, Bradley, B, Mekawi, Y, Powers, A, Stevens, JS, et al. Racial discrimination and White matter microstructure in trauma-exposed Black women. Biol Psychiatry. (2022) 91:254–1. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.08.011
166. Fani, N, Carter, SE, Harnett, NG, Ressler, KJ, and Bradley, B. Association of Racial Discrimination with Neural Response to threat in Black women in the US exposed to trauma. JAMA Psychiatry. (2021) 78:1005–12. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1480
167. Clark, US, Miller, ER, and Hegde, RR. Experiences of discrimination are associated with greater resting amygdala activity and functional connectivity. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. (2018) 3:367–8. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.11.011
168. Adkins-Jackson, PB, Kraal, AZ, Hill-Jarrett, TG, George, KM, Deters, K, Besser, LM, et al. Riding the merry-go-round of racial disparities in ADRD research. Alzheimers Dement. (2023). doi: 10.1002/alz.13359
169. Bailey, ZD, Feldman, JM, and Bassett, MT. How structural racism works — racist policies as a root cause of U.S. racial Health inequities. Malina D, ed. N Engl J Med. (2021) 384:768–3. doi: 10.1056/NEJMms2025396
170. Glymour, MM, and Manly, JJ. Lifecourse social conditions and racial and ethnic patterns of cognitive aging. Neuropsychol Rev. (2008) 18:223–4. doi: 10.1007/s11065-008-9064-z
171. Nesbitt, L, Meitner, MJ, Girling, C, Sheppard, SRJ, and Lu, Y. Who has access to urban vegetation? A spatial analysis of distributional green equity in 10 US cities. Landsc Urban Plan. (2019) 181:51–79. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.007
172. Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. Voting laws roundup: October 2021. New York (NY): The Center (2021). Available at: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-october-2021 (accessed August 25, 2024).
173. Boyd, RW. Police violence and the built harm of structural racism. Lancet. (2018) 392:258–9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31374-6
174. Braveman, PA, Arkin, E, Proctor, D, Kauh, T, and Holm, N. Systemic and structural racism: definitions, examples, Health damages, and approaches to dismantling: study examines definitions, examples, health damages, and dismantling systemic and structural racism. Health Aff (Millwood). (2022) 41:171–8. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01394
175. Bailey, ZD, Krieger, N, Agénor, M, Graves, J, Linos, N, and Bassett, MT. Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. Lancet. (2017) 389:1453–63. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30569-X
176. Yehuda, R, and Lehrner, A. Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: putative role of epigenetic mechanisms: intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: putative role of epigenetic mechanisms. World Psychiatry. (2018) 17:243–7. doi: 10.1002/wps.20568
177. Young, AM. Witnessing wonderland: research with Black girls imagining freer futures. Engl Teach Pract Crit. (2021) 20:420–9. doi: 10.1108/ETPC-04-2021-0029
178. Kindred Southern Healing Justice Collective. Kindred southern healing justice Collective [internet]. Available at: http://kindredsouthernhjcollective.org/
179. Page, C, and Woodland, E. Healing justice lineages: dreaming at the crossroads of liberation, collective care, and safety. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books (2023).
180. Richardson, JL In: ON Perlow, DI Wheeler, SL Bethea, and BM Scott, editors. Healing circles as Black feminist pedagogical interventions. Hardcover: Black Women’s Liberatory Pedagogies. Springer International Publishing (2018)
181. Auguste, E, Lodge, T, Carrenard, N, Onwong’a, JR, Zollicoffer, A, Collins, D, et al. Seeing one another: the creation of the Sawubona healing circles. PsyArXiv. (2022). doi: 10.31234/osf.io/hwn6x
182. Chioneso, NA, Hunter, CD, Gobin, RL, McNeil Smith, S, Mendenhall, R, and Neville, HA. Community healing and resistance through storytelling: a framework to address racial trauma in Africana communities. J Black Psychol. (2020) 46:95–1. doi: 10.1177/0095798420929468
183. Bryant-Davis, T, and Ocampo, C. A therapeutic approach to the treatment of racist-incident-based trauma. J Emot Abuse. (2006) 6:1–22. doi: 10.1300/J135v06n04_01
184. Monteiro, N, and Wall, D. African dance as healing modality throughout the diaspora: the use of ritual and movement to work through trauma. J Pan Afr Stud. (2011) 4:234–2.
185. Rosales, A. Healing justice: a systematic literature review. Northridge: California State University (2021).
186. Settles, IH, Jones, MK, Buchanan, NT, and Dotson, K. Epistemic exclusion: scholar(ly) devaluation that marginalizes faculty of color. J Divers High Educ. (2021) 14:493–7. doi: 10.1037/dhe0000174
Keywords: imagination, Afrofuturism, alternative futures, health justice, Black aging, neurocognition, values
Citation: Hill-Jarrett TG (2023) The Black radical imagination: a space of hope and possible futures. Front. Neurol. 14:1241922. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1241922
Edited by:
Ian Robertson, Trinity College Dublin, IrelandReviewed by:
Indira C. Turney, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, United StatesCopyright © 2023 Hill-Jarrett. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Tanisha G. Hill-Jarrett, tanisha.hill-jarrett@ucsf.edu