As Buffalo prepares to acknowledge the first anniversary of the May 14 massacre, the School of Social Work will host a webinar on Black racial trauma. The event will be a moment of learning and reflection to denote the ongoing existence of racial trauma in the lives of Black people.

“Racial Trauma and Black Lives: An Evening with Kenneth Hardy” will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. April 20 via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public. Register online.

Racial trauma is an ever-present consequence of experiencing and witnessing racial oppression and discrimination. It can result from high-profile and horrific examples of racism, like the May 14 shooting, as well as continued exposure to everyday microaggressions and bias.

The evening will begin with a solemn remembrance of the 10 lives lost during the racist mass shooting at Tops on Jefferson Avenue last year. Kenneth Hardy, an author and expert on racial trauma, will then deliver his presentation and engage in a discussion on Black racial trauma and its emotional, mental and physical effects, which can often span generations.

Hardy is director of the Eikenberg Institute for Relationships in New York, where he provides racially focused, trauma-informed training and executive coaching to a diverse network of individuals and organizations across the U.S. and abroad.

He is the author of six books on racial trauma, culturally sensitive supervision and family therapy, including “Racial Trauma: Clinical Strategies and Techniques for Healing Invisible Wounds,” which was released in February.

In addition, he is a former professor of family therapy and has served as the director of children, families and trauma at the Ackerman Institute for the Family in New York.