According to Fullilove, root shock is the traumatic stress reaction to the destruction of all or part of one’s emotional ecosystem. Socially, it can destroy language, culture, dietary traditions, and social relationships, undermine trust, and various resources. Physiologically, it can increase anxiety, and increases the risk for every kind of stress-related disease from depression to heart attack. It will be interesting to see how public health can be linked to a social movement, and what effect displacement can have on the health of a population.

In the second chapter, the author explores the Montgomery bus boycott and mentions that the boycott was effective in “changing people’s state of being” and fewer injuries related to anger were reported in hospitals. While I always considered the social implications of segregation and racism, I never truly pondered the public health implications of those social policies. What were the effects of such policies on public health? Were statistics and studies on disease also segregated?