This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Black children and adolescents have the highest rate of mental health-related emergency department visits, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week. It’s an […]
Mental Health
Posted inHealth, Mental Health
The Racism Black Kids Endure Is Spiraling Into a Health Crisis
Ignored complaints of students using racist slurs, Black children getting in trouble for reporting instances of discrimination, and white students mockingly reenacting the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers are all outlined in a lawsuit that hit a Georgia school district earlier this year. The case is just the tip of the iceberg when it […]
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Through Meditation and Therapy, Black Men Are Taking Care of Their Mental Health
Holding his son, Harold Hughes thought of all he’d pass down. His tech startup was part of the equation. The rest felt a bit more unsettling. “My trauma,” Hughes said, “he can inherit that, too.” It was somewhere between the birth of his son, the death of his father and the shooting of Philando Castile […]
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Activist at 14, Burned Out by 26. Today, Emani Davis Teaches That to Change the World, You Must Also Take Care of Yourself
This story is published in partnership with MindSite News, a nonprofit digital news site that reports on mental health issues. Sign up for the MindSite News Daily newsletter here. When Devon Adams got out of a Washington State prison after 22 years, he hit the ground running. Toward the end of his stint, he’d begun working […]
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How Mental Illness Among Black Americans Goes Misdiagnosed
First, came the depression diagnosis. Then, a catatonia diagnosis. PTSD and anxiety labels were thrown in the mix, too. In college, 12 people Natasha Pierre knew had died within six months, and all she could do was talk to the campus priests about how she was feeling. The trauma piled on, and being in New […]
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The Criminalization of Black Men’s Mental Health
Jordan Neely wasn’t committing a crime. He was in need of help. In the week since he died after a lethal choke hold inside a New York City subway car, his family has called the statement from the ex-Marine who killed him “a character assassination.” He didn’t know anything about Neely’s mental health history before […]
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The Invisible Effects of Gun Violence on Children
The nation’s most recent school shooting — which left 19 fourth-graders and two teachers dead in a Texas classroom — has again forced parents to question their children’s safety. While gun violence has become a near-universal fear for Americans, children from underrepresented backgrounds often are most susceptible. Capital B spoke with Charity Brown Griffin, a […]
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The Reading List: The Mental Health Crisis Affecting Black America
Editor’s note: This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, free resources are available. Please see our list below. The mental health crisis in the United States is growing, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which isolated Americans from friends and family and spiked feelings of anxiety. More Black […]