RISE OF SUICIDE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY

Hey family, I want to be honest before you continue reading this post. This past week has been overwhelming for me as a black woman. I did not have to do much research to find countless examples of our black kings and queens ending their lives via suicide this week alone. Mental health is still a taboo in the black community. Unfortunately, society also makes it so much harder for us to talk or admit that we are struggling psychologically, for example, in the case of Chelsie Kryst. She decided that life was too unbearable for her to continue living at only 30 years old. It was reported that she allegedly jumped from her apartment building. She had such a beautiful public life, but no one knew what she was going through privately.

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Mayor Kevin Ward of Hyattsville, MD, allegedly took his own life from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The son of actress Regina King, Ian Alexander, took his life last week.

Jas Waters, a TV writer for “This is Us” died by suicide in June 2020.
Etika, Youtuber, allegedly died by suicide in June of 2019.

There was no warning that ending their lives was part of their plan, or was there? Maybe it was a split-second decision, or it was long in the making; either way, it is hard for the loved ones to know.

To be completely honest, even as a black therapist, I can’t process this. It is hard to go on Instagram for entertainment, only to be greeted by yet another black person who has taken their own life or another black person being killed by the police or well… THIS IS MENTALLY TIRING. EXHAUSTING. OVERWHELMING.

Well…imagine if that is overwhelming for me; how overwhelming was it for Joe, a 17 years old from Boston, when he decided that he was tired of living. The NY Times reported that Joe was tired of his classmates calling him “fat.” The NY Times reported that Joe was so tired of the bullying that one day he took a handful of pills; fortunately for Joe, it was just enough to cause him a bad stomachache.

When Joe’s suicidal thoughts continued months later, he told his loving father that he wanted to see a therapist; he lovingly told him, “We love you, but if you tell someone what you are feeling, they might think you are crazy.” Some people might judge his father, but please DON’T.
We need to educate the black community on the importance of mental health, self-love, self-care, and prioritizing oneself.

Jordan Burnham survived a jump a fall from a ninth-story building and “shattered his left legs, pelvis, and fractured his wrist, skull and jaw” when he was just 18 years old. He reported to the NY Times that he did not want to die, but he just wanted the depression, sadness, and shame to disappear. He is now 32 and has become an advocate for mental health https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/18/well/mind/suicide-black-kids.html.

It has been reported that suicide is the third leading cause of death in black men from ages 15-24, and black men are four times more likely to die by suicide than black women, as reported by the Congressional Black Caucus.

It is a known fact that trauma, mental illness, stress, hopelessness, bullying, racial discrimination, or any of the multiple other reasons why people, unfortunately, commit suicide are all apparent risk factors for youth in the black community. It is no secret that the suicide numbers have doubled during the lockdown period compared to historical years.

To be continued…