Beautiful Buzzwords
By Darrick Brown, MDiv, Mental Health Awareness Coordinator
For most, it is clear that African Americans have a rich culture that has touched the world with its music, style, linguistic acrobatics, and art. I love the fact that within that culture, phrases and words like “self-care,” “toxicity,” “burnout,” and “mindfulness” have become trendy. You can see them on social media, in commercials, and in publications. I am visiting churches and other places of faith as they begin to discuss mental health. I am seeing more and more Black men become therapists and Black women create platforms to encourage and uplift one another. Now more than ever, I am hearing discussions about Black mental health.
The reality is that all that support is needed and more. African American’s make up 13.4% of the American population,1 of those over 16% report having a mental illness.2 While that doesn’t sound like a large number, it’s over 4.8 million people. The effect of that mental illness is also compounded by the impact of racism, social stigma, religious conservativism, a legal system that is more likely to jail African Americans with mental health conditions,3 and a sociocultural memory that possesses an earned distrust of both the government and medical system. There are other factors, but if you were to add the previously mentioned in a pot and stir until fragrant, you would have a dish no one would like to swallow.
