Studies Find Increase in Suicides Among Black Youths--By Dr. Henrie M. Treadwell

Suicides among black youth might be new to some but to me, it will forever be engraved in my head because in 1994 my older brother Muhammad Brown committed suicide. That’s when my whole life changed and I became an advocate for dealing with teen suicide and youth violence among our youth. Many black youth are at risk to suicide and this recent study just brings it to the black community upfront and in person. I remember when I was in high school and I helped start the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program that later turned into the Yellow Ribbon Teen Violence Prevention Program in order to deal with youth issues at my alma mater high school John J. Pershing.

The reality is that black youth are committing suicide because growing up in the black communities which are usually poor poverty stricken neighborhoods where sometimes youth can be cruel to those who are different. The reality is that many black youth find it harder to talk to others about their issues although many of their peers deal with many of the same things. The reality is that black youth don’t have school social workers and counselors to talk to about some of the issues that are plaguing our black youth.

Being teased in school for reasons such as your hair, being overweight, your clothes, your shoes, the way you smell and other things can take a lot out of youth particularly when in the black community, we can be very hard on our own people. A messed up line up or a chipped tooth or perhaps having busted shoes can unleash a flourish of jokes and caps as some in the black community call it on a young man or woman growing up. I’m not saying life in white or other communities can’t be as hard but I am just speaking from the black community from which I am more familiar with. A man doesn’t suppose to cry that is the word in the black community so when a young man like my brother cried over a girl he loved.

Crying is not accepted by a black man at least not publicly but many black men might cry privately to themselves because they have no one to talk to about their issues. I am willing to admit that during the 8th grade I found myself going home listening to “I Wish It Would Rain” by the Temptations everyday because I wanted to cry practically every day I woke up and felt the rain would cover my tears from my friends. In fact it was many times in high school I wanted to cry publicly and found myself crying publicly because for me I am not afraid of how others view me. I believe that many black youth are suicidal or have suicidal tendencies because they are not comfortable within their own skin at times and can’t take all the hurt, pain and mounting frustration that have occurred in their life. Plus sometimes the power of love is a strong thing and it is funny at times especially when one is hurt from love.

However what many in the black community must understand with the word suicide is that people who think about suicide just want help. They are seeking help and are reaching out for help thus suicide can be avoided if that help occurs. I believe that my brother wanted help and if my mom wasn’t at work, my dad out of town and my older sisters were not busy trying to raise their kids and my other siblings and I were not too young than perhaps my older brother would have had the help he needed. While my brother’s suicidal death was a tragic occurrence it involved special circumstances that even I didn’t fully grasp until my senior year. Religious, ethnic and racial tensions also play a role in many black youth who think about suicide but most of all teen pressure and family trouble at home plays the major part.

Suicide is not an easy issue to discuss but this study reveals that the black community needs to get more proactive to talk about suicide as well as youth violence in general. I created the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program and we didn’t only talk about suicide but we talked about youth violence and service to our school and community in order to discuss youth issues and how we were going to address many issues that plagued our school and community as well as our youth. We can’t allow suicide to get too far ahead in the black community or any community but most of all we must be proactive in dealing with youth suicide and violence all over America. However this study is a wakeup call in the black community and it is wakeup call to Middle America that suicide happens to not just poor people but all people. Thus more aid is needed to combat suicide amongst our youth so our youth need more counselors and social workers in school and more medical services needed to be given to youth in regards to covering physiatrists expenses that many families might have to look into for their youth who are at risk.

So read the article below because it is an interesting and philosophical piece.

Atlanta, GA (BlackNews.com) - Not long ago, the words "suicide" and "African Americans" were almost never mentioned in the same breath. Despite confronting challenges from slavery to Jim Crow to structural racism, blacks rarely took their own lives. It was a positive health disparity. Until now.

There is alarming evidence that the suicide rate for young African-American men is escalating, and just as much evidence that America's health-care system is ill-equipped to curb it.

Dr. Claire Xanthos, a health services research specialist, recently wrote a policy paper citing studies showing that from 1980 to 1995, the suicide rate for black adolescents rose from 5.6 to per 100,000 of the population. Put in starker terms: this doubling of the suicide rate for young black males has made it the third-leading cause of death among that demographic group.

Clearly, it is a complex problem that is directly related to life experiences of young African-American males in America. While the suicide rate for young black men has risen, the suicide rate for black women remains among the lowest of any demographic group.

So why are our young black men killing themselves?

Dr. Xanthos concludes there are many factors, and among them are the race-related challenges that these youths face. The data show that they go to jail, drop out of school and become victims of crime at rates far higher than their white counterparts. Moreover, young black males are more likely than not to live in a family environment that is less than ideal; roughly 70 percent of African Americans live in single-parent homes.

The combination of family stress, violence in their communities, and the stigma and discrimination they face is taking a toll on young black males. Some mental health specialists, such as Dr. Alvin Poussaint, argue that "death by cop" incidents should be counted as suicide. These are occasions when black youths are despondent and won't commit suicide, but purposely break the law so someone else will kill them.

"How many young men who put themselves in situations where it's very likely that they're going to get shot to death are actually committing suicide?" asked Dr. Poussaint in a recent interview on National Public Radio. "There is such a thing as what we call victim-precipitated homicide, which is suicide. The most classic example would be suicide by cop, which you read about in the newspaper from time to time, where people wanted to be shot to be killed because they were suicidal, but they didn't want to do it themselves...because there's still a stigma attached to committing suicide, so they'd rather have someone else kill them or have it seem like an accident."

This rising suicide tide can impact middle-class black teenagers in white suburbs, as well as those in inner-city neighborhoods. In fact, Dr. Xanthos argues that black youths living in white communities often face the trauma of not relating to their white neighbors and also feeling estranged from blacks from poorer, urban settings. Certainly, the death of James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, underscored that suicide can strike the rich and poor.

What's clear is that black communities, healthcare professionals and public health officials must mobilize to meet the challenges presented by this problem.

The stigma towards mental illness in the black communities is so taboo that obvious signs that someone has a problem are frequently ignored, even by close family members and friends. The first step must come from parents and friends recognizing the behavior patterns that indicate someone has a problem, and then working to get help for that person.

There is also a crucial role to be played by public health programs, such as Medicaid, which must make it easier for young black men to receive counseling and treatments.

But once these teens get to treatment facilities another problem develops: the lack of black therapists, counselors and psychiatrists. According to data, blacks are about four percent of the nation's psychiatrists, three percent of the psychologists and seven percent of social workers. It's imperative that more African Americans be trained for those positions. The problems weighing on many black youths are created by racism and the family, educational and urban tensions that they face in everyday life. In these instances, an African-American counselor or physician who may be more likely to grasp the situation is needed to provide assistance.

Dr. Xanthos also raises the need for more "bicultural'' training for young black males. Or put another way, it is learning to survive in a white society. Such training would better prepare black youths for integration into schools and workplaces that are predominantly white, while also preparing black youths to confront and overcome the discrimination they are likely to face in American society.

This problem can no longer be ignored. It must be faced in our homes, our communities and by public officials in schools and health facilities.
The reality is that young black males face some of the biggest hurdles in our society, and if they are going succeed we all must do a better job of identifying people with problems and facilitating the treatment that can put them on a successful path.

(Dr. Henrie M. Treadwell, associate director of Development at the National Center for Primary Care of Morehouse School of Medicine, is also director of Community Voices, a non-profit working to improve health services, and health-care access, for all Americans. For print or broadcast interviews with Dr. Treadwell, please contact Alicia Ingram, 404-493-1724, ingramalicia@bellsouth.net.)

CONTACT:
Alicia Ingram
404-493-1724
ingramalicia@bellsouth.net