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Black Mental Health

In my experience, there has been a stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community. Many of us feel pressure to conform to traditional notions of masculinity, making it difficult to express emotions. I grew up in a society that enforced these notions of masculinity. Sometimes it was someone telling you what a man should do and how a real man should behave. Other times it was subtle cues, hints about not being a sissy or not being tough enough. The tough outer shell was not allowed to show vulnerability. No sense of weakness could be admitted. The idea of shedding a tear is practically shameful.

It's fortunate that now we see more people speak freely, openly, and honestly about their mental health struggles. The issue of mental health is becoming more normalized. In today's world, it's common to hear people talking freely and openly about their mental health struggles, seeing their therapist, and talking about their medications. This is a healthy revelation. It is beneficial for those of us in the African-American community.

Recently, I heard two podcasts with interviews with artists I respect. In both these interviews, the artists talked at length about their careers, how they developed their work, and their artistic choices. More importantly, these Black men spoke openly about their mental health.

The first artist was Arthur Jaffa. He is a cinematographer and visual artist. A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about his film "Love is the message, and the Message is death." I particularly like hearing him talk about the influences he uses to create his work and his focus on African-American expression.  In part two of the interview on the Helga podcast, he spoke at length about his mental health struggles and how he managed them with the help of friends and loved ones, along with some professional help. It was moving to hear such honesty and frankness.

The second artist is someone many of you will know. Wayne Brady is a singer, actor, and TV host. He is mainly known as an improviser. I met Wayne when we both were actors working at Universal Studios Florida in 1990. He now hosts the TV show "Let's Make a Deal." Recently, Wayne was on the Mark Maron podcast WTF. Wayne talks about his childhood, early career in Orlando, and rise to TV stardom in that podcast. Along that journey, he also talks about his mental health struggles. He is open and honest about his issues. He talks about the coping strategies he developed and, more importantly, the need to focus on his mental health,

I appreciate them discussing these issues. Both are talented artists dealing with their mental health issues as they did great artistic work. Hearing both of these African-American men discuss this issue is so refreshing.

If you are in a mental health crisis, you can call 9-8-8 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline)

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provide 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline. 

Link to Part 2 of the interview with video artist Arthur Jafa 

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/helga/episodes/video-artist-arthur-jafa-actualizing-black-potential-part-2 

Link to the WTF with Mark Maron with Wayne Brady

https://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1407-wayne-brady