Slavery

Slavery’s Impact on Black American Mental Health

Slavery is but a symptom of a greater problem. The culprit that created slavery was racism which in turn is an offshoot of White supremacy. Bombarded for centuries and hence generations with the vestiges of racism any people would be impacted physically and psychologically. White supremacy beget racism and racism beget slavery which beget Jim Crow in America which beget social movements to challenge everything that was beget, leaving Black America tired.

This fatigue has led to some Blacks experiencing mental health issues that they are challenged to overcome in a system that is not particularly designed to help them to do so. These mental health issues, according to Mental Health America at mhanational.org, begin with the many inequities in mental health services. This is due to:

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• Demographics and Societal Issues

  • “Historical adversity, which includes slavery, sharecropping, and race-based exclusion from health, educational, social, and economic resources, translates into socioeconomic disparities experienced by Black and African American people today. Socioeconomic status, in turn, is linked to mental health: people who are impoverished, homeless, incarcerated, or have substance use problems are at higher risk for poor mental health.” This is important in considering the percentages of Blacks who exist in these social standings.

  • “Despite progress made over the years, racism continues to have an impact on the mental health of Black people. Negative stereotypes and attitudes of rejection have decreased, but continue to occur with measurable, adverse consequences. Historical and contemporary instances of negative treatment have led to a mistrust of authorities, many of who are not seen as having the best interests of Blacks in mind.”

• Prevalence of Issues in the Black Community

  • “Black people living below poverty are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress.”

  • “Adult Blacks are more likely to have feeling of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness.”

  • “Binge drinking, smoking (cigarettes and marijuana), illicit drug us and prescription pain reliever misuse are more frequent among Black adults with mental illness.”

• Attitudes of Blacks Toward Mental Health Services

  • “Blacks hold beliefs related to stigma, psychological openness, and help-seeking, which in turn affects their coping behaviors.”

  • “Black people are more often diagnosed with schizophrenia and less often diagnosed with mood disorders compared to White people with the same symptoms.”

• Access to Mental Health Services

  • “Disparities in access to care and treatment for Black people have also persisted over time.”

  • “In 2018, 58.5% of Black young adults 18-25 and 50.1% of adults 26-49 with serious mental illness did not receive treatment.”