By Jennifer Porter Gore | Word In Black

Black men are dying from a mental health crisis that too often goes unseen.

As deaths from suicide, overdoses, and alcohol abuse rise among Black Americans, experts warn that cultural expectations around masculinity, mistrust of mental health systems, and a shortage of Black providers are preventing many men from getting help before it is too late.

In the waning days of the pandemic, the U.S. saw the number of deaths from suicide, alcohol use, and drug overdoses — called “deaths of despair” — among Black Americans surpass occurrences among whites for the first time. Between 2013 and 2022, the rates of these deaths tripled among Black Americans.

Painful numbers

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show twice as many people died by suicide in 2023 as from homicide. In fact, it was the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 34 and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44.

That same year, the suicide rate among males was nearly 4 times higher than among females, with Black men also being four times as likely to die from suicide as Black women.

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Among younger Black men, the trajectory is especially troubling.

University of Georgia researchers last year found that childhood exposure to trauma, poverty, and racism leads many young Black men to believe they don’t have value and are unable to trust community support systems.  Between 2007 and 2020, the suicide rate among Black youth ages 10 to 17 nearly tripled, rising faster than any other racial or ethnic group.

Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 20 and 24. For Black men in the same age group, however, the suicide rate surpassed that of their white peers in 2024—a dreadful historical first.

Playing tough can be fatal

Traditional definitions of masculinity — stoicism, staunchly self-reliant and emotionally controlled — are found to increase the likelihood that men of all age ranges will avoid professional help. Researchers find those men fear being judged as weak, a perception that significantly raises stress and contributes to untreated depression and anxiety.

In 2023, just 17 percent of American men saw a mental health professional, roughly half the rate of women. Among men who said they were depressed, only one in four received any counseling or therapy in the past year. Black adults, however, were 36 percent less likely to have received mental health treatment in the previous year, even though they had similar or higher rates of anxiety and depression as whites.

In a newly released report, the JED Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the emotional health and preventing suicide for teens and young adults, found that boys are socialized from an early age to internalize their emotions rather than express them.

Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for people between ages 20 and 24. For Black men in the same age group, however, the suicide rate surpassed that of their white peers in 2024—a dreadful historical first.

The report, titled The Emotional Lives of Boys and Young Men, found that when that distress surfaces, it often looks very different from the depression and inactivity seen in girls and young women.

Instead, according to the report, boys and young men are more likely to disguise their distress by withdrawing, displaying anger or aggression, or engaging in daredevil behavior— reckless driving, substance abuse, compulsive gambling, or risky sexual encounters.

At the same time, online environments such as video games and social media can be a double-edged sword, according to the report.

“Digital environments can amplify both harmful and supportive pathways, with opportunities for humor, distraction, and connection,” the report says, but also provides “exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying, and gambling and sports betting.”

Black provider shortage

While research indicates that having a caregiver of the same gender and race is beneficial, Black practitioners are still an extreme minority in all segments of the mental health profession.  Only 4% of psychologists are Black, and just 2% of psychiatrists, who are medical doctors, and a scant 11% of licensed professional counselors are Black.

But research has shown that peer-based support groups can be effective in communities plagued by a lack of access to mental health professionals, as well as mistrust of clinical environments.

Organizations such as JED have launched partnerships with fraternal organizations to reverse these trends. Last month, JED announced it is working with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. as part of  The JED Greek-Letter Organizations (GLO) programs.

“The Jed Foundation recognizes that fraternities and sororities are powerful communities for connection, leadership, and identity development,” Dr. ShirDonna Lawrence, senior manager of JED GLO, said in a statement. “This makes them essential partners in advancing student mental health and well-being on and off campus.”

It’s also a mutually beneficial relationship, which “strengthens Alpha’s enduring mission and advances JED’s work in culturally responsive, community-centered mental health promotion,” Lawrence said.

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Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson) says a deadly Fourth of July weekend shooting in Compton that claimed the life of one of his former staff members underscores the urgent need for stronger gun safety laws at both the state and federal levels. 

The shooting was one of several acts of gun violence reported across California over the holiday weekend, renewing debate over firearm regulations and the limits states face in enacting gun control measures. 

At a block party in Compton, a gunman opened fire on a crowd, killing Eric Washington, a former California Assembly aide, and Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, while injuring three others. 

The deaths of Washington and Bordenave-Jenkins left deep wounds in the community. 

Bordenave-Jenkins, 19, was a sophomore studying nursing at the University of Nevada. She was staying with her sister for the summer. 

Her mother, Ebone Jenkins, said her daughter wanted to become a neonatal travel nurse and was active in church.  

Washington served as a field deputy for Gipson before later working for HACLA, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. To honor his memory, HACLA established the Eric Washington Community Impact Awards. 

Washington’s mother, Tina Johnson, told California Black Media (CBM) that her son was “deeply compassionate” and a “mentor to everyone,” including his own father, whom Washington helped adjust to life after incarceration. She said he was committed to public service and wanted to address gun violence. 

For Gipson, Washington’s death was both personal and political. 

Gipson and Washington worked together for years, united by a shared commitment to reducing gun violence in their communities. Gipson said Washington’s passing has been deeply felt. In 2020, Gipson’s own son, an innocent bystander, was injured in a violent shooting that same year. 

The Compton tragedy also comes as California and other states continue to navigate legal challenges to their authority to regulate firearms. 

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Wolford v. Lopez invalidated portions of a Hawaii law prohibiting people with concealed-carry permits from bringing firearms onto private property that is open to the public without the owner’s consent. 

Some advocates worry the ruling could weaken states’ ability to enact gun safety legislation. 

Gipson is among those expressing concern. 

“Because of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down protections in Wolford v. Lopez and rule against Hawaii’s common-sense laws, a pattern continues where the U.S. federal government cannot guarantee us the most basic protections,” Gipson told CBM. 

Throughout his legislative career, Gipson has championed firearm regulations aimed at creating safer communities. He was among the first California lawmakers to pursue ghost gun regulation through Assembly Bill (AB) 879. 

Currently, Gipson is working to pass AB 2339, the Accuracy in Mental Health Reporting Act. The bill would ensure that “prohibited persons are accurately identified in a timely fashion” and reported to the California Department of Justice to restrict their access to firearms. 

The measure has garnered strong support, including from California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

While Gipson believes state legislation can reduce gun violence, he argues that meaningful progress also requires stronger federal action. 

“Just doing the basics, like background checks, putting age limits, red flag warnings—the list just goes on and on. If they would just take just the basics, we can decrease a lot of gun violence,” said Gipson. 

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Staff, patients’ families, and supporters held a recent rally at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland to protest the hospital’s decision to relocate specialized treatment clinics to San Francisco.

Protesters said the move is creating barriers to patient access to care and raised concerns about whether the hospital was appropriately using funds partially designated for pediatric services.

In response, hospital officials say they are concentrating resources for highly specialized procedures so patients can receive the highest quality of care.

One of the speakers at the rally, Paola Portillo, a social worker, said the hospital started transferring the clinics a year ago when UCSF Health integrated with the Children’s Hospital Oakland, located at 747 52nd St. in North Oakland.

According to Portillo, patients who need bone marrow treatments and interventional radiology are forced to travel to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, which can be dangerous, she said.

“Children who go through a bone marrow transplant are immunocompromised, meaning that their immune system has been wiped out,” and having to take public transport to San Francisco exposes patients to the risk of getting a dangerous infection, she said.

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UCSF spokesperson Kristen Bole says the move improves the hospital’s quality of care, giving bone marrow treatment (BMT) as an example.

“Inpatient BMT is a highly complex service where patient volume, specialized infrastructure, faculty coverage and 24/7 support are essential,” she said in a statement. “Concentrating non-gene therapy inpatient BMT care at Mission Bay allows us to provide the safest and most sustainable model for patients and families.”

Hospital officials also emphasized that moving care was not a one-way street. Beginning this month, patients admitted for rehabilitative treatment have been directed to the children’s hospital in Oakland, Bole said.

Speakers at the rally also claimed UCSF has not been transparent about how it has allocated funding from 2020’s Measure C, a measure that created a half-percent sales tax that partially funded pediatric health care at the children’s hospital.

“The community fought so hard for Measure C because every child deserves access to lifesaving, pediatric, high-quality care right here in Oakland,” said Agnes Cho, a policy advisor speaking on behalf of Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas. “The funding should go towards strengthening care for children right here in Oakland.”

Protesters also said UCSF’s $3.3 billion endowment has been misused. Last October, the University Professional & Technical Employees union published a report on the University of California’s spending, which highlighted projects such as the $4.3 billion UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights.

“What I have a problem with is saying the kids from the East Bay have to go to San Francisco to get care, so that UC can build a fancy hospital for its richest patients in San Francisco,” said union President Dan Russell.

The UCSF spokesperson said the university has been investing in its Oakland campus and that upgrades are expected to be completed in 2030 at a cost of $1.6 billion.

“Oakland is central to our pediatric health system, and we are making the largest investment in the campus’ history,” the spokeswoman said. “We do not make investments of this scale in a campus, workforce or community we plan to leave behind.”

This article includes coverage from Bay City News Service and media releases.

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