For many Black men the idea of talking about their mental health or even acknowledging it, isn’t something that comes easy. Black men have been conditioned and trained to show as little emotion as possible as soon as they’re little boys.This idea of not allowing Black boys to express their emotions or condemning them when they do, only further contributes to the practice of toxic masculinity.
Mental health is an important topic to discuss, especially in communities of color. It’s important that when discussing the effects of mental health, that it’s acknowledged that all communities of color do not experience it the same.
Systematic racism, racial and economic disparities all contribute to how mental health affects the Black community. Black people are among those who can experience what is called racial trauma, according to Mental Health America. Racial trauma can be an indirect or direct result of racism that one experiences.
Impact Strategist, John Enyame is a first generation Ghanian American, Brooklyn born and Bronx bred. Enyame grew up around peers that looked like him and said once he got to college it was a culture shock.
“As a Black man we experience these things that are kind of like microaggression,” Enyame said. “Those things become notes that not only you pay attention to but it almost creates this pressure of how should I be?”
When it came time to make the transition from college into the professional realm, he didn’t take his mental health too seriously.
“I was bottling it up and pushing it to the side and I was always someone that wouldn’t let things get to me,” Enyame said. “But what happens is you don’t just push that stuff to a corner, you are actually pressurizing it.”
Enyame said for some Black men acknowledging their mental health can be ‘annoying’ or can be considered not a ‘manly’ thing to do.
“If you haven’t been taking the time and investing and being mindful of how to cope and how to manage, you realize how ill equipped you are,” Enyame said. “When not worked through or dealt with often enough, Black men find themselves as adults not having the tools.”
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW and founder of Dearly Loved Counseling, Terik Greensberry said being Black in America, to be a minority, means you’re always mentally aware of it. Greensberry encourages Black men to become authentic and vulnerable with themselves.
“Sometimes we just need to talk about these things we see and encounter and the things that happened,” said Greensberry. “If you’re not talking about what’s going wrong, therapy is a good place to talk about what’s going right.”
For many Black men like 22 year-old Daniel Buckley, that’s easier said than done. Buckley said he felt like there was a point where his mental health was looked over when he talked about it.
“I did nothing because there was no outlet and I felt like there was no outlet or anyone to talk to,” Buckley said. “I feel like that hurts Black men as a whole because they feel like there’s no one to talk to.”
Allowing Black men to become vulnerable and not look at them differently when they do is crucial to creating a positive outlook on mental health. Safe spaces are needed as well as supportive environments. Black boys shouldn’t grow up and become uncomfortable with talking about their mental health. It’s time to tear down this notion that ‘big boys don’t cry’.
