What to do about mental health crisis among Black males

Amid a mental health crisis affecting both younger and adult Black males, the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research held a daylong symposium on May 13 to have critical conversations untangling the complexities of the problem and examining potential solutions. According to the National Institute of Minority Health and Health disparities, Black men are four times likelier to die by suicide than Black women. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has seen a 60 percent rise in suicide rates among Black boys over the past two decades. “While we see a significant rise in our young people experiencing feelings of sadness, anxiety, anger, or hopelessness, we know that young people of color are having an even harder time compared to their peers,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07, J.D. ’12, said in a video message as part of the opening ceremonies. “Black boys and Black men face the additional challenges of stigma and systemic racism so entrenched that it affects the quality of mental health care they receive.” Michael Rain, a joint fellow at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics and the Hutchins Center, said often these issues are “compounded and diluted, leading to a...