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.
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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