Black Men, Express yourself!

Raising Mental health awareness in the Black Male community.

We live in an era of information and awareness, but this has not led to all individuals or communities to seek they may need sometimes.

The importance of mental health is prominent nowadays, in mainstream and social media, television talk shows and expert opinions in newspapers.

Though this has created awareness and brought improvements in the mental health of those in generation Z. Which refers to people born between 1995 and 2012. Black men as a whole, lag behind in this respect as they still find it difficult to come forward to address mental health issues.

‘Admitting to mental health issues can make us feel like less of a man, weak, inadequate and also not black enough because we are supposedly meant to be strong enough and not have mental health issues’

Ian Muriuki (aged 26)

Mentalhealth.org.uk states that the ‘risks of psychosis in Black Caribbean groups is estimated to be nearly seven times higher than in the White population’ Mental health needs to be an ongoing conversation particularly among black men.

(Instagram account/non-profit organisation which advocates for black mental health)

Why do black men not come forward as much to discuss mental health? There are multiple reasons among them, ‘toxic masculinity’ or the cultural pressures for men to behave in a certain way, or some people’s idea of manliness which emphasizes male domination, homophobia and aggression.

Gabrielle, the creator of the @blackmentalhealthmatters_ explained as much during an interview:

‘I believe black men don’t come forward in seeking help mentally because of toxic masculinity. This starts at home. I’ve noticed this personally with my younger male cousins from their parents saying things as ‘stop crying you’re a boy’ things like that make it so hard for them to express themselves’

Making mental health awareness a constant in the black community will slowly start to build a stronger, mentally healthier community. ‘Having a mental illness does not define you and it’s okay to express your feelings because you are human.’

I took it to Instagram polls to survey, ‘how likely are you to confide in others when going through a hard time?’

62% of (young) men said unlikely and 38% said likely.

62% remains an area of concern considering the age range is between 18-25 for the poll participants.

Hope for Black Men

However, there is hope in now available spaces for black men to address mental health issues. A local program by the name of ‘This Is My City’ hosts an annual festival and it will be coming back to Birmingham this summer.

The programme will be held online this year, and it is about raising awareness about black mental health as well as the celebration of different cultures, including the Caribbean and Africa.

During the two day affair, on the second day This Is My City will be teaming up with Black Health Matters, an organisation brings together scientists, black mental health advocates, and even physicians to educate and empower black people to live their ‘healthiest lives’.

Another organisation, ‘NOW’, is working with TIMC Birmingham, and ‘a wealth of health information’ to people who attend the summit. Black men of Birmingham are well advised to participate in these important events about mental health.