“The most disrespected woman in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” These profound words, delivered by Malcolm X in 1962, carry an undeniable truth that has not changed in the 60-plus years since they were first uttered. Black women continue to be disrespected, unprotected, neglected, and exploited, dismissed, and erased — and it is taking an emotional toll.
In May 2021, when Naomi Osaka opted out of media interviews to prioritize her mental health, many were surprised by the backlash from the tennis institutions and mainstream media about her decision. The fact that Naomi, a Black woman, would set a boundary to protect herself was unfathomable. There was a similar reaction just a year prior at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, when Simone Biles also took a step back to center her emotional well-being. Ironically, she’s now recognized as a mental health advocate who changed sports. The message to Black women: You don’t get to take care of your own health. Black women are unprotected, and so is their mental health.
Fast forward to September 2023, the sudden deaths of two Black women university leaders, Joanne Epps and Dr. Orinthia T. Montague, who died within days of each other, sparked a global conversation among Black women about toxic workplace cultures. Black women publicly named the discrimination, bullying and microaggressions they experienced at work, especially when they took on leadership roles (I discuss my experience during my TEDxRoxbury talk, Reclaiming Wellbeing in the Workplace).
Then the unthinkable happened. In January 2024, Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, after repeated documented attempts to gain her supervisor’s approval for a medical leave to attend to her mental health were ignored, died by suicide. She was depressed and asked for help, yet her cries for help were ignored. Black women are neglected, and so is their mental health.
At the root is an insidious toxin known as racial stress, the emotional and psychological turmoil that Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) feel when they encounter microaggressions, workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination at work, school, or in life. Racial stress can result from a single incident or repeat offenses, from first-hand incidents or witnessing others being harmed, and from institutional policies and practices or interpersonal interactions.
Racial stress manifests as the fear that Black moms carry every time their teenage child leaves the safety of their home; the turmoil of writing letters to school leaders to address an injustice their child encountered at school; the silencing of Black women in the workplace who have been bullied, passed over for promotion, or pushed out for no good reason. Chronic stress is physically and psychologically damaging, yet they code-switch to cope and stay silent to keep their jobs, but they hurt on the inside. Black does crack. As Zora Neale Hurston warns, “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”
Black. Woman. Wounded.
Black women are walking around wounded but have been socialized to mask their feelings and show up as strong Black women no matter what. The strong Black woman schema is harmful because it leads people to see Black women as having superhuman abilities (which they don’t possess), it stops Black women from asking for help when they need it, and it places an inordinate amount of pressure on Black women to present themselves as healthy.
Here’s the reality: Black women are twice as likely to experience depression compared to Black men (Jieman, A.-T., Soliman, F., York, K., et al. 2024) and the suicide rates for Black females ages 15 to 24 years have more than doubled from 1999 to 2020. Although Black women have lower rates of depression and anxiety compared to White women (Jieman, A.-T. et al., 2024), they are half as likely to obtain care for their mental health compared to White women (Richards, 2021). Black women’s rates of depression and anxiety are likely underreported due to lack of access to adequate health care, mistrust of the health care system, different symptom presentation (NYU, 2022), poor cultural training of mental health providers, and low numbers of Black mental health professionals.
For example, Black psychologists account for only 3% of psychologists in the United States. Now, Black women are seeking resources to understand and address their mental health and have found support from social media influencers who offer culturally affirming posts and videos. However, these social media platforms do not make up for mental health treatment with a licensed provider.
If you are a Black woman and you are seeking resources to improve your mental health, here are five strategies you can use to address your mental health:
1. Make your mental health a priority: You deserve to be well and creating space in your life to center your wellbeing is a first step. Addressing your mental health will be a life-long journey, so avoid looking for shortcuts as you commit to the journey.
2. Seek professional support: Taking a step to change your circumstances can be overwhelming, but there are a number of resources available to you. Start with a therapist; they are great at helping you reflect on your patterns and can offer strategies that can help. Find a therapist of color here: www.innopsych.com/findatherapist and learn more about the therapy process. As you create space for healing, find activities that bring you joy. Make space for rest and use your paid time off. Engage in mind-body practices such as prayer, mindfulness, journaling, meditation, breathwork, dance and yoga.
3. Know your rights: There are legal protections from discrimination for employees who have a mental health condition (also known as a non-apparent disability) or are perceived to have one (Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]). You can also contact the ADA Question Hotline at 1-800-949-4232 (TTY).
4. Advocate for psychologically safe work cultures: Oftentimes, the solution for stress management and mental health care is located solely with the employee to solve. However, leaders have a major responsibility to cultivate workplaces that are physically and psychologically safe. Join with others and advocate for the type of environment that will center the well-being of all employees.
5. Engage in community care: It can be very tempting to withdraw from others when your mental health is compromised. However, it is necessary to surround yourself with people who are working on similar issues, who share similar hobbies, or who genuinely care for you.
Dr. Charmain Jackman is an award-winning psychologist, TEDx speaker, author, and leadership coach with over two decades of experience in mental health. She is a visionary entrepreneur, storyteller, and global mental health advocate. As the founder of InnoPsych, she is empowering lives by connecting individuals with therapists of color, transforming the narrative around therapy and championing emotional well-being in the workplace.
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