Combating Poor Mental Health and Bad

Access to Mental Healthcare in the

African American Community
Ashley Anderson
Social Issue Research Project
ETHS 2410
Spring 2016

Poor Mental Health in African

American Communities
I learned over the course of this semester that
black people in the United States are much more
likely, because of oppression, to experience
mental illness in their lifetimes.
They are also much less likely to have access to
mental healthcare such as therapy or counseling.
Doing the media journal project helped me to
realize the trends of how African Americans are
portrayed in the media, which led me to wonder
what personal effect this had on them. The
answer: Poor mental health.

Scholarly Research
To learn more about this issue I turned to academic
journals and essayists who have spent much time and
energy studying this African American Mental Health.
The Effects of Changes in Racial Identity and SelfEsteem on Changes in African American Adolescents
Mental Health, by Mandara Richards, et al. is very
important because it taught me about the effects of
media consumption on internalized negative racial
stereotypes in African American adolescents.
I also learned that high levels of racial identity can
create self-esteem which is useful in maintaining
good mental health.

Scholarly Research, cont.

Getting Mad But Ending Up Sad: The Mental Health Consequences for
African American Using Anger to Cope With Racism, by Chavella T.
Pittman , article mentions that there are many negative affects that
come to people as a result of experiencing racism (1106). These
include blocked opportunities, as well as unequal access to housing,
education, and employment (1107). Thing things, as well as the
experience of being on the receiving end of racism itself, are
correlated with a wide range of negative physical and mental health
outcomes for African-Americans. These include hypertension,
depression, anxiety and other forms of psychological distress (1107).
I learned about the way that African Americans cope with racism, and
which of those methods is harmful to mental health.
The idea it gives me for creating an intervention is that is explains
the frequency that mental health triggers occur for African
Americans, necessitating support and access to mental health care.

Scholarly Research, cont.

The Educational System and Black Mental Health, by
William B. Harvey , starts with a quote that helps to explain
the history of the social issue and the ways in which it is
almost omnipresent in America.
I learned that racism is perpetuated through school because
schools teach people how to be better Americans, and
being an American (for now, until major change is made)
means living under a system that is inherently racist.
This supports my intervention in important ways. Because
everyone has to go to school, it shows that children are
exposed to racism from a young age, meaning that there
are millions of people who potentially need mental
healthcare.

Discussion of Intervention
The intervention I want to implement is to provide free weekly
mental health care for people who identify as black or mixed-race in
the United States. Having easy access to mental health care, such as
one-on-one or group counseling, could go a long way in breaking this
disturbing pattern of poor mental health among African Americans.
This would start small, in a single neighborhood, and work its way up
to serve more and more people.
The counselors and therapists would also be African American, giving
a social relevance to the project, and channeling money into black
communities.
The ultimate cost of the program, when it is functioning in full
capacity and providing care for 42 million people, would be about
$164 billion a year.
The goal is to end the cycle of poor mental health in African
Communities by focusing on providing free mental health care.

Resistance to the
Intervention
The main form of resistance to the
intervention that I can foresee will
come from people who do not want
the government to spend that money.
However, the project will start small,
with funds raised privately, in order to
prove its efficacy and value, and
slowly grow to a much bigger project
that is advantageous for everyone.

Support for the Intervention

There are many people in the country who realize
that this is a problem, and they would be willing to
lend support.
Organizations already involved in this kind of work
would support.
Donors could support by giving money while some
counselors and social workers could support by
donating some services.
In the interview I conducted, interviewee Marissa
Sieck gave good insights into how to rally support
and start small to prove that the battle was slowly
being won.

Impact of the Intervention

The lasting impact I hope to see from
providing free mental health care to African
Americans is to reduce the rates of mental
illness among the black community.
This would be positive for the African
American community because it would give
them outlets and tools to cope with racism
and oppression, helping them to be happier
as individuals, organizations, and families.

References:
Harvey, William B. "The Educational System and Black Mental
Health." The Journal of Negro Education 53.4 (1984): 444.
Web.

Mandara, Jelani, Noni K. Gaylord-Harden, Maryse H. Richards,

and Brian L. Ragsdale. "The Effects of Changes in Racial
Identity and Self-Esteem on Changes in African American
Adolescents Mental Health." Child Development 80.6 (2009):
1660-675. Jstor. Web.

Pittman, C. T. "Getting Mad But Ending Up Sad: The Mental

Health Consequences for African Americans Using Anger to
Cope With Racism." Journal of Black Studies 42.7 (2011):
1106-124. Web.

Notes
African Americans are much more at
risk for mental health problems, and
it is essential that we as a
community do something to address
that problem. Thank you.