Conspiracy of Silence Pushes Rise in Black Suicides: Escalating Rates Point to Troubling Trend

Abstract

Not talking about it won’t make the problem go away. In fact, the continuing lack of acknowledgement and/or discussion about the incidence of suicide in the Black community is responsible for a disturbing trend. Alvin Poussaint, M.D., a Harvard psychiatrist, says the stigma is even stronger in the Black community. One problem, he says, is the stigma associated with depression itself. More than 60 percent of Black individuals don’t see depression as a mental illness, which makes it unlikely they will seek help for it.