Hidden Mental Health Issues: The Unique Challenges Black College Students Face

by Tamiya King

Researchers have concluded that Black college students rely on “grit” to get ahead, which means they view their college experience with determination and a strong sense of mental toughness. This is especially prevalent among Black students who are attending predominantly white colleges and universities.

A new study from Vanderbilt has revealed that this approach to the college experience has given birth to a new mental health crisis among Black students.

“Weathering the cumulative effects of living in a society characterized by white dominance and privilege produces a kind of physical and mental wear-and-tear that contributes to a host of psychological and physical ailments,” says Ebony McGee, an assistant professor of diversity and urban schooling at Peabody College at Vanderbilt.

McGee also says that her research team has documented “alarming occurrences of anxiety, stress, depression and thoughts of suicide, as well as a host of physical ailments like hair loss, diabetes and heart disease.”

McGee also co-authored a paper with David Stovall, associate professor of African American studies and educational policy studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago titled “Reimagining Critical Race Theory in Education: Mental Health, Healing and the Pathway to Liberatory Praxis.” 

The paper explores race theory and the authors challenge the principle of hard work and perseverance, asserting that mental health issues among Black students are often unnoticed because of the students’ intense academic focus and desire to achieve.“We have witnessed black students work themselves to the point of extreme illness in attempting to escape the constant threat of perceived intellectual inferiority,” she says.

She also shares that teaching African American students to be more focused and overachieving in school than their white counterparts, without fully explaining and preparing students for the social injustices of racism, can take its toll on even the most successful pupils.

The research gathered in the study compares high-achieving Black college students to historical legend John Henry. Henry was an enslaved African who literally worked himself to death, in an attempt to prove his worth.

The study states that “John Henryism is a coping strategy often adopted by high-achieving African Americans, who may unconsciously (and increasingly consciously) sacrifice their personal relationships and health to pursue their goals with a tenacity that can be medically and mentally dangerous.”

“Grit” is technically a term that is neutral in terms of race. However, it is often associated with comparing success through goal achievement and the evidence of certain characteristics, while ignoring the discrimination that often hampers Black students’ success, explains McGee.

Resilience, time management and a goal-oriented mindset are essentials for any college student, regardless of race. However, Black students also have the additional responsibility of proving they are intellectually worth while facing both underlying and overt racism.

Stovall and McGee are both mentors and teachers, and have been aware of the firsthand accounts many Black students have experienced as they try to both survive and thrive in a mostly White environment. Stovall asserts that Black students facing this multi-faceted burden have to be “protected against daily discrimination.” 

There are also research studies indicating that grit is needed for mental fortitude when accomplishing a task. Still, a more holistic approach is needed when gaining a clear understanding of the mental, emotional and psychological harm that Black students face while in college and beyond.

The authors of the study make a case for systemic changes in the university system, so that Black student healing can begin. This healing will have to take a different approach than traditional wellness methods.

“The process of healing from racial battle fatigue and institutional racism requires significant internal commitment and external support,” the study concludes. “Black college students are brilliant, talented, and creative, and they dream as big as other students. Pursuing higher education should not make them sick.”

Frequent Exposure to Shootings of Black People Can Cause PTSD-Like Trauma, Research Says

by Tanasia Kenney

Graphic footage of Terence Crutcher’s final moments have been on a constant loop since his ill-fated encounter with police, playing over and over again as Americans struggle to digest what they just witnessed.

Images of Crutcher’s bloodied body lying in the middle of an Oklahoma road immediately populated social media, sparking outrage from many wondering why the police would shoot a Black man who clearly had his hands up?Disturbing video of police shooting Black civilians are simply hard to escape once they go viral. That’s been the case for most of the recent police shootings caught on tape.

For instance, video of the Baton Rouge shooting death of Alton Sterling nearly broke the internet; the girlfriend of Minnesota man Philando Castile live streamed the bloody aftermath of his shooting death on Facebook for the whole world to see; and outrage peaked when video captured a Miami police officer shooting Charles Kinsey, an unarmed behavioral therapist, as he lay in the road with his hands in the air.

With so many images of violence and death permeating the social media space, some people find it necessary to unplug for a while. Mental health experts think that’s not such a bad idea. According to recent research, frequent exposure to videos and images of Black people being shot and killed can have ill, long-lasting effects on Black mental health.

Monnica Williams, a clinical psychologist and director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities at the University of Louisville, said that these graphic images, coupled with lived experiences of racism, can lead to severe mental health issues and PTSD-like trauma.

“There’s a heightened sense of fear and anxiety when you feel like you can’t trust the people who’ve been put in charge to keep you safe,” Williams said. “Instead, you see them killing people who look like you. Combined with the everyday instances of racism, like micro-aggressions and discrimination, that contributes to a sense of alienation and isolation. It’s race-based trauma.”

A 2012 study on racial discrimination and psychopathology by researchers Chao, Asnaani and Hofmann found that African-Americans experienced more racism than both Asian and Latino Americans. 

Furthermore, African-Americans who experienced significantly higher rates of racism were also more likely to experience symptoms of PTSD. It’s not uncommon for Black Americans to speak on their racism-related experiences, whether they be subtle micro-aggressions or flat out acts of discrimination. 

Over time, these experiences, depending on their frequency, make it hard for victims to “mentally manage the sheer volume of racial stressors,” thus leading to trauma, Psychology Today reports.

Though it’s important to be socially “woke” in today’s political climate, it’s also clear to see how constant videos depicting violence against Black bodies does more harm than good. “We’re witnessing mentally and emotionally traumatizing videos and pictures,” April Reign, managing editor for Broadway Black, told PBS NewsHour. “It’s enough, it’s just enough. It’s just so overwhelming all the time. 

There are people who are having trouble sleeping, who are having trouble eating. There are people who are having those symptoms of PTSD in the truest sense.” Reign agreed that sometimes those hard-to-watch videos are needed to bring light to certain social issues, but she pointed out that decisions to censor graphic footage is driven by implicit racial bias. 

Reign cited the August 25, 2015 incident where two white North Carolina news anchors were murdered on national TV by a former co-worker. When other news stations covered the story, they “selectively censored” portions of the footage out of respect for the victims’ families. That same respect and consideration wasn’t given to Sterling, Castile or other Black Americans whose final moments were played out over and over again.

“It is a dehumanization of Black people, and we don’t see that with any other race. It’s ingrained in us from our history,” Reign said. “White people used to have picnics at hangings and at lynchings, bringing their children to watch Black bodies suffer and die. We are not far removed from that, it’s just being played out through technology now. And it hurts.”

The overwhelming emotional impact of watching Blacks die at the hands of police has taken a toll on everyone, from the average Black citizen to the BLM activist on the front lines. Williams said the first step in reducing this stress is to acknowledge that racism and public murders of minorities is affecting you.

“Recognize that if you’re numb, that means something,” she explained. “If you’re breaking down in tears, that means something. “It affects you more than you know, and there is nothing wrong with saying that this pains you. Understand it, and actively move toward healing yourself.”