Mental Health in the African American Community
Nov. 17, 2017
IOWA CITY, IA –Mental health is an issue often brushed off or ignored in the African-American community, as it is believed to be a collection of fake illnesses.
“We tend to brush things under the rug,” Iowa senior Antonio Rodriguez said, “And we do not deal with the issues we just let them pile up.”
According to, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 15.4 percent of African-American adults had a mental health issue in 2015.
“The first step is acknowledging that a problem exists. We, healers in the community, cannot do anything unless we know a problem exists. The second step is to reach out for help.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017 the African Student Association (ASA) hosted an event to talk about mental health in the Black community. The event was an open discussion on the main mental health concerns faced by people of African descent in America.
One of the topics discussed was toxic masculinity, with members of the community as well as others expressing their thoughts regarding how society views not only them, but how their friends and family members in the Black community hold them to a certain standard. This ranges from how they interact with others or how they see themselves day to day basis.
Another talking point in the discussion was the stigma associated with mental illnesses in the African-American community, as well as the notion that mental health is a fictitious ailment. That is, it gets ignored and is somehow uncommon for people of color in general to have mental illnesses such as: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, eating disorders, or any other mental health illnesses or disorders they may be facing.
“In a lot of out cultures, we don’t deal with emotions, they’re not expressed they’re not talked about,” Iowa senior Yasmin Elgaali said. “The suppression of these emotions, especially considering the harder circumstances that a lot of people of African descent or people in Africa go through can manifest itself in depression.”
There is also the idea that if you do have a mental illness it can overcome through prayer, or sheer willpower.
“There are a lot of systems in place to put African Americans in a position that require a lot of hard work,” Iowa sophomore Phillip Runia said. “Hard work is highly valued in the African-American community, so when mental health issues arise there’s this idea that you just need to work harder.”
Although, as younger generations learn more about mental health they are better equipped to deal with issues if they arise.
“We need to stop using culture as a cop out, we need to educate people on mental illness and let them know its ok to not be perfect,” Iowa freshman Subbi Namakula said.
There are a variety of mental health services available to students at the University of Iowa. There is the University Counseling Service (UCS) which has both a Westside, 3223 Westlawn S., and Eastside, University Capitol Center Suite 1950, location. You can reach UCS online or at 319-335-7294. There’s also the Johnson County Crisis Center which has a 24-hour hotline, 319-351-0140.