The Chronicle
FORUM
Suicide up among blacks
Henrie
Treadwell
Guest
Columnist
c Not long ago, the words
"suicide" and "African
Americans" were almost never
mentioned in the same breath
Despite confronting challenges
from slavery to Jim Crow to
structural racism, blacks rarely
took their own lives. It was a
positive health disparity. Until
now.
There is alarming evidence
that the suicide rate for young
African-American men is esca
lating, and just as much evi
dence that America's health-care
system is ill-equipped to curb it.
Ur. Liaire Xanthos. a health
services research specialist,,
recently wrote a policy paper
citing studies showing that from
1980 to 1995. the suicide rate
for black adolescents rose from
5.6 to per 100,000 of the popula
tion. Put in starker terms: this
doubling of the suicide rate for
young black males has made it
the third-leading cause of death
among that demographic group.
Clearly, it is a complex prob
lem that is directly related to life
experiences of young African
American males in America.
While the suicide rate for young
black men has risen, the suicide
rate for black women remains
among the lowest of any demo
graphic group.
So why are our young black
men killing themselves?
Dr. Xanthos concludes there
are many factors, and among
them are the race-related chal
lenges that these youths face.
The data show that they go to
jail, drop out of school and
become victims of crime at rates
far higher than their white coun
terparts. Moreover, young black
males are more likely than not to
live in a family environment that
is less than ideal; roughly 70
percent of African Americans
live in single-parent homes.
The combination of family
stress, violence in their commu
nities, and the stigma and dis
crimination they face is taking a
toll on young black males. Some
mental health specialists, such
as Dr. Alvin Poussaint. argue
that "death by cop" incidents
should be counted as suicide.
These are occasions when black
youths are despondent and won't
commit suicide, but purposely
break the law so someone else
will kill them.
mow many young men who
put themselves in situations
where it's very likely that they're
going to get shot to death are
actually committing suicide?"
asked Dr. Poussaint in a recent
interview on National Public
Radio. "There is such a thing as
what wa call victim-precipitated
homicide, which is suicide. The
most classic example would be
suicide by cop, which you read
about in the newspaper from
time to time, where people
wanted to be shot to be killed
because they were suicidal, but
they didn't want to do it them
selves... because there's still a
stigma attached to committing
suicide, so they'd rather have
someone else kill them or have
it seem like an accident."
This rising suicide tide can
impact middle-class black
teenagers in white suburbs, as
well as those in inner-city neigh
borhoods. In fact. Dr. Xanthos
argues that black youths living
in white communities often face
the trauma of not relating to
their white neighbors and also
feeling estranged from blacks
from poorer, urban settings.
Certainly, the death of James
Dungy, the 18-year-old son of
Indianapolis Colts coach Tony
Dungy, underscored that suicide
can strike the rich and poor.
Whats clear is that black
communities, healthcare profes
sionals and public health offi
cials must mobilize to meet the
challenges presented by this
problem.
The stigma towards mental
illness in the black communities
is so taboo that obvious signs
that someone has a problem are
frequently ignored, even by
close family members and
friends. The first step must come
from parents and friends recog
nizing the behavior patterns that
indicate someone has a problem,
and then working to get help for
that person.
There is also a crucial role to
be played by public health pro
grams, such as Medicaid, which
must make it easier for young
black men to receive counseling
and treatments.
But once these teens get to
treatment facilities another
problem develops: the lack of
black therapists, counselors and
psychiatrists. According to data,
blacks are about four percent of
the nation's psychiatrists, three
percent of the psychologists and
seven percent of social workers.
It's imperative that more African
Americans be trained for those
positions. The problems weigh
ing on many black youths are
created by racism and the fami
ly, educational and urban ten
sions that they face in everyday
life.. In these instances, an
African-American counselor or
physician who may be more
likely to grasp the situation ^
needed to provide assistance.
Dr. Xanthos also raises the
need for more "bicultural" train
ing for young black males. Or
put another way, it is learning to
survive in a white society. Such
training would better prepare
black youths for integration into
schools and workplaces that are
predominantly white, while also
preparing black youths to con
front and overcome the discrim
ination they are likely to face in
American society.
This problem can no longer
be ignored. It must be faced in
our homes, our communities
and by public officials in
schools and health facilities
The reality is that young
black males face some of the
biggest hurdles in our society,
and if they are going succeed w e
all must do a better job of iden
tifying people with problems '
and facilitating the treatment
that can put them on a success
ful path.
Dr. Henrie M. Treadwell.
associate director of
Development at the National
Center for Primary Care of
Morehouse School of Medicine,
is also director of Community'
Voices.
America lacks cultural preparedness
Russell
Honore
Guest
Columnist
America needs a culture of
preparedness. We are seeing that
more state governments are
struggling in response to recent
disasters. Recent Red Cross data
shows that for every dollar spent
on preparedness, it saves six to
nine dollars during disaster
response and recovery. As many
have seen, disasters cause
drama, drama for state govern
ments especially when plans
don't execute or the storm
trumps the states capability to
deal with the disaster response.
"Blame the Federal govern
ment and FEMA," that is the
get-out-of-jail-free card that the
state governments have. We can
do better, this America and one
solution is to transform state
government.
First and foremost, we have
to optimize technology. We need
to issue disaster assistance cards
which can easily be activated
and provide financial assistance
to those who need it. Secondly,
all state employees should be
trained to register folks for relief
following a disaster, which cur
rently few states are trained to
execute when needed. Officials
also need to be mindful to pre
position food water and tarps in
communities, as well as use
local businesses to serve as a
large part of the area's disaster
response. Each area affected
should have assistance locations
and they should be well-marked.
They shouldn't block major
roads and supplies should be
given to anyone who shows up.
no matter what county they are
from.
Cities should utilize
resources and use local busi
nesses as an integral part of the
disaster response. Businesses
should be aware of response
logistics and local governments
should have pre-arranged con
tracts with local businesses to
provide emergency goods and
services. One idea would be to
have local businesses provide
? hot meals at fixed prices -
approximately 8 dollars each.
Officials should also think of
the residents in disaster areas as
resources as well. School sys
tems in each state should inte
grate disaster preparedness and
first aid into its curriculum and
every college graduate should
be first aid certified. We need to
involve the members of our
communities, where we can cre
ate a civilian response corp in
each community. I like to call
them "men of consequence" -
those who volunteer their time
and talent to create resilient
communities. These volunteers
would be prepared and trained
to clear debris from roads and
help shore up levees. They
would be taught how to operate
distribution points and help
evacuate communities.
A very important point that 1
must make is that local officials
must assure that residents in our
communities have power. It is
imperative that various laws are
passed that will require gas sta
tions and drug/grocery stores to
have generators. When cities
lose electrical power, our quali
ty of life regresses back 80 years
- people have no television, no
running water or working sewer,
no Internet or cell phones.
Facilities such as hospitals,
courthouses and emergency
response stations should have
mandatory generators on the
2nd floor in order to protect the
power source. As we saw during
Hurricane Katrina. many City of
New Orleans public buildings
did have generators - but unfor
tunately they were in the base
ment or at ground level which
did not serve them in the disas
ter.
o
Lastly, officials need to
improve evacuation contra flow.
We need full use of interstate
highways. The federal govern
ment owns the flow on the inter
state but during hurricane
Gustav. unfortunately, we saw
city, state and county officials
blocking traffic on interstate
highways. This policy needs to
be reviewed and the act of sur
rounding states rerouting traffic
to protect the flow of tourist
traffic to local resorts is unac
ceptable. Going 40 miles in 12
hours is another disaster in the
making.
We need to create a culture
of preparedness in America. Our
forefathers knew how to take
care of themselves, their fami
lies, and the communities in
which they lived. As citizens,
we need to be prepared to do
that same - we can not wait on
the federal government to do it
for us. For more information, go
to www. CNN.com.
Retired Lieutenant General
Russel Honore serves as
Emergency Preparedness con
tributor to CNN Worldwide.
Before retiring, he commanded
Joint Task Force, where he led
the Department of Defense
response to Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita in Alabama.
Mississippi and Louisiana .
ELLISON
Eric S Ellison
Attorney At it*
? Residential
Real Estate
? Traffic Offenses
? Child Support
? Divorces
? Misdemeanor
Criminal Law
1 J 2 North Marshall Street
Winston- Saleni. NC 27101
(Just North of 1st Street)
Plume (336) 723-7370
Fax: (336) 723 7372
elli sonlawfti carthlink.net
"Dedicated To Providing You The Best Service."
Eric J. Sadler, DDS
WE WELCOME
NEW PATIENTS
Our office provides the following *rvkcs:
? Heaping* ? Whitenings ? i afang* ?(. rowns<& Brdje*
* f .-jutJs ? Kuimi & < ompkrte Ikntutti ? Deniai Implant*
Wr acecpt Hum insurance
Saturdav appointments available
(336) 744-1300
e-mail c*adlc r#t r lad . rr.com
3801 Indiana Avcnut
VV insion-Salt in, NC 2710")
| Ar^oi^^aren^oncerne^bou^ou^hilTsTutur^
Refresher Academici
(^Ministry
For 2nd & 3rd Gradere
Mon, Tues, Thura 5:00 PM-0:3O PM
"Passionate Teachers Equipping Children for The End of Grade (EOGJTeet'
Seeei on Starts on September d, 2006
Affordable Pricing
3eu\ah Baptist- Church
1325 N Trade St, Wlne-ton-SjHam, NC 27105
336-703-1 755
I. Br?c? Ford, fj?tor
S. Wayne Patterson
VUornt'N M I aw and ( irlitud \ I ?K Mediator
?Immigration 'Social Security -Civil Rights
?EEOC Claims ?Non-Profit/50Jc(3)
?Employment Discrimination
235 Pcachtrec St. 8 West Third Strcct|
Suite 400 Suite 220 i
Atlanta, GA 30303 Winston-Salem, NC 27101
1 -877-S WP-4LAW
or local number
(336) 714-8858
HHH swa\neputlerson4law. com I
Donald R. Bun
BANKRUPTCY
Legal Help For Your Debt Problems
DONALD R. BUIE,
Attorney At Law
www.donaldrbuie.com
Tlw Law Office of
Donald R. Buie Is a
Federally designated
Debt Relief Agency
under Title II United
States Code Section
528(a). We help peo
ple file for bankruptcy
relief under the
bankruptcy code.
' Five Initial Consultation Til 1 IftO
r Slop Kt possession & Foredmurc / / J* 1 J70
8 W. 3rd St, Stc. 100
Rep. Larry Womble
NC House of Representatives
71st District
Tel (336) 784-9373
Fax (336) 784-1626
E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com
Home Address
1 294 Salem Lake Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27107
Jessie Draft & Associates LLC
Jessie Draft/Broker
CRS, GRI, REALTOR
RNJDRAFT@MSN.COM
3750 Beeson Dairy Rd
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
(336) 403-1254 Business
(336) 748-0871 Fax
MULTIMILLION DOLLAR PRODUCER
? 1
Tbc Chronicle,
(he Choicc for
AfrkaD-Amerkan News, ia located at
?17 N. Liberty Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336-722-8624
Fax * 336-723-9173
news@wschroniclexom
www . wschroniclexom
The Chronkle was established by
Ernest Pitt and
NdubM Kgemonye in 1974, and is
published every Thursday hy
? Winston-Salem Chronicle
Publishing Co., Inc.
The Chronicle is a proud member of :
National Newspapers Publishers
Association ?
North Carolina Press Association ?
North Carolina Black Publishers
Association ? Inland Press Association
The
Chronicle
Home Delivery Subscription Order
o YES, Please send me The Chronicle o 2 years $40
. A o I year: $30.72
o 6 months: $20.48
c to
O VISA
O Mastercard
0 American Express
0 Check enclosed
^ FxptrMmn Dtffc
Send to The Chronicle, P.O. Bo* 1636, Winston-Sakm. NC 27102
?.v<v
y/'
O Please bill me
Hu<iitru Office ?JJrt42S, ext IK) Pavlrttp Mooti
Bminea Office 72)S42t, ext. Ill And?f? Mosps
Has anyone ever called you crazy?
What if you moved to another country
to live with people you didnt know?
What il ydu went to improve their lives,
and in the process, improved yours
Would that be crazy?
Peace Corp?
LitaKcailing
How tar will you go?
800 4?4 8580 | peececorpf.gov