Today we celebrate world mental health day! Immediately I thought about Black/American Americans who have been able to maintain a great deal of mental stability while having endured 250 years of slavery, Jim Crow Laws, lynchings, employment and housing discrimination, mass incarceration, police brutality/murder etc.
With all of this trauma, our rates of mental illness is equivalent to other groups in the U.S. and as it pertains to substance use we continue to rank fourth nationwide. In the midst of all this oppression we have produced astronauts who went to the moon, astrophysicists, Nobel Prize Winners, billionaires, inventors, a president and some of the greatest entertainers the world has ever seen.
How have we achieved all of this and maintained our mental health in the midst of such oppression?
The answer according to Dr. Carl Bell is our protective factors, including:
Spirituality
A strong worship and belief in God.
Extended family orientation-knowing that lots of people love you.
Sunday dinners! Which promotes unity.
Movement and dance! Trauma lodges itself in the body. Movement releases trauma.
Music
Laughter. From the Vaudeville days through, Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx, Ricard Pryor, Wanda Sykes, Dave Chappelle etc. These gifted comedians have helped us get through oppression.
Sports. Which promotes bonding and reduces stress.
Advocacy. Sociologists have pointed out that when tragedies occur such as the murder of George Floyd, the mental health of the entire Black community is affected. Their studies illustrate that advocacy serves as a mental health protective factor.