Banned Books - Implications for Recovery in African American Communities

There was a great deal of backlash after Barack Obama became the first African American President of the United States. Gun sales and hate groups increased along with an increase in hate crimes. Some experts believe that this current book ban is another attempt to erase the contributions of African Americans on U.S. society and the success we have achieved from future generations of children living in the country.

A lack of awareness of Black history and our contributions to the success of this country can lead to stereotyping, divisions between people, discrimination, and hate. What are the implications of banned books for the addictions profession? Research by the Annapolis Coalition reveals that in the future counselors will be younger, whiter, and female and clients will be younger, darker and male. Books can provide knowledge which reduce stereotypes and help build therapeutic bridges rather than therapeutic walls in cross cultural substance use disorders counseling. 

Reading has always been a liberating force and recovery tool for African Americans. Frederick Douglass was the first prominent American Recovering Alcoholic. When Douglass was a youth, the slave holder’s wife was teaching him to read. The slave’s holder said to his wife, “If you teach him to read, it will be impossible to keep him a slave.”

Thousands of African Americans initiated recovery after reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X and becoming inspired by Malcolm's recovery journey as described in the book. The recovery story of Afeni Shakur, mother of rapper Tupac Shakur, is discussed in her biography Afeni Shakur: The Evolution of a Revolutionary. This book should be read by every African American woman seeking recovery.

This online museum offers numerous books and articles to help counselors work more effectively with African American Clients with substance use disorders.

 Click here to view counseling articles       Free Scholarly Articles — Online Museum of African American Addictions, Treatment and Recovery

Click here for a list of biographies, autobiographies and memoirs   Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs — Online Museum of African American Addictions, Treatment and Recovery

Happy Black History Month

African American History: A Substance Abuse Prevention and Recovery Tool

Each February we celebrate African American History month. We have learned that as culture disappears and is taken away addiction dramatically increases. Culture is what people rely on during times of stress or duress. Consider the increase of drinking among recent immigrants to the United States and the proliferation of alcoholism among Native American Tribes when they were stripped of their culture and not allowed to practice their religion due to U.S. Government legislation. With a return to culture Native Americans are achieving the highest recovery rates in the world.

This month we celebrate the recovery legacy of Frederick Douglass, the first prominent American recovering alcoholic and leader of the Black Temperance Movement (Click her to read his recovery story). Each month we celebrate the recovery story of African Americans from all walks of life. (Click here to view recovery stories of the month). Happy African American History Month!