A Tragic Loss that Shattered a Myth
Last summer, my family suffered the tragic loss of one of its youngest members. My niece died by suicide just over a month after her 16th birthday. Her untimely death has left many unanswered questions and unresolved grief.
It has also been the catalyst for my efforts to raise awareness of the mental health needs of Black youth and to break the silence around the prevalence of suicide in the Black community. The pervasive myth that Black boys and girls don’t die by suicide must be eradicated to ensure Black youth receive the mental health attention they deserve, which can ultimately save lives.
Addressing youth suicide in Black communities requires Ubuntu-centered culturally responsive approaches that push past the silence and foster collective healing.
A Crisis Too Troubling to Ignore
Black youth today are facing a mental health crisis that is too troubling to be ignored. Concerns about rising suicide rates among youth in the United States have existed for many years, but only recently have the experiences of Black youth come into focus, receiving national attention (Farzana Akkas & Corr, 2024). For example, in the past 25 years, suicide attempts reported by Black youth have surged by 73%, and in 2021, suicide was the third leading cause of death for this group (Mental Health America, 2025).
A closer look at the rise in suicide rates is alarming in that, in just three years (2018- 2021), suicide rates among Black youth ages 10–24 rose by 36 percent (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2024).
Furthermore, the notion that Black youth are somehow shielded from the negative impacts of life’s challenges is a myth that also deserves further scrutiny. These statistics underscore the need to close research gaps on suicide among Black youth and emphasize the urgency of developing culturally effective solutions to stop this epidemic.
Silence, Stigma, and Cultural Grief
In many Black families, openly discussing mental health challenges is neither encouraged nor welcomed. Within Black culture, stoicism operates as a survival mechanism, reinforcing silence around experiencing emotional suffering as individuals and as a community. Consequently, openly sharing feelings of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thinking may feel isolating and stigmatizing (Degge et al., 2025).
Education about the risks and signs of psychological distress and how Black youth can cultivate mental wellness will go a long way toward dispelling myths about mental health that plague the Black community.
Cultural, religious, and historical factors, including the experiences of slavery across the diaspora, also greatly influence how Black families approach mental health, grief, and wellness. For example, the Five Stages of Black Grief (Despair, Self-Blame, Move to Action, Endurance, and Survival), an emerging framework developed by public health scholar Dr. Stacy Scott, provides an alternative perspective on Black grief experiences compared to those of the dominant culture.
Specifically, the Endurance and Survival stages of the framework describe how Black people cope with grief by enduring emotional pain in isolation, showing strength in not seeking help and in accepting that persevering through loss without adequate support is necessary for survival (Forbes, 2020).
Scott’s framework offers a useful lens to better understand how many Black youth may confront psychological pain and loss. In other words, to avoid being labeled “crazy” within your own family or in your community, it may be easier to live in secrecy with emotional distress than to openly acknowledge the need for mental healthcare. Even when there are trusted individuals you can turn to for support, the risk may feel too great.
This tendency to keep mental pain and grief hidden is also common in discussions about suicide and suicidal thinking. Therefore, understanding how history and culture influence silencing is critical to pinpointing ways to strengthen protective factors among Black youth.
Risk, Resilience, and Realities
Research by Robinson and colleagues identifies key risk factors for suicidal behavior among Black youth, including systemic racism, poverty, stressful encounters with law enforcement, hopelessness, exposure to interpersonal and racialized violence, traumatic events, and weak social connections (Robinson et al., 2021).
They also highlight protective factors that help Black youth thrive despite adversity:
- strong racial identity
- racial pride
- familial and community support
- and culturally centered coping and healing practices
Knowing the risk and protective factors among Black youth is critical for developing effective suicide prevention strategies that center on resilience. Robinson and colleagues recommend that interventions be culturally responsive, confront systemic racism, address intergenerational trauma, and be developed collaboratively with Black youth (Robinson et al., 2021).
Ubuntu as a Pathway to Collective Healing and Resilience
Collective healing in Black communities is an aspirational north star. It is imperative that Black youth receive the attention, support, and resources needed to address issues that can harm their mental well-being. Achieving this requires interventions at the individual, familial, community, and societal levels, which are vital pathways to confront the suicide crisis affecting Black youth.
One promising approach is grounding mental wellness programs in the African philosophy of Ubuntu—“I am because we are.” Ubuntu means humanity and emphasizes (Ajitoni, 2024):
- humanity as realized through relationships
- the inherent dignity and value of each person
- mutual respect and collective responsibility
- communal bonds and reciprocal relationships
- self-respect and self-worth
- compassion and empathy
- restorative justice and reconciliation
Because Ubuntu operates across six levels: the individual, the family, the community, the society, the environment, and the spiritual (Mugumbate & Chereni, 2020), Ubuntu-based approaches can help move Black youth from isolation to connection, from silence about their suffering to shared healing. For instance, living these principles challenges us to regard self-care and wellness as a community responsibility rather than just an individual one.
Cultivating the spirit of Ubuntu normalizes discussions of mental health within Black families and communities, encourages seeking help from trusted community members, and supports integrating one’s culture and spirituality with evidence-based mental health care. Some examples of this include culturally focused peer support groups available to youth in school and community settings, therapeutic counseling that emphasizes individual and cultural strengths, Afrocentric values, and family-centered psychoeducation, and Black family mental wellness community events that promote storytelling, healing circles, and mental health literacy.
Ubuntu is a powerful, culturally responsive approach for those in crisis. Beyond mental health services, Ubuntu can transform educational systems, inform environmental justice efforts, and address common global challenges (Ajitoni, 2024).
Moving from Silence to Action
Moving from silence to action is crucial for addressing the mental health crisis impacting Black youth today. Confronting the myths, stigmas, generational traumas, and unhelpful coping strategies that reinforce silence and isolation is essential for moving beyond survival toward strategy. Black youth experiencing emotional distress deserve immediate attention and community-based support through culturally tailored programs that embody principles of Ubuntu.
Black youth mental wellness is an all-hands-on-deck situation. It requires that mental health practitioners, advocates, policy makers, community leaders, and others do their part to promote the psychological health of all Black youth. Ensuring they have access to the information, tools, and resources needed to promote health and well‑being is critical not only for their long‑term resilience but also for Black families and communities to thrive. The traumatic ripple effect of suicide extends far beyond one individual, one family, or one community, reminding us that it takes everyone—and every voice—to get involved.
References
Ajitoni, B. D. (2024). Ubuntu and the philosophy of community in African thought: An exploration of collective identity and social harmony. Acjol.org. https://acjol.org/index.php/jassd/article/view/5672/5496
Degge, H. M., Masamha, R., Daniels, A., & Onukwugha, F. (2025). Stigma, Silence and Strength: A Co-produced Inquiry into Mental Health Conversations in Black African Communities in the UK. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-025-02669-2
Farzana Akkas, & Corr, A. (2024, April 22). Black Adolescent Suicide Rate Reveals Urgent Need to Address Mental Health Care Barriers. Pew.org; The Pew Charitable Trusts. https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2024/04/22/black-adolescent-suicide-rate-reveals-urgent-need-to-address-mental-health-care-barriers
Forbes, C. (2020, July 7). Blog: How Do We Address Black Grief, Compounded by Centuries of Racism, Loss, and Trauma? | Baby 1st Network. Www.baby1stnetwork.org. https://www.baby1stnetwork.org/news/blog-how-do-we-address-black-grief-compounded-centuries-racism-loss-and-trauma
Mental Health America. (2025, March 5). Quick facts | Mental Health America. Mental Health America. https://mhanational.org/quick-facts/
Mugumbate, J., & Chereni, A. (2020). Now, the theory of Ubuntu has its place in social work. African Journal of Social Work , 10(1). https://www.academia.edu/43504237/NOW_THE_THEORY_OF_UBUNTU_HAS_ITS_SPACE_IN_SOCIAL_WORK_10_ubuntu_frameworks_in_Social_Work_
Photos by Audrey M Jackson and Sacha Verheij on Unsplash
Robinson, W. L., Whipple, C. R., Keenan, K., Flack, C. E., & Wingate, L. (2021). Suicide in African American Adolescents: Understanding Risk by Studying Resilience. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-072220-021819
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA]. (2024). Black Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative. Samhsa.gov. https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/suicidal-behavior/prevention-initiatives/black-youth-suicide
