It's Black History Month!

February is Black History Month!

Let’s start with a little history. Black History Month, created by the historian Carter G. Woodson, actually first started as Black History Week and was celebrated during the second week of February. This week was specially chosen because it coincided with Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12th) and Frederick Douglass’ birthday (February 20th) as well. Both dates have been celebrated by Black communities since the late 19th century because of the prominent roles both men played in shaping Black history. Black History Week began as a way of remembering important people and commemorating events in the history of the African diaspora. Over the years, Black History Week eventually turned into Black History Month in February 1969 as a result of a proposal by black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University. The very first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State a year later. Six years later, Black History Month was being celebrated all across the United States after being officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976 during the nation's bicentennial.

Black History Month is mainly meant to give African Americans an awareness and appreciation of their roots and history as well as providing children and the youth with knowledge of their ancestors' role and contribution in the development of their country. According to Professor Sonia Nieto (1992), this nurtures a sense of pride and dignity in African American children and youth as they come to see their ancestors not only as agents of history but as agents who contributed in shaping the history of their nation. This month also serves as an opportunity to educate the macroculture about negative cultural stereotypes and beliefs stemming from the days of slavery. For instance, a 1990 General Social Survey (GSS) showed that 29% of white individuals viewed most Black individuals as “unintelligent” (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000). Negative stereotypes like these, as well as discrimination, can negatively affect the development of a Black child’s self-esteem (Sesay, 1996) and can lead to unfavorable self-evaluations that have harmful effects on psychological well-being (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000).

Growing up as a Black American, I grew up seeing how racial discrimination induced considerable amounts of distress in those around me. Kessler et al. (1999) found that acute discrimination was associated with psychological distress and major depression while everyday discrimination was positively related to generalized anxiety, distress and depression for both Black and white individuals. Some studies have also found that exposure to discrimination in the laboratory setting can lead to cardiovascular (elevated blood pressure levels) and psychological reactivity among Black individuals.

The stigma of racial inferiority also adversely affects the treatment of Black patients in the mental health system (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000). A study done by Gara et al. (2019) found that African Americans with severe depression are more likely to be misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia because clinicians seem to put more emphasis on psychotic symptoms rather than depressive symptoms in African Americans. Even when these patients show similar depressive and manic symptoms as white patients, the diagnoses still shift toward schizophrenia due to the clinician’s conscious or unconscious acceptance of negative stereotypes of Black individuals (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000) and lack of cultural competency.

Black History Month may only be a month long, but professionals and society should work every month of the year to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health for every minority, including African Americans.

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Sources:

• Gara M. A., Minsky S., Silverstein S. M., Miskimen T., Strakowski S. M. (2019). A Naturalistic Study of Racial Disparities in Diagnoses at an Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic. Psychiatric Services, 70(2), 130.

• Kessler, R. C., Mickelson, K. D., & Williams, D. R. (1999). The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States. Journal Of Health and Social Behavior, 208-230.

• Nieto, S. (1992) Affirming diversity: The social-political context of multicultural education. New York: Longman.

• Williams, D. R. & Williams-Morris, R. (2000). Racism and mental health: The African American experience. Ethnicity & health, 5(3-4), 243-268.

• Sesay, A. A. (1996). Black History Month: Its Origins and Significance in our Multicultural Society. The Negro Educational Review, 47(3), 140.

• Ward, E., Wiltshire, J. C., Detry, M. A., & Brown, R. L. (2013). African American men and women's attitude toward mental illness, perceptions of stigma, and preferred coping behaviors. Nursing research, 62(3), 185.