Episode 17: Black Men, Mental Health, Trauma and Resilience, Part 1

On May 25 of this year, George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police in South Minneapolis. The protests and ensuing unrest shined a local spotlight on the trauma of police brutality that Black people have endured for far too long and of which Black men have been the primary target.
Black men have endured the multigenerational effects of slavery, lynching, family separation, Jim Crow, poverty, mass incarceration and systemic oppression. The relentless threat to Black bodies - especially Black male bodies - takes its toll on Black men’s physical and mental health, leading to higher rates of suicide, disease and homicide. The life expectancy for Black men in America is 71.9 years, while White men, on average, live 76.4 years.
At the same time, the topic of mental illness, mental health and trauma has been taboo in the Black community. Pleasant Radford, Jr., formerly of the Center for Prevention and now Health Equity Officer at UCare, facilitated this barber-shop style discussion with four Black Minnesota men to talk about mental health, racial trauma and the importance of talking about these issues.
Many thanks to Pleasant Radford, Cedrick Frazier, Vernon Rowland, Sam Simmons and Jalen Travis for their contributions to this special two-part episode.