Suicide Among The Leading Causes Of Death For African-American Men

globalhiphop recently learned of a study that shows suicide as the third leading cause of death for African-American men. Suicide has long been taboo in the black community, and this issue hasn’t received much attention in the media so we wanted to turn over this topic to Globalhiphop readers. For more on this subject

There long has been a belief in the community that black men are too “macho” to take their own lives and that black woman are too strong and resilient to crack under pressure. But, a number of studies indicate that suicide is a growing problem in the black community. For example, according to information disseminated by the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), in 2006, suicide was the third leading cause of death among African American youth ages 10 through 19 after homicides and accidents. Citing statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide (NOPCAS), AAS pointed out that in 2006, 1,954 African Americans committed suicide in the U.S.—1,669 of them were male.

It almost goes without saying that African-American men face challenges and pressures that are pretty unique. What are some of the reasons African-American men might think suicide is a solution to their problems? Why do you think African American men commit suicide at a higher rate than African-American women? What are some ways we can prevent these senseless deaths? Why hasn’t more attention been dedicated to this problem in the past? Please discuss!

 

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