Kathryn Sears
By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer
There has been increased focus on mental health of late. As I continue my special series, “Head Space: Exploring the Mental Health Needs of Today’s Black Men,” I’m sharing a few things that I’ve seen and heard.
Community advocate Conrad Crump took to social media recently with a subtle but not subtle message to other Black men, encouraging them to take their mental health seriously. Crump shared photos of himself rocking a white hoodie with the words, “Go To Therapy” emblazoned on the front. “It’s a way to encourage Black men to seek therapy,” Crump tells The OBSERVER. “As a result of childhood and generational trauma, various forms of therapy are necessary for us to heal. A lot of times we as Black men don’t have anybody to talk to about our issues. Therapy helps to reduce stress and find ways to manage our challenges and emotions.”
Ballots from the March 5 election are still being counted and while Prop. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $6.4 billion bond to address mental health and homelessness is leaning toward passage, it’s too close to call. The narrow lead has prompted Gov. Newsom to call for rejected ballots to be corrected and counted. Proponents have their fingers crossed that uncounted votes will swing their way, maintaining that the bond will mean money will be taken from existing mental health programs.
Hip-hop artists and activists Karega Bailey and Christian Walker brought a large group of Black men together recently for a community fellowship experience specifically for men of color. Held at Solomon’s Vinyl Diner during Black History Month, the event was designed to provide “a healing space to just be while co-investigating the social and emotional dynamics of manhood, brotherhood, and health and wellness in a supportive environment.” The hosts regularly lead similar Black men’s fellowship sessions in Oakland.
Award-winning actress and director Regina King is now talking publicly about losing her only son, Ian Alexander Jr., to suicide on Jan. 19, 2022. King spoke with Robin Roberts of “Good Morning America” last week about the loss of her son, trying to get him help for depression and her feelings of guilt surrounding his choice to end his life. “When it comes to depression, people expect it to look a certain way,” King told Roberts. King is known for her roles on TV’s “227” and movies such as “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” and “Ray.” She stars as Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to run for U.S. president, in a new film due out this month.
Another former child star, Bryan Hearne, is back in the spotlight, sharing his experiences working at Nickelodeon in a new Investigation Discovery docuseries, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.” Hearne, now 35, appeared in the 1990s series “All That” and “On-Air Dare,” and told People magazine that being on the latter was like a “torture chamber.” Hearne, one of only a few Black actors on Nickelodeon at the time, felt like a “token,” says he was made to portray stereotypical Black characters and alleges that he was called a “piece of charcoal.” The actor says he wants to see more mental health support for young people working in the entertainment industry.
This article is part of the Senior Staff Writer Genoa Barrow’s special series, “Head Space: Exploring The Mental Health Needs of Today’s Black Men.” The project is being supported by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism and is part of “Healing California,” a yearlong reporting Ethnic Media Collaborative venture with print, online and broadcast outlets across California. The Sacramento OBSERVER is among the collaborative’s inaugural participants.
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