By: Aaleah Naomi McConnell
Suicide affects many people around the world and is a leading cause of death in the U.S.
A hard subject to tackle, but given that the weather is changing, and the holidays are coming up, many people experience various levels of depression and isolation around this time of year. And at these rates, its safe to say that you or someone close to you has been affected by such a tragedy.
Another sad fact is suicide amongst Black youth has been on the incline in the past decade.
According to the U.S. department of health and human services in 2019, suicide was the second leading cause of death for blacks or African Americans, ages 15 to 24. And in a report published by the suicide prevention and resource center, the number of attempted suicide amongst Black American youth surpassed that of the overall U.S. population.
And though the suicide rate for Black men is four times higher than that of Black women, preteen and adolescent Black girls were 60 percent more likely to attempt suicide than their white counterparts.
And overall, from 1991 to 2017, black youth have experienced an increase in suicide attempts.
In this video, I’ll discuss how suicide impacts Black youth and women, by sharing the stories of individuals whose lives have been altered by suicide.