Psychologist cites Civil Rights assassinations as cause of African American grief, social ills

 

Chicago, IL – The failure to grieve the assassinated leaders of the civil rights era has caused the African American community to self-destruct, so says Dr. Eddie Taylor, author of the newly released Restoring the Mind of Black Americaand Director of Clinical and Social Services, St. Leo Residence for Veterans in Chicago. According to Dr. Taylor, an important function of psychotherapy is to help people mourn.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers were the most influential of the civil rights leaders, so their loss induced the most pain. In its quest to integrate into mainstream society, the community made the tragic mistake of burying the pain instead of working through it. This mistake resulted in a downward spiral of poverty, substance abuse, academic failure, and violence that has continued unabated since the end of the civil rights era. Psychological healing of the communitymust take place first before social conditions can improve.

 

Mental Health Crisis

Despite being only 12 percent of the population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that African Americans represent more than 25 percent of the nation’s mental health needs. For example, over the past 30 years, Black male suicide rates have increased more than 200 percent. Depression among Black women is 50 percent higher than White women. Yet because of the stigma and high costs associated with psychotherapy, less than half of African American adults with mental illness seek help (Black Mental Health Alliance).

 

To better understand how the assassinations have impacted the community’s mental health, Dr. Taylor interviewed eight African American activists. Through his skilled questioning, the interviewees reveal their own unresolved feelings of anger and grief over the loss of the leaders.

 

Dr. Taylor’s interviews, research, and clinical experience led him to conclude that “unresolved emotional defenses have virtually halted the social gains that were initiated by King, Malcolm, the Panthers, and others.”

 

However, proper mourning will help facilitate psychological healing. “There is no shame in getting help when you need it, and psychotherapy has much to offer the community. Indeed, the need is quite urgent.”

 

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