Over the last few days, I decided to spend some more time finding and compiling some more research material for my project, not only as a means to make connections between my own lived experiences, but also as a way to create an effective third piece of work.

One video I watched was “Mental Health & Being Black: What’s Changed In The 25 Years Since Stephen Lawrence’s Murder?” From this video, I related to the shared experience of the lack of support given to people within the black community in regards to mental health and services provided to aid in the easing of symptoms. Some of the people in attendance recalled how their family members preferred powering through these things instead of discussing them. In addition to that, There is also the presentation of how the stereotypes attached to us as a group of people can affect how we are able to receive help for these issues.

Another video that I watched was “Black Mental Health Isn’t the Same as White Mental Health”  This video stresses the importance of understanding that in order to understand the mental health needs of African Americans has to come from understanding the historical trauma that we have to carry with us every day for the rest of our lives. From systematic disadvantages to the lasting effects and ideals from the slavery era, one’s sense of identity, self esteem and mental well being can be compromised. The most important connection I made from this video was the importance of church in the black community. We as a people have been conditioned from as far back as the slavery era that God is the answer to our problems. As time progressed, this idea was passed down through generations as our elders found church as a more suitable way to solve your internal problems rather than relying on medical professionals, which is understandable due to the several hundred years of being experimented on by said professionals leading to a severe lack of trust within them.  This video was also the source of inspiration for my work below, as I wanted to highlight that one’s faith was being equated to the same level of effectiveness as medication.

The last relevant video I viewed was “Why Does The Mental Health Stigma In The Black Community Persist? | Listen To Black Women” Although this video sort of recaps some points presented in the previous two videos, I found this one to be relevant due to the perspective given by black women. I found it SUPER relatable when they brought up how as women and especially in the case of mothers that we have to put on a facade and go though our days as if nothing is wrong because we have to present ourselves as “strong black women” and pick ourselves back up as that’s how everyone else tends to perceive our way of living. I used this video as inspiration for the work below to show that its okay to express our sense of helplessness as the world around us begins to crumble.