Black History Month: A Time not Just for Reflection, but for Action.

By Tiffany L. Mayers, MSW, LCSW

“Black History Month should provide an opportunity not only to showcase Black success, but also to discuss Black history and hold ourselves accountable for improving systems that maintain the social injustices visited upon Black people.”

Lately, when I think of Black History Month, it signifies an opportunity to highlight many of the great accomplishments bestowed upon society that have come out of the Black community. These accomplishments usually include the acknowledgement of various “firsts” such as the first to break a record, the first to win an award, the first to hold a position, etc. However, I find this sole approach to celebrating

Black History Month to be counterproductive if we as a community still need to continue fighting to be “first” every year. This approach is essentially our attempt at fighting to be seen, valued, included, and recognized for the greatness we’ve always contributed to the world, and can come across as an appeasing tactic. On the contrary, to me, Black History Month should provide an opportunity not only to showcase Black success, but

Black people have been plagued with a number of challenges since the days of slavery, and are still experiencing the negative impact and ramifications of slavery, even in today’s society. As such, 20 years ago when I joined the social work field, I knew I had a great feat ahead of me if I wanted to help Black children and families. Moreover, as a Black woman, I knew then--and know even more so now--that my community needs my unwavering and boisterous advocacy, my expertise as a clinician, and more importantly, we in the Black community deserve proper healing in order to strengthen our overall mental health and well-being. But, how can we break the mental health silence within the Black community if we do not adequately address how we arrived here? Also, how can we as social workers, Black or otherwise, work with a population of people that require help, but often feel devalued, underrepresented, and irrelevant in today’s world?

My first thoughts include Dr. Joy DeGruy’s book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: American’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing , where she reiterates the meaning of Sankofa: “We must return and claim our past in order to move toward our future. It is understanding who we were that will free us to embrace who we now are” (DeGruy, 2005, p. 20). These words are impactful because in order to break the silence, there must be an understanding of the historical context that contributed to where we Black Americans are now. Jim Crow laws and the dehumanization of Black people, during and after the slavery era, cultivated a lack of trust within the Black community toward their white counterparts, and ultimately toward systems that were created—arguably without Black people in mind. These systems include our mental health care system.

This lack of trust in the established mental health system has permeated through generations of Black families and has led to an overwhelming experience of mental health challenges in Black families that have either gone unaddressed or have been inefficiently handled. For example, in many Black families, when an identified mental health issue arises, it is often swept under the rug and rarely openly and honestly addressed by members of the family. These families will go to the extent of “covering up” for particular loved one’s behaviors by dismissing their actions. Additionally, many Black families believe prayer will heal all and, as such, buy into the thought process of “praying away” mental health challenges. Historically, this foundation of faith and worship stems from slavery; the Black community leans heavily on these beliefs to get them through tough times, but this behavior has proven to be debilitating.

As a result, the negative impact of untreated mental health issues will continue to plague the Black community and prolong the reluctance to seek mental health care, unless and until we address this issue in a straightforward manner and begin changing the narrative surrounding the conversation of mental health and mental illness in Black communities. Racism and other injustices are destructive to one’s psychological well-being, compounded by the intergenerational trauma experienced by Black families. We can use platforms like Black History Month and Social Work Month to foster opportunities to bridge the gap between people in need and those of us in the field, in order to help break the silence within the Black community about mental health issues. Together, we can increase mental health awareness and the utilization of mental health services for Black people in need. While leaning on faith can be seen as a strong support for many Black families, faith is not the only approach, and truth be told, faith alone is not enough to overcome and sustain the varied nuances that mental health and mental illness present.

So, as we prepare to continue providing services to Black children and adults, whether on a macro or micro level, here are four simple tips that I suggest all social workers keep in mind when working within the Black community:

1. Your client’s story is unique and should be treated as such because the Black community is not a monolithic group.

There are varied cultural layers that must be identified, understood, and valued;

2. Being educated about the plight of the Black community and its uniqueness will best prepare social workers for tough conversations and provide them with a clearer understanding of how professionals should work with Black clients;

3. We need to normalize conversations about mental health in the Black community by using simple approaches to destigmatize the practice of therapy. You never know who you are indirectly encouraging to reach out for help; and

4. Being knowledgeable about the various community resources relevant to Black client’s needs will create a sense of trust and provide a level of comfort to those in need of help.

About the Author:

Tiffany L. Mayers, MSW, LCSW is an administrative director, mental health clinician, and advocate where she focuses on eradicating stigma and improving the well-being of children and families experiencing mental health challenges, especially within the Black community. Ms. Mayers is also a consultant with NAMI NJ’s African American Outreach program, AACT-NOW, as the Central Regional Coordinator. Additionally, Tiffany is the owner of Mental Health T Enterprises and can be followed on social media @MentalHealthT.

We are extremely excited to welcome social workers from across New Jersey and beyond back to Atlantic City for our first in-person Annual Conference since 2019! We’re returning to our 3-day conference format to provide you the opportunity to reconnect in-person with friends and colleagues while attending unique and forward-thinking learning sessions. You’ll have the opportunity to earn up to 23.5 credits, including in person and On Demand classes

Our work as social workers often calls us to moments of crisis and places our focus on taking steps to address immediate and critical needs at hand. However, many crisis points also create opportunities for reflection, change and growth for instance the renewed focus and

HOW THIS YEAR’S

growth of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd This year's Annual Conference theme, “Historical Moments & Social Movements: Responding Clinically and Advocating Collectively,” asks us to consider how we can leverage key moments both with our clients and in the broader society to create significant movement towards change

We hope most of you will join us in Atlantic City as we return to an in-person conference format However, for those unable to attend inperson, we’ll also have a limited virtual Conference option providing 8.5 CEUs and allowing you to livestream the conference Keynote and select Plenary sessions. See page 19 for more information.