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Corinne Foxx Gets Her Own Category on Beat Shazam and Talks Beating Her Anxiety, Too
Corinne Foxx, daughter of Jamie Foxx, is a pretty face, but she also has a brain; and for mental health awareness month, she’s adamant about talking about “brain health.” In addition to co-hosting Fox’s Beat Shazam, the weekly music series in which two brothers from Philly recently walked with a cool $1 million, Foxx was…
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Taraji P. Henson to Testify Before Congressional Committee on Black Youth Suicide
On the day that her “Can We Talk” Mental Health Conference weekend (June 7-9) is set to kick off in Washington, D.C., actress Taraji P. Henson will testify before the newly formed Congressional Black Caucus Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide. Henson, who has proven herself a fierce mental health advocate, will address the group at…
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Missouri Governor After Seeing Alabama’s Abortion Ban: Hold My Moonshine
The clearly not-so-great-state of Alabama just enacted the most extreme abortion ban since abortion was made legal by Roe v. Wade some 46 years ago. Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the bill that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison. Twenty-five white men (and Kay—surely among the 53 percent of white…
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When Mental Illness Is Your Family Heirloom
You know that scene in My Cousin Vinny where Vinny’s girlfriend, Mona Lisa Vito, played by Marissa Tomei, testifies in court as an “expert witness” on cars? When opposing counsel condescendingly asks how a sweet little lady like herself—a hairdresser, even—could be an authority on automobiles, she replies, “My father was a mechanic. His father…
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America Is Finally Facing the Fact that Solitary Confinement Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The research is in—in fact, the facts on solitary confinement have been known for years—but finally, we seem to have reached a tipping point for ending this well-studied, torturous practice in American jails and prisons. In New York, there is currently a bill before the upper house, the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, which would prohibit…
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As Part of Statewide Reform, New York Graciously Grants Inmates in Solitary One Call Per Week
In a move to lessen what experts have deemed the “cruel and unusual punishment” of solitary confinement—which also has been likened to torture—a new bill in New York state guarantees that those sent to segregated units will have access to a phone within 24 hours of isolation, and that they can have contact with the…
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Suicides Among Black Children Are at Crisis Levels. The Congressional Black Caucus Aims to Do Something About It
The rise in the suicide rate for black children ages 5 to 12 is an overlooked national emergency, according to a panel convened by the Congressional Black Caucus on the eve of Mental Health Awareness Month. Chaired by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), the CBC Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health brought…
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The Semicolon: How a Seemingly Obscure Tattoo Signifies Survival and Solidarity
In 2013, 27-year-old Amy Bleuel began a mental health advocacy organization dubbed “Project Semicolon” to bring awareness to suicide, depression, addiction and self-injury. Bleuel, who had lost her father to suicide 10 years earlier, died by suicide at the age of 31. The campaign, however, remains strong, inspiring others to take an active role in…
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In the Sunshine: The Root Tackles Mental Health in May
Today, May 1, marks May Day, the day that we pay homage to the workers of the world, and it also marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Month. Here at The Root, we take Mental Health seriously, and we aim to give our readership not only stories they can relate to, but which give…
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Broadway’s Ain’t Too Proud Is a Rousing, Joyful Nod to Black American Life and Legacy
I have had the good fortune to have seen many a Broadway play (also quite a few off-Broadway, for that matter). But only a very few over the years have stayed with me—a short list would include Fela! The Mountaintop. Choir Boy. The House That Will Not Stand. Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar. The new Broadway musical Ain’t…
