mental health
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A Black Woman Takes Us Into the Swirl of Bipolar Disorder in New Memoir, I’m Telling the Truth, But I’m Lying
Bassey Ikpi’s I’m Telling The Truth, But I’m Lying, the 43-year-old’s journey into her mental health struggle, is not a traditionally written memoir—neither in its structure nor in its nonchronological narrative. It is poetic, it is revelatory, it is distressing; it is, at times, exhausting. It is a literal entree into the mind of someone…
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Galveston Asks Texas AG to Block Release of Officers’ Body Cam Footage From Day Mentally Ill Black Man Paraded Through Streets
In the latest development in the deeply disturbing incident where Donald Neely was arrested on Aug. 3 for misdemeanor trespassing, the city of Galveston has asked the Texas attorney general’s office if it can stop the release of the officers’ body camera recordings. Also, the so-called “mounted patrol policy” that the city said the two…
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Black Man Walked With Rope by Mounted Police Has Mental Illness, According to Family: ‘They Don’t Care to Know the Whole Story’
Family members of Donald Neely, the 43-year-old homeless man who was handcuffed and led by a rope by two white Galveston, Texas, officers on horseback last weekend, said he has struggled with mental illness for years—and that his condition was well documented. Neely—whose arrest went viral after photos of him walking down the street, flanked…
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YouTube Star Etika Is Found Dead in NYC, Leaving Thousands of Fans in Mourning
YouTube gaming star Etika was pulled lifeless from New York City’s East River days following his disappearance after he posted video that had fans and loved ones concerned for his safety. New York City police on Tuesday announced the death of the 29-year-old Etika, born Desmond Amofah, after having put out a missing persons alert…
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Nigel Shelby’s Mother Says the School System Failed Her Child
Nigel Shelby, the 15-year-old who died by suicide in Alabama after allegedly being bullied for living his truth, was taken from us too soon. Nigel will never know love, heartbreak, or one day meet his chosen family who would affirm him and make him feel like he had a place in this world. Nigel’s death…
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Taraji P. Henson’s Groundbreaking Mental Health Summit Is Sure to Make an Impact on Black America’s Quiet Crisis
What Taraji P. Henson has been able to do with her first Boris L. Henson Foundation benefit and conference last weekend was nothing short of a revelation—and right on time. The Empire star and Oscar-nominated actress is a native Washingtonian and Howard University graduate. So, it was only fitting that her inaugural foundational event, named…
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Philadelphia's First Openly Gay Deputy Sheriff Found Dead of Apparent Suicide
On Friday, Deputy Sheriff Dante Austin was found dead inside the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 27. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the city’s first openly gay deputy sheriff died by suicide, according to findings confirmed by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office. Amber Kee, one of…
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She’s Not Your Superwoman: Miko Branch of Miss Jessie’s Pays Homage to Her Sister Titi on Her 50th Birthday
With over 46 million Americans experiencing mental illness in any given year, it is something which directly or indirectly affects us all. Yet, black women, in particular, often suffer in silence because of shame, stigma or frankly, lack of resources or time to take care of themselves. That black woman muttering to herself on a…
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Taraji P. Henson Wants Us To Change How We Talk About Mental Health
Can we talk for a minute? And no, I’m not trying to know your name. I want to talk about mental health in the black community. Brothas, how y’all feeling? Sisters, y’all alright? In the black community discussing mental health is a privilege. We have a tendency to not call a thing a thing. We…