“We Have Closed Our Eyes and Sealed Our Lips”: Black Women’s Accounts of Discussing Suicide within the Black Community

ABSTRACT

Conversing about suicide with an at-risk individual can be enough to save a life. Given the rise of suicidal behavior among African American subgroups (i.e., youth and male), advocates are urging blacks to have candid conversations about the issue. The current study highlights black women’s experiences discussing suicide. Findings suggest that widespread beliefs that suicide is an insignificant issue among blacks make conversing about suicide especially challenging. These findings reveal problematic implications for African Americans contemplating suicide in their communities. Suicide may be a phenomenon for which communal support is less prevalent.

Notes

¹ The researcher informed participants about the suicide trends, but several reported having a general sense that suicide among blacks is gradually becoming a problem due to the highly publicized suicides of well-known blacks and appeals from black media sources calling attention to the issue.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kamesha Spates

Kamesha Spates is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Kent State University. Her areas of specialization include the intersections of race, class, and gender; the African American experience; criminology; and suicidality. Her recent book What Don’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger: Black Women on Suicide uses interviews to uncover reasons for the racial suicide paradox. Some of her other work can be found in the Key Issues in Crime and Punishment series, in Sociology Compass, and in the Journal of Pan African Studies.