ACTOR AND PITTSBURGH NATIVE LAMMAN RUCKER (FILE PHOTO)
It’s time for Black men to have the conversation.
Even if they don’t think it’s the “manly” thing to do.
Even if, historically in the Black community, it’s been “frowned upon.”
That’s what the “Just Heal, Bro” tour was all about. The tour stopped in more than 30 cities over the past two years, and for celebrity actor and performer Lamman Rucker, he couldn’t finish the tour without coming back to his native town, Pittsburgh. Rucker teamed up with a number of African American men, including author, speaker and licensed therapist Jay Barnett and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, to provide an open forum for Black men in Pittsburgh to know that it’s OK to visit a licensed therapist and speak on current and past traumas.
The forum was held, June 20, at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, Downtown.
PITTSBURGH NATIVE AND ACTOR LAMMAN RUCKER, FAR RIGHT, DURING A FORUM ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BLACK MEN AND THEIR MENTAL HEALTH, JUNE 20, AT PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
The statistics are alarming; While 40 percent of Whites seek mental health care, just 25 percent of African Americans do. Data brought to the forum by the “Just Heal, Bro” tour producers also read that African American adults are 20 percent more likely to experience mental health issues than the rest of the population, and that suicide has doubled over the past few years for African American men. These days, Black men die from suicide at four times the rate of Black women.
Rucker, 52, who attended Manchester Elementary School for a time before his family left Pittsburgh, said that early in his youth, he discovered that his love for the arts and theater “and being in that space really helped me to express what was going on with me emotionally, spiritually, and mentally.”
As other men in the audience shared ways that they were feeling to Rucker and others on the panel, part of the “safe space” that Rucker and the panelists created meant that personal stories being shared wouldn’t leave the room. But in public interviews to the media before and following the event, Rucker said overall, these safe spaces are needed throughout Pittsburgh and the country for Black men…and teens.
“We believe that this needs to be a multi-generational conversation,” Rucker told KDKA-TV’s Lisa Smith on June 16. “We want to normalize therapy, not only for our fathers and grandfathers to have access to this, but we want our sons and nephews and grandsons to also have access. They need to see that this is an example of what healthy manhood looks like. This is an example of having a healthy heart, a healthy emotional relationship with yourself and even healthy relationships with other men looks like…this is what fatherhood looks like, this is what brotherhood looks like, this is what self-awareness looks like.”
Suicide is particularly affecting Black kids. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that from 2007 to 2020, the suicide rate for Black kids 10 to 17 years old rose 144 percent, and in 2022, the suicide rate for African Americans ages 10 to 19 surpassed that of Whites of the same age.
“We want men to know you always matter, you also have value, you’re important every day, and being a father is an everyday thing,” Rucker continued on KDKA-TV. “Sometimes it can be a thankless job, but more than anything, I believe it’s incredibly and unmistakably the most important job.”
When Black men get help via therapy, they get better. When they get better, they can help their children get better.
Gordon Manker was one of the men who attended the forum, Downtown. He said he’s not alone when it comes to “holding things in” when issues in his life arise.
“The one thing I want to do is connect with more Black men, that we can have a nice collaborative, that we can be real with each other, that we don’t have to worry about any of the challenges or people talking about it…we can just share it and let it go,” Manker told the New Pittsburgh Courier.
Depression affects some 17 million people in the U.S. But for Black men, it hits different. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities reported that men who are depressed may be more likely to be very tired, feel irritable and have difficulty sleeping. This leads men, particularly African American men, to fall into drug or alcohol use, homelessness, incarceration, homicide and suicide if the depression isn’t treated.
Thankfully, the tide is turning—albeit slowly—when it comes to Black men attending therapy sessions. Most experts believe the number is trending up, but the exact data on how many more Black men are finally seeking professional help is unknown. What is known is that Black men prefer to speak with other Black men who are licensed therapists, but those are few and far between. The American Psychologists Association reported only four percent of licensed therapists in the U.S. are African American, and of those four percent, likely less than half are men.
PITTSBURGH MAYOR ED GAINEY, LAMMAN RUCKER, JAY BARNETT
Gainey, the Pittsburgh mayor, told reporters following the forum that it’s “critical” for Black men to have conversations and not just hold things in. “At the end of the day, African American men go through a whole lot, all you have to do is look at the statistics,” he said.
Mayor Gainey said he does a lot of exercising and meditation to deal with his daily issues. “I reflect and ponder on things that happened throughout the day, how I could have responded…what happened that triggered me and made me act a certain way. The more I understand my triggers, the more I can can understand when the situation happens again. We all have triggers…but I always tell myself, I don’t want to grow old, I want to grow up, and in order to grow up, I have to ensure the next time (something) happens, I respond differently so I can demonstrate my maturity.”
Mayor Gainey said that for Black men, including the Black men who may look up to him, his message is simple: “It’s OK to seek help. More importantly, it’s OK to be healed. There is nothing wrong with getting healed, it’s the best gift you can give you.”
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