Recent data shows suicide rates for Black teens, and the causes are not known. Gabriel, 14, talks about how he is perceived in the world and how that affected his mental health.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
This next story discusses suicide, which we need to talk about because suicide rates have gone up. In particular, researchers say suicide rates are rising for Black teenagers. NPR’s Katia Riddle asked a family at a church in Harlem how they would address it.
KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: There’s a story that is told and retold in the Green Dorvil family. It’s about their son, Gabriel, when he was a baby. His parents had taken him to a doctor’s appointment. Here’s his mom, Marchelle.
MARCHELLE GREEN DORVIL: He was getting shots, you know, immunizations, whatever, and he’s probably 16 or 18 months old. And Dr. Price said to us, he’s going to be a giant.
RIDDLE: The doctor also gave Gabriel’s parents this ominous warning.
GREEN DORVIL: People will automatically believe that he’s aggressive. But he was right about both aspects, not just the physical aspect but how people perceive large, you know, huge people.
RIDDLE: Today, people often mistake Gabriel for an adult.
GREEN DORVIL: And I know that that’s a hard concept for even teachers to grasp. You’re looking at someone that’s 6’4″, you know, a certain amount of pounds, a huge, big frame. This is a 14-year-old child.
GABRIEL GREEN DORVIL: I’ve had to adapt and understand that everybody’s not going to see me the same.
RIDDLE: For Gabriel, accepting this unusual quality about himself has been difficult.
GABRIEL: They’re just not going to see me how my family sees me, how my friends see me. And I really just have to be vigilant of how I move around people, right?
RIDDLE: There was a period a few years back. Gabriel was really struggling.
GABRIEL: And I believe I’m usually a talkative person. I’m usually, like, extrovert kind of, right? But during that time, it was just all shut down. Like, I wasn’t talking to anybody. I didn’t talk to my friends. I didn’t go outside. Really, my bed was my best friend.
RIDDLE: His bed was his best friend. But he did get involved with a group at First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem. It’s part of a pilot program around the country. The goal is to offer mental health interventions for teens through churches. Lena Green is a social worker. She runs this program. She initially started it because of all the panicked calls she was getting from parents.
LENA GREEN: Like, my – you know, I’m afraid to go to sleep because I don’t know if I’m going to lose my kid or not.
RIDDLE: The church has not lost any kids to suicide, but Green feels the weight of that risk every day.
GREEN: There almost isn’t a week that goes by that we don’t hear about self-harm or a suicide attempt in some way, shape or form.
RIDDLE: Some experts warn the increase in suicide rate for Black teens has been steeper than any other racial group. In one recent 13-year period, it increased by 144%. No one can say definitively what is causing this crisis. Green has a few thoughts.
GREEN: The bottom line is that we can’t keep up with social media, right? They have this device in their hand 24/7.
RIDDLE: She says social media sets up impossible expectations for these kids.
#James Donaldson notes: Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes. Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use. Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.#http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle Find out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundation website www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson’s latest book, #CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy
GREEN: Combating European standards of beauty, especially with children of color, has always been a challenge in our community as well. And then when we’re thinking about some of the pressures around having name-brand items and those kinds of things where, you know, certain families can’t keep up with that kind of stuff, right?
RIDDLE: At this program, Green and other mental health experts talk to the kids about that dynamic. They give them language to describe what is going on for them. They work to disabuse them of stigma around mental health care. That was the case for Gabriel.
GABRIEL: I tried to stay away from self-harming myself, even though I was in a time of sadness. And I know that’s what some people do.
RIDDLE: He learned to see the reasons why people treat him like they do.
GABRIEL: Talking to my therapist about that has really helped me understand, like, it’s not really their fault. It’s more of, like, an instinct, and it’s just going to happen.
RIDDLE: Instead of getting hung up on this, Gabriel says he chooses to honor his own instinct to live.
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James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at [email protected] and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
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