Letter To Series: Dear Black Men

Dear Black Men,

It's not enough that you have to provide the structure, framework, and ear for our emotions, but you have to carry your own. The demands of which role to play I'm sure can be quite relentless. Nevertheless, the demand is still there. Mental illness in black men is… serious. Kanye being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and Kid Cudi’s ominous and open statements of not being “okay” mentally, makes it easy for me to type Black Men’s Emotions Matter. (By the way I love you Kid Cudi) I listened to Rose Golden this morning and it took me back to sophomore year nostalgia. The references of anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses have always been embedded in your music and I love you for that. Although this conversation isn’t always received well from the public and I'm sure it doesn't make you want to become more expressive, keep ya head up. I was unaware of the effects of carrying this non-expressive persona until it revealed itself to me first hand.

A blank statement but a fact. Mental illness is rapidly rising in young men between the ages of 16-25. The first time I visited a mental health facility I spoke with a psychiatrist and we spent quite a bit of time talking about the alarming rate at which young black men were being admitted. Maybe the non-emotional black male stigma plus years of being told to suppress your inner thoughts and feelings makes you opposed to vulnerability. Truthfully, we never create the space and I apologize.

I will say I admire your resilience and ability to establish a cloak of safety for us. The concept of tough love has been embedded in you but where are you storing these feelings of rage, of depression, of anger, of sadness, of disconnect, of anxiety, of inadequacy? More so, how do you feel? I’m saying it's okay to feel, and you don’t have to apologize for it.