By Deidre Montague, Northend Agent’s
When many of us think of the Black and Brown girls in our lives, we see their intelligence, creativity, kindness, energy, beauty, and their joy.
However, we often do not think about what our Black and Brown girls are wading through.
From the difficult political/social climate we are all facing, social media, friendships, relationships, school, racial and gender discrimination, and planning and preparing their future, our Black and brown girls are navigating through some deep and murky waters outside of our safe spaces for them.
Unfortunately, these times can be a potential breeding ground for mental health issues to occur for our Black and Brown girls, especially depression and anxiety.
According to Neurolaunch.com, depression and anxiety are “frequent visitors in the lives of many Black girls,” and coupled with the consistent pressure to succeed, “weight of societal expectations and racial discrimination,” can potentially lead to these mental health issues.
The website also reports that both depression and anxiety can often look differently for Black girls in comparison to their white peers. For Black girls, they could “appear more irritable than sad, or their anxiety could be dismissed as attitude or defiance, and these misunderstandings “can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment.”
According to the 2023 Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health study, there have been increases in suicide in the United States over the last two decades that have disproportionately affected Black young women.
With these facts in mind, I wanted to share some tips by the Justice For Black Girls website that can help us create safe spaces for our young Black and Brown girls for their mental health.
- Actively listen to the challenges that Black (and Brown) girls face.
- With all that our Black and Brown girls are facing on a daily basis, we should work to be a safe space for them to share their ideas, their successes, their fears, or anything that they may be experiencing.
- Encourage and support Black (and Brown) girls in finding culturally competent care.
- Whether it be finding a Black therapist, faith based community, or community groups, like Girls For Technology or Black Girls Achieve, it is so important for our Black and Brown girls to have a community (family, friends, loved ones) that will affirm and encourage them to go for their dreams.
- Create a safe and supportive environment where they feel comfortable expressing their emotions.
- Wherever we are, we can work to make supportive and safe environments for our Black and Brown girls. Whether it’s gathering at the family table or family room or spending quality time with them, we can make sure our Black and Brown girls have a safe, supportive place with us at all times.
- Encourage Black (and Brown) girls to practice self-care, like exercise, mindfulness, and spending time with supportive people.
- Self-care is an important life skill to teach our Black (and Brown) girls as they navigate the world we are in. Whether it be prayer, journaling, walking, running, or meditation, we can teach our girls the importance of self-care by working to make it a practice in our daily lives.
Lastly, I wanted to add one tip of my own: Affirm our Black and Brown Girls as much as we can.
- With social media, our girls are inundated daily with pictures, images, videos, and music that can potentially be a major influence on them, for better or for worse. In the Columbia University study, senior author and professor of Epidemiology Katherine Keyes said that “these findings are in line with evidence that suicidal behaviors are increasing among minoritized youth. While the reasons why remain under investigation, it could be that cyberbullying and online racial attacks toward Black female youth may be on the rise, in particular, and therefore interventions targeting certain stressors are particularly critical for young Black women.”
One of those interventions could be letting our Black and Brown girls know how worthy, smart, unique, and special they are, especially when others try to make them question their worth. We should let them know we love them, we support them, and they truly are Black and Brown girls who will revolutionize the world with their big ideas.
Also, here are some book recommendations that can help with affirming the Black and Brown girls in your life:
- Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o – This book is about a young girl who was born “the color of midnight,” and talks about colorism and self-esteem for darker-skinned Black girls based on her own childhood experiences.
- I Am Enough by Grace Byers – This book teaches young Black girls the importance of loving themselves.
- The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake – This book is about a 7th grader named Maleeka Madison and her struggle with loving herself as a darker skinned girl. She also learns to stand up for herself against a school bully.
- I Rise by Marie Arnold – This book is about a 14 year old named Ayo who is struggling with whether to become an activist like her mother, after she was shot by the police. She looks for advice from her community and her ancestors.
