Black people don't go to therapy. Mind
you, this is a very general statement and some of you that are
reading this saw that first sentence and said “I do!” or “I
did!” or “They don't?” In high school I was sent to three
therapy groups and to this day can't tell you why (click here to read more about my experiences with that). Well, in hindsight everything
about me screamed “future school shooter” but that wasn't me.
Quiet, dark clothes, keeps to himself. If it walks like a duck and
quacks like it its likely a Black kid that has a terrible home life
and doesn't know how to deal with it. Why?
Because mental therapy is for crazy
White people!
That is what I was led to believe
growing up. When you look at the history of Black people in this
country it isn't all that hard to understand why they would have a
distrust for the medical profession. Ever hear of the Tuskegee Experiments? The U.S Public Health Service intentionally withheld
syphilis treatment from Black men to see what would happen from 1932
to 1972. As John Heller the Director of the Public Health Service's
Division of Venereal Diseases said “For the most part, doctors and
civil servants simply did their jobs. Some merely followed orders,
others worked for the glory of science.” That doesn't sound too
comforting.
