-
Get Your Mind Right: A Guide to ‘New Age’ Therapies for Mental Wellness
There are a million ways for a girl to get her mind right. Some nights she might permit her waist to recklessly abandon it all on a dance floor. Some days it requires a flight to blue skies and even bluer waters (funds permitting). Many times, though, it happens in someone’s chair. A therapist’s. A…
-
Missouri Governor After Seeing Alabama’s Abortion Ban: Hold My Moonshine
The clearly not-so-great-state of Alabama just enacted the most extreme abortion ban since abortion was made legal by Roe v. Wade some 46 years ago. Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the bill that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison. Twenty-five white men (and Kay—surely among the 53 percent of white…
-
When Mental Illness Is Your Family Heirloom
You know that scene in My Cousin Vinny where Vinny’s girlfriend, Mona Lisa Vito, played by Marissa Tomei, testifies in court as an “expert witness” on cars? When opposing counsel condescendingly asks how a sweet little lady like herself—a hairdresser, even—could be an authority on automobiles, she replies, “My father was a mechanic. His father…
-
America Is Finally Facing the Fact that Solitary Confinement Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The research is in—in fact, the facts on solitary confinement have been known for years—but finally, we seem to have reached a tipping point for ending this well-studied, torturous practice in American jails and prisons. In New York, there is currently a bill before the upper house, the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, which would prohibit…
-
As Part of Statewide Reform, New York Graciously Grants Inmates in Solitary One Call Per Week
In a move to lessen what experts have deemed the “cruel and unusual punishment” of solitary confinement—which also has been likened to torture—a new bill in New York state guarantees that those sent to segregated units will have access to a phone within 24 hours of isolation, and that they can have contact with the…
-
Suicides Among Black Children Are at Crisis Levels. The Congressional Black Caucus Aims to Do Something About It
The rise in the suicide rate for black children ages 5 to 12 is an overlooked national emergency, according to a panel convened by the Congressional Black Caucus on the eve of Mental Health Awareness Month. Chaired by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), the CBC Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health brought…
-
Ain’t Too Proud to Sing: Claiming Black Space on the Great White Way
Two days ago, the Broadway show Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations was nominated for 12 Tony Awards. For those who don’t follow the Great White Way, this is big. Big! For those of you who do, you know that this grand spotlight means industry insiders, Tony voters and wealthy retirees…
-
The Semicolon: How a Seemingly Obscure Tattoo Signifies Survival and Solidarity
In 2013, 27-year-old Amy Bleuel began a mental health advocacy organization dubbed “Project Semicolon” to bring awareness to suicide, depression, addiction and self-injury. Bleuel, who had lost her father to suicide 10 years earlier, died by suicide at the age of 31. The campaign, however, remains strong, inspiring others to take an active role in…
-
'Ex-Con,' 'Ex-Offender' and 'Ex-Inmate' Are Words That Reduce Millions to Stereotype
For those with criminal backgrounds, who decides when they get to be human again? text When President Donald Trump signed the recent First Step Act into law, many people considered it to be the most important criminal justice reform measure in years. I’ve followed the legislation with some interest because I served a sentence in…
-
In the Sunshine: The Root Tackles Mental Health in May
Today, May 1, marks May Day, the day that we pay homage to the workers of the world, and it also marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Month. Here at The Root, we take Mental Health seriously, and we aim to give our readership not only stories they can relate to, but which give…
