Code Blue: Fueling the Urgency for the Mental Health of Black Fathers

Black and African American hold beliefs related to stigma, psychological openness, and help-seeking, which in turn affects their coping behaviors. — Black and African American men are particularly concerned about stigma.

Sixteen percent (4.8 million) of Black and African American people reported having a mental illness, and 22.4 percent of those (1.1 million people) reported a serious mental illness over the past year.

Black and African American people are over-represented in our jails and prisons. Black and African American people make up 13 percent of the general U.S. population, but nearly 40 percent of the prison population.

Black and African American people with mental health conditions, specifically those involving psychosis, are more likely to be in jail or prison than people of other races.