Suicide Is Claiming Young Black Lives at An Alarming Rate

Gina Smallwood spent Mother’s Day last Sunday with her mom and a few other family members. Noticeably absent was her only child, Kelvin, bright and loving until the final time she heard his voice. That was 11 years ago.

“There was nothing in his voice that made me think there was sadness,” Smallwood recalls. “The weird part is he called his dad, and he left a message. And, when I heard that call, he sounded so sad.”

When Smallwood played the message from her son, she was driving from Georgia where Kelvin attended Morehouse College to her home in Washington, D.C. She called him back, but there wasn’t an answer. She waited and called again, and it went to voicemail.

“Now, I’m becoming worried,” says Smallwood. “Then, my phone rang…I thought it was Kelvin. It was the girlfriend. She’s at my house in Georgia and tells me, ‘Kelvin’s car is here.’ She’s in tears…the door was halfway cracked. And, now I’m in hysterics.”

Kelvin’s keys were hanging in the door. Smallwood remembers all that happened next: her overwhelming need to get back to her home in Georgia, family who offered advice, and the arrival of the police who confirmed her worst nightmare. Her only child had died by suicide.

The Congressional Black Caucus is alarmed by the rising number of suicides among black youth and has established a task force to study the crisis. Statistics are calling for action. Black children between the ages of 5 and 12 are taking their lives at twice the rate of white children .

Representative Karen Bass, chair of the CBC, says, “We can no longer stand aside and watch as the youth in our community continue to struggle with depression, traumatic stress, or anxiety. Far too often the pain that African Americans experience is either overlooked or dismissed.”

The CBC’s task force reminds Smallwood of a meeting she attended years ago to address teenage suicide among blacks. The year was 2006. Now, she knows from personal experience the pain, and she wants to help other parents before it’s too late.

In her contemplative moments, Smallwood thinks about signs she missed that her son faced a deepening abyss of despair. She started an awareness campaign  and would like to see the CBC’s task force efforts extended to include experts from all ethnic groups.

She says, “It was almost as if I taught my son…you just keep at it. You become that overachiever. This is how you deal with it. Depression is not just what we think it is. Sometimes, it’s doing too much. So, let’s look at why a person is doing so much. Sometimes what happens is people deal with the pain of life by always doing something. It’s no different than someone who says I’m going to cope with mine by using alcohol or drugs.”

Over the years on Mother’s Day, Smallwood says Kelvin would ask her how she wanted to celebrate. An avid gardener, she usually chose a few hours in the garden, and he would join her. Gardening is still one of Smallwood’s most fulfilling pastimes, but when she is not among her shrubs and flowers, she is looking for ways to plant the seed of suicide prevention.