The statistics on gun violence and children are shocking enough. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 17 in the United States, according to an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mortality data.
Add to that statistic the alarming rise in suicide among Black youth, whose suicide rates have risen faster than those of any other racial or ethnic group over the past two decades, and you really do have a public health crisis.
These deaths of our young are preventable.
This past weekend, two events brought awareness to the issue of destigmatizing mental health. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) sponsored its second annual Pathways to Hope Conference at Harris-Stowe State University. This year’s conference focused on the support and celebration of Black boys and men.
The launch of the Black Male Suicide Awareness Initiative led to its Community Day of Hope, Healing and Wellness, which was held at the Northside Movement Center. The event featured support services specific to Black male suicide.
If violence is truly a public health issue, we must first address the racism that prevents us from looking at Black children and youth, especially males, as human beings. To know that studies show the alarming rate at which our children’s lives are being cut short by homicide and suicide should put us into immediate, collective action.
Our own Black experts have identified and detailed the trauma that engulfs African descendants of slavery. Dr. Joyce DeGruy tells us about the impact of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, a theory she developed to describe the continuing effects of generations of slavery and racism. Dr. Shawn Ginwright adds to the trauma phenomenon the concept of a persistent traumatic stress environment, and Dr. Thema Bryant has written about societal trauma and the trauma of racism and oppression.
All of these have their roots in white pathology dominance and racism. They are inescapable and ever-present blockages to fully embracing our own humanity.
The easy access to guns remains a challenge given the resistance to a gun control policy with children in mind. The dominance of the National Rifle Association and its chokehold on lawmakers continues to be an obstacle to saving young lives. This is despite the number of tragic deaths in school shootings over the years.
I know that when it comes to addressing the conditions in the Black community, the prospects seem dismal. Our communities are struggling to thrive due to the effects of racial isolation, insufficient wages, failing schools, inadequate housing and lack of access to health care.
Progress in any one of these areas seems particularly daunting under the Trump administration, which has embarked on its own brand of anti-Black policies of disempowerment and erasure of Black institutions, history and culture.
The worth of our communities must first come from Black people. If we don’t believe we have value as humans and as citizens, we cannot hold the broader society accountable for its negative attitudes, hurtful behaviors and destructive laws.
Our Black children and youth are literally begging for our attention. They don’t always have the language to express their anger, their grief or their hopelessness. Sometimes it comes in the form of self-destruction, but other times it looks like lashing out at the things and people around them. Either way, we can’t continue to ignore their pain and suffering.
It does take a village to raise a child, as the African proverb advises us. The grown folks in the village have to work together to create a healthy environment for hope and healing. This means first doing the personal work so that we are not contributing to the systemic problems. And yes, it means we need to acknowledge our own trauma so that we are emotionally present for our children.
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Our collective power can educate community stakeholders, from faith leaders to the business community. The road to community well-being is not an easy one in 2026, but when you look at the state of our youth, it’s one that must be traveled.
Together.
Jamala Rogers is an opinion writer and one of the founding members of the Organization for Black Struggle, based in St. Louis.