Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a House committee last week he did not recall making podcast remarks about “reparenting” Black children and their use of psychiatric medication, accusing a lawmaker of “just making stuff up.”
But video recordings of the interview show otherwise — and public health data contradicts the premise behind the claim.
“Every Black kid is now just standard put on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence,” Kennedy said during a 2024 appearance on the “19Keys” online show. “And those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get reparented.”
Adderall is a stimulant commonly prescribed to treat attention disorders, SSRIs are antidepressants used to treat conditions such as anxiety and depression and benzodiazepines are sedatives typically prescribed for anxiety or seizures.
During the hearing, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat from Alabama, called the remarks “disturbing” and pressed Kennedy on whether he had made them.
“I’m not going to answer something I didn’t say,” Kennedy said. “You’re just making stuff up.”
Federal health data shows Black children are less likely — not more — to be diagnosed with or treated for mental health conditions such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 13.4% of white children ages 5 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, compared with 10.8% of Black children and 8.9% of Hispanic children.
Research cited by the National Institute of Mental Health and other agencies has consistently found that Black children are less likely to receive diagnoses or medication, even when exhibiting similar symptoms as their white peers.
Public health experts attribute those gaps to a range of factors, including differences in access to care, insurance coverage, provider bias and stigma surrounding mental health treatment. Those findings run counter to claims that Black children are widely overmedicated, instead suggesting many face barriers to diagnosis and treatment.
Mental health advocates say such claims can reinforce harmful stereotypes and discourage families from seeking care.
“RFK Jr. can run from his despicable views … but he can’t hide from the video receipts,” said Kayla Hancock, director of Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project. “The problem is, when someone of Kennedy’s … power as Health Secretary carelessly spews discredited myths … it matters and hurts a lot of people.”
The Black Mental Health Alliance said linking psychiatric medications to violence in Black children risks deepening stigma.
“To link psychiatric medications specifically to Black children and then label them as ‘violence-inducing’ is a dangerous trope that further stigmatizes mental health struggles in the Black community,” the group said in a statement. “It weaponizes medicine against our youth.”
Advocates also raised concerns about Kennedy’s suggestion that children could be removed from their homes or “reparented.”
“History shows that when the government decides Black children need to be ‘re-parented’ … it results in the destruction of Black wealth and family stability,” representatives of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund said. “We’ve seen this film before.”
Untreated ADHD and other mental health conditions can affect academic performance, behavior and long-term well-being. Health experts say early diagnosis and appropriate treatment — which may include therapy, medication or both — are critical, but disparities in access mean many Black children do not receive consistent care.
Sewell said during the hearing that Black families often face systemic barriers when navigating health and social service systems.
“To suggest that Black families are not capable of raising their own children is deeply offensive,” she said.
As debate over federal health policy continues, researchers and advocates say the data is clear: Black children are not being broadly overmedicated. If anything, they are more likely to face gaps in diagnosis, treatment and access to care — and misinformation from high-profile officials can make those gaps harder to close.