Black suicide rates, once among the nation’s lowest, have risen dramatically among youths

As a kid, Kamesha Spates occasionally endured racial taunts or joking from other kids at school, knowing she could find comfort in the safety of home. But Spates, who is now a medical sociologist, worries that the rise of social media means the racism and discrimination children might experience is ever-present.

“When we were growing up there was bullying and teasing, but at the end of the school day when the bell rang you would go home and have a reprieve from those peer interactions,” said Spates, an associate professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. “Now, when kids are home, social media continues to find its way into their lives.”

That’s one factor Spates thinks could explain a troubling rise in suicide rates among Black youths in recent years, a crisis that has been simmering for two decades. Black suicide rates, among the nation’s lowest prior to 2000, have steadily climbed in the past two decades – and young Black people are most at risk: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates among those ages 10 to 24 rose 36.6% from 2018 to 2021, the largest percentage jump among any demographic.

The problem is particularly acute among girls: In 2020, suicide was the leading cause of death for Black girls aged 12 to 14, said Arielle Sheftall, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.

“We don’t know why, and that hinders our ability to prevent these deaths from occurring,” Sheftall said. “That’s the scariest piece of all.”

A developing storm of contributing factors

Experts say the isolation of the pandemic worsened a situation already complicated by racism and discrimination, proliferating images of police brutality, community stigma around seeking mental health treatment, distrust of the healthcare system and a lack of culturally competent providers and Black representation in the field.

“In recent years, Black youth have witnessed increased inequities related to COVID, police brutality, racial unrest and hate crimes,” said Jenny Cureton, an associate professor of lifespan development and educational sciences at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Black youths who are multiracial, members of the LGBTQ community or in the criminal justice system are doubly vulnerable, she added.

A recent study found that Black children experience or perceive racism and discrimination at as young as 6 years of age; both are known factors for suicidal behaviors and thoughts among Black adolescents, “and unfortunately, that is trickling down to our younger Black youth,” Sheftall said.

Sheftall cited what researchers in the field call “adverse childhood experiences,” or ACES, as contributing factors; those can include domestic violence, loss of a parent or financial hardship. Black youth are more likely to be in environments – such as low-income neighborhoods or the foster care system – that expose them to such experiences, she said, and some, like racial discrimination, are culturally specific.