Suicide is on the rise in the United States and experts say that growing inequality is part of the reason. The gap between the rich and poor continues to increase—with unemployment and underemployment forcing more people to work multiple jobs as certain industries decline, leading to worker layoffs. Researchers have made a correlation between these factors and the increase in opioid addiction and drug overdoses around the country.
According to Ian Rockett, a retired professor who has studied self-injury at West Virginia University, some of these accidental overdoses are likely suicides that have been classified as accidents. In his work with survivors of drug overdoses, Rockett has discovered that many of them were considering suicide at the time. He is an advocate for improving treatment for drug addiction but also believes that long-term efforts need to focus on addressing inequality. This offers yet another compelling reason to address inequality in America. In addition to the devastating impact things like poverty and overall inequality have on children, individuals and families, it is literally causing death—as people become so desperate that they take their own lives.
Unfortunately, studies like these often center on the impact of poverty, drugs and inequality in rural, white communities. That, of course, is important. But we must have a holistic approach to addressing inequality. While experts focus their time and attention to what’s happening with poor white people, we cannot afford to ignore the other places and communities where this is occurring. As an old saying goes, “when white America catches a cold, black America gets pneumonia.” This is true when it comes to poverty and inequality. And it’s also true for the increase in suicide rates across the country.
In May, The Washington Post reported that suicide rates for black children are now twice that of white children. This is based on data collected from 2001-2015. The increasing rate of suicide, regardless of age, is alarming. But it is positively frightening to realize that this data is for black children between the ages of 5 and 12. Though it is rare for young kids, suicide is a leading cause for older children and adolescents. If this is happening among young black children, we should most certainly be worried about older black children and adults. Yet, we know very little about the racial disparities in suicide because so much of the data has focused on whites. Historically, rates of suicide have been higher within the white population. But something has changed.
Jeffrey Bridge, director of the Center for Suicide Prevention at the National Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio said this about addressing suicide among black youth:
“We can’t assume any longer that suicide rates are uniformly higher in white individuals than black. [...]
“There is this age-related disparity, and now we have to understand the underlying reasons. … Most of the previous research has largely concerned white suicide. So we don’t even know if the same risk and protective factors apply to black youth.”
Sadly, researchers seem to just now be making connections that may help address the risk factors for suicide that affect black people. Rockett speculates that inequality is a suicide factor for opioid addicted people living in rural areas of West Virginia. This is likely true. However, we must not forget that inequality is also a very real issue for blacks in America—no matter where we are living and this is not specifically tied to drug use. Black people face persistent inequality when it comes to jobs, unemployment, housing, access to health care, education, etc. And black children are no exception. In fact, black children (particularly those who are poor) are more likely to be impacted by a possible lack of stable family networks, social networks, access to social and mental health services which increases suicide risk. It’s appalling that such little attention has been paid to this, especially as the suicide rates go up among black youth and they are the most impacted by systemic inequality. But in a system that is built from and thrives on white supremacy, it is easy to ignore these alarming trends and further marginalize black children.
Rockett is right—something must be done in the long-term about inequality. But it’s interesting to see the alarms go off for people once rural whites become drug addicted and start committing suicide. Inequality has always been an issue in America. And it has certainly been and remains an issue for blacks. In fact, three months before this new data on black youth suicide was released, the Economic Policy Institute released data that confirmed that there has been no progress in home ownership, unemployment and incarceration rates for blacks in 50 years. But somehow, researchers were uninterested in suicide factors for black people until black children starting taking their lives. But this all goes back to the saying about the pneumonia. If a situation is bad for whites in America, we know it’s doubly bad for blacks. Perhaps finding out and preventing the suicide factors for black youth will mean getting closer to ending inequality across the board for everyone.