'Bear Our Pain': The Plea For More Black Mental Health Workers

Two decades of life experience made a mental-health activist of Kai Koerber.

The need for mental health support is more evident than ever, especially among Black Americans, say people who study and experience the burden of racism.

For many Black patients, access to mental health treatment often comes in places of last resort: Jails, schools, emergency rooms.

The scarcity of Black mental health professionals in the U.S. is now an acute problem, says Dr. Altha Stewart, a Memphis psychiatrist who became the first Black president of the American Psychiatric Association two years ago.

In recent years, Black celebrities in sports and entertainment — like former NBA star Ron Artest, radio personality Charlamagne Tha God and actress Taraji P. Henson — started openly advocating for the importance of mental health screening and support.