Study: It’s hard being a gay, black man

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Study: It’s hard being a gay, black man

By Michaela L. Duckett – September 1, 2011

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Good morning! Today‘s going to be a hot one in the Qcity. The weatherman is forecasting sunny skies with highs in the low 90’s.

Here’s what’s brewing in the news:

Study Looks At Mental Health of Gay Black Men

The black community isn’t necessarily known for being very accepting of homosexuality. Black men who are gay or bi-sexual say they often find themselves the targets of constant harassment, discrimination and negative attitudes.

A new study concludes that these negative experiences contribute significantly to mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety in black men who sleep with men.

“We sometimes think of mental disorders or mental health problems as being experienced on a very individual level, and that they’re caused by or related to personal shortcomings or specific situations or incidents," says the study's lead author Louis F. Graham, DrPH. "This study shows that mental disorders and mental health problems occur at a community level.”

The study, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Depression Research and Treatment, found that discrimination and harassment were extremely common, with 95 percent of the study participants experiencing them at least once in the last year.

Although the study included a relatively small sample set of men and did not follow them over a long period of time, it found that thirty percent of men surveyed reported depression and 33 percent reported anxiety, which is higher than rates for people in the general population.

Eleven percent of participants said they experience discrimination and harassment weekly. Most of the men said that both race and sexuality played a part in their experiences of discrimination and harassment.

Men who reported feelings of shame or disapproval of their same-sex sexual orientation and higher levels of internalized homo-negativity feelings, also proved more likely to feel depressed or anxious, according to the study.

“Racism, homo-negativity and the experience of violence and discrimination contribute significantly to mental disorder burden and morbidity in this community,” Graham said.

QUESTION: Do you think attitudes towards homosexuality are changing in the black community? If so, do you think it is changing for the better or for the worse?
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Teen to pay high cost for 7 cent robbery

A judged branded a 15 year old as a felon and sentenced the teen to 2 to 6 years in a juvenile detention facility for mugging an elderly man of 7 cents. Anthony Stewart of New York was convicted of first degree robbery after he and a friend were identified as the perpetrators who knocked a 73-year-old man to the ground and stole all his cash - a mere 7 cents. Stewart’s attorney argued that the judge in the cases was treating her client too harshly by labeling him a felon for life over 7 cents. The judge said the teen had to pay the cost for refusing to admit that he committed the crime. Do you think the time fit the crime? (Read more)

In this clip, the judge explains his reasons for the teen’s sentence:

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Can this man help Obama win the south?

Tharon Johnson is the man who successfully orchestrated the winning campaign for Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. He has now been tapped to help President Barack Obama win the South in 2012. A spokesperson from for Obama for America says Johnson has joined the team as the southern regional director and will be “a key part to building the organization” in the area. Winning southern states like Georgia proved to be a challenge for Obama in 2008. The only southern states he did win were Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. (Read more)