Untold Suffering and Vulnerability: Premature Death Among Young Black Men

Overview: In a world where black men are considered sub-human, violent, lazy, crude, and unintelligent – and therefore deserving of their horrific conditions in life - this presentation will make space for the depth and breadth of their suffering and vulnerability in a racist society.Proposal text: Young Black men between the ages 18-25 are more likely to die during young adulthood than any sub-population in the same age cohort. In 2019, the crude mortality rate for black men ages 18-25 was 197.5 per 100,000, the second highest group in the age cohort was American Indian or Alaskan Natives (AI/AN) males at 136.3 per 100,000 (Wonder, 2021). According to the CDC the top three causes of death among young black men are 1) homicide, 2) suicide, and 3) unintentional fatal injuries (Wonder, 2021). CDC data indicates that black men are at disproportionate risk of homicide in young adulthood and that prevalence has not changed during the past twenty years (Wonder, 2021). After plateauing at a rate of 13.3 per 100,000 in 2013, the rate of suicide among young black men has increased steadily and as of 2019 was 21.6 per 100,000 (Wonder, 2021). Whereas homicide risk among young black men is well understood as endemic to the population, the rise of suicide among this population is considered an emergent issue. A less studied phenomenon is unintentional fatal injuries (UFI) among this population. The two most reported UFIs among young adults are accidental poisoning/overdoses and vehicle related accidents (Wonder, 2021). Recently there has been an increase in overdoses among young black men and vehicle related accidents have remained stubbornly high despite other groups experiencing decreases (Wonder, 2021).

Homicide, suicide, and UFIs are all behavioral health in nature therefore an integrative-theoretical review is logical and could be of utility to social science literature. Further, emphasis on the 18-25 cohort has utility. Conceptualized as a transitional cohort, the behavioral health of young adults is predictive of their functioning throughout adulthood in addition to predicting behavioral health during childhood and adolescence (Wood et al., 2017). The young adult cohort is the most able-bodied cohort contributing to the workforce in entry-level positions, the initiation of fiscal responsibilities within the family unit, and the cohort most likely to experience first childbirth (Wood et al., 2017; Matthews & Hamilton, et al., 2016; Stykes, 2011). Due to systemic racism, toxic male norms, and policy disinvestment, black men in young adulthood are at disproportionate risk of premature death (Reeves, Nzau, & Smith, 2020; Jones-Eversley, Rice, Adedoyin, et al., 2020; APA, 2018).

In conclusion, young black men are a complex group, with vulnerabilities often ignored by broader society. The death of a every young black man is a disruption to the family unit and further degrades community organization. The mass scale of death among young black men amounts to an ecological disaster in black communities with implications for the intergenerational transmission of trauma, poverty, crime, social immobility, and broken family units (Jones-Eversley et al., 2020). To change course requires an honest dialogue about stereotypes about black men, racist policies, policy disinvestment, and a new research agenda. This presentation is the initiation of such a dialogue.