CW: This essay discusses suicide. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. For TTY users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988.
This past September, a 13-year-old Chinese American boy and his friend were playing basketball at a Brooklyn schoolyard when a pair of brothers from the same school tried to join them. The boys refused their request, prompting the brothers to call on their 24-year-old relative who confronted the boys — and started punching and kicking the 13-year-old until he was on the ground.
Two days later, the 24-year-old and some other family members showed up at the teen’s home yelling anti-Asian slurs, URL Media partner Documented reports. Police ended up arresting both the boy’s father and the 24-year-old, but it’s what happened next that surprised everyone.
Throughout October, Chinese parents and local residents organized several protests — one of which had approximately 500 people in attendance — urging the district attorney to drop the charges against the teen’s father, imposing the maximum sentence for the other man, and pushing for more robust measures against school bullying.
“I feel like parents felt so strongly about rallying and speaking up because we saw ourselves,” Yiatin Chu, the president of the Asian Wave Alliance, told Documented. “It was just a very ordinary type of thing that can happen to anyone. And if we don’t do something, we’re going to be next, or our friend or our neighbor could be next.”
By standing in solidarity with one another, Brooklyn’s Chinese community has made it clear that they will not tolerate bullying. In fact, they said their shared experience of being bullied created a common cause to rally around — a cause many had not previously felt empowered to tackle.
The charges against the 13-year-old’s parent have since been dropped.
“The Chinese community gradually learned their power in advocating for what they believe is right,” State Senator Iwen Chu told Documented. “They learned how to empower their community and speak up for themselves.”
Black houses of worship have found themselves at a similar crossroads. Although, instead of bullying, the concern is the ongoing mental health crisis in the Black community. As URL Media partner Epicenter-NYC cites from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the third leading cause of death for Black people in the U.S. in 2020 was suicide.
Since the church often acts as more of a hub for activity in many Black communities, it only made sense for churches to be part of the conversation in suicide prevention efforts.
“Churches are an important part of many Black communities, a trusted resource, a safe place to go,” Garra Lloyd-Lester, the coordinator of community and coalition initiatives at the Suicide Prevention Center of New York [State]’s Office of Mental Health, told Religion News Service. “It only makes sense that we have information that’s tailored to those communities, to be able to include how we talk about suicide.”
By talking openly about mental health and suicide within a supportive community, Black churches are saving lives. According to the Mayo Clinic, talking openly about suicide improves mental health-related outcomes and increases the likelihood that people will seek treatment.
And, if you’ve got two minutes, I’d urge you to listen to this podcast episode from URL Media partner PushBlack about a community effort to create the first public library by and for the Black residents of Louisville, Kentucky in 1905, which paved the way for additional educational opportunities for Black students.
When we stand in community with one another, we can accomplish incredible things. As we close out 2023, I hope that we can all find a place where we belong.
P.S. If you’re in the Philadelphia area, join URL Media partner WURD Radio today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church for the 2023 Empowerment Experience. This year’s free event acknowledges the Kwanzaa principle of Ujamaa — Cooperative Economics — with Black and Brown artisans, creators, merchants and more for a holiday marketplace. Learn more and register here.
— Alicia Ramirez
Uplift. Respect. Love.
