White People and Suicide: Is White Privilege Killing Us?

Brown Bag Anti-Racism Discussion Series 2009 - Changing the Public Discourse around Race
White People and Suicide: Is White Privilege Killing Us?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, non-Hispanic white people have the highest rate of suicide in Massachusetts and nationwide. The racial aspect of this health endemic is rarely discussed, and the "white experience" is often overlooked in discussions of mental health. How does "white culture" factor into a white person's inability to counter suicidal thoughts? What practices and behaviors might white people engage in to avoid cycles of depression and other symptoms that trigger suicidal thoughts and actions? Please join us for an engaging discussion of these issues.

July 7, 2009 (Tuesday)
12 noon - 1:30 pm
Community Change Library on Racism
14 Beacon Street, Room 605
Boston MA 02108

Presenter: Alison T. Brill is the Community Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She works to address disparities in suicide and depression rates among communities of color, veterans, LGBT, and youth populations, as well as expanding the view of suicide prevention to include mental health promotion.

The current public discourse around race assumes that we live in a color-blind society where the American Dream is attainable by all individuals who work hard enough. This deeply flawed discourse obscures the racial disparities in employment, education, criminal justice, housing, health care, etc. and provides a powerful but faulty rationale for leaving our systems and institutions the way they are. The issues presented at the Community Change Brown Bag Discussion Series are concrete examples of the structural racism that affects the lives of all, most acutely communities of color. The 2009 Series places these issues in their social/historical context and gives attendees a truthful discourse, as well as ways to put that discourse into action, in order to challenge institutional and systemic racism.

Please bring your lunch. Beverages will be provided. $5 contribution requested.

RSVP (617) 523-0555 or janet@communitychangeinc.org
Community Change, Inc. 617-523-0555 http://www.communityc...