Minority Mental Health Month

We talked a couple weeks ago about the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision and how it might impact the mental health of minorities in the legal profession. I want to continue that thread in this post because July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.

Recognizing the unique stressors that impact minorities, and the unique mental health challenges those stressors can create, is essential. We can’t talk about ending the stigma surrounding mental illness unless we are able to end the stigma for all.

And this is especially true in the legal profession, which remains predominantly white. While it is true that there are starting to be more discussions about mental health in the legal profession generally, these conversations are slow to include discussions about how minorities in the law handle their mental health challenges. Working to end the stigma surrounding mental health in the law is not enough if we don’t acknowledge the stigma still embedded in too many minority cultures.

Furthermore, I believe that the profession already has the tools to address this multi-faceted problems. Linking discussions between minority sections of the bar and legal assistance programs, along with peer programs like the one provided by the LegalMind Society, will be crucial in closing these gaps as we continue to fight stigma in the profession and in our unique cultures.

The minority experience, like lived experience with mental illness, will be different for everyone. Yet when we work to include everyone in the conversation we see that we can start to bridge those differences and start healing ourselves, our profession, and our society.