Rafiah Maxie-Cole, LCSW ACSW Speaking Topics

• Suicide on the Black Hand Side: Five Lessons Learned from a Community that Lost a Child

  The presentation "Suicide on the Black Hand Side: Five Lessons Learned from a Community that Lost a Child" seeks to explore the lessons learned from the suicide of Jamal Clay-a 19 year old African American Male from Chicago. In this interactive presentation, participants will view segments of the documentary "We Cry Your Tears: The Jamal Clay Story". Participants will then engage in a discussion on the takeaways learned from the community that knew him, and learn more about their own communities insight on suicide, service needs and the stigmas associated with mental health. The Five takeaways will include:

  Cultural values held by the community about suicide. The indoctrinated beliefs held by black men in the community. The challenges of seeking mental health services in communities of color. The stigmas of suicide and mental health in the black community. The passionate takeaways of a mother’s loss. The power of turning pain into purpose will be explored thru the 6 stage of Grief and loss. The 6th stage is meaning.

• It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

  And a Child to Teach a Village: The multifaceted lessons learned from the Suicide of Jamal Clay.

Pandemic

Since the pandemic emerged, mental health experts have predicted the emotional and mental stressors created during the pandemic would lead to a rise in suicides. In 2020, the rise in Suicides rocketed within the Black community-particularly with youth and young adults in Chicago. This rise was the highest in five years for Cook County-one of the largest populated counties in Illinois. While suicides declined among ethnic groups, they increased among Blacks in every age group according to Cook County Data (Cook County medical examiner reports; 5/21) With the rise in suicides, the black community in Chicago must now face an imperative question? What are the systemic issues causing the rise in Suicides, What is the TRUE relationship between black community and mental wellness, and what can be done to address it. The Documentary "We Cry Your Tears: The Jamal Clay Story" seeks to address the impact of Jamal’s death, our sigma about suicide -prior to the pandemic and what his "village" has learned. In this interactive workshop, participant will view:

The documentary "We Cry Your Tears: The Jamal Clay Story" and engage in a panel discussion on the multifaceted lessons learned from the suicide of Jamal Leo Clay (a young Black male from Chicagoland). The learning objectives include a new insight on:

• The cultural values held by the "village" about suicide.
• The indoctrinated beliefs that black men impacted by trauma face.
• The influence of Covid 19 pandemic.
• The impact of bulling during the early childhood years.
• The new lessons learned from his death.

In addition, the panel will engage in the discussion on the experiences of the stigma for seeking mental health African American males that have faced unsurmountable trauma, prior to the pandemic. The panel seeks to discuss insight on how well the black community can access mental health services, the fragile understanding of how to access resources and the undiscussed shames that hinders the community to seek services once needed. This workshop with include two parts:

• The viewing of the documentary
• A panel discussion about suicide in the black community.
• In the viewing, participant will be shown the documentary "We Cry Your Tears: The Jamal Clay Story". The documentary will be projected in High Definition and will run 33 minuets and 16 seconds in length. Upon the end of the documentary, the participant and the panel will engage in a 27-minuet discussion on impressions and the insight gained from workshop participant.

Workshop participants will be presented with the bio of the panel by the moderator. The panel will engage in discussion with participant on the following:

Increased trend in Suicide amongst African Americans in Cook County. The rise in the number of suicides amongst youth and young adults. The panel also intends to seek a meaningful conversation on what participants gained from the viewing of the documentary. The panel anticipates highlighting the need for more culturally relevant supports and resources for the BIPOC communities.

This engagement will help gain new insight on several levels of the multifaced.

My Mental Health is Non-Negotiable

According to SAMA, "Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices".

Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood of your life. This interactive presentation explains the importance of making Non-negotiable mental health agreements with yourself and others.