African-Americans were once thought to resist attempts of suicide.
Cultural and religious traditions forbade the act of killing oneself, and the mental health conditions that could lead to suicide were not discussed.
Historically, statistics have supported the fact that rates of suicide for African-Americans have remained lower than other groups.
However, there is a growing body of research and data that shows that an increasing number of Black Americans are taking their own lives. It is the youngest of the population that appear to be suffering at disturbing rates.
There is some indication that when a child experiences discrimination, he may start to have feelings of being unworthy and not good enough
From 1981 to 1994, the suicide rate grew by 83 percent for African-American males between 15 and 24 years of age.
A study published in the JAMA Pediatrics journal, last May, found that suicide rates for elementary-aged Black children have doubled since the 1990s.
Epidemiologists examined data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on children between the ages of 5 and 11 from 1993 to 2012 and they found that the rates of suicide by hanging almost tripled for Black boys in the 20-year period.
For the first time, Black suicide rates had overtaken whites
Read more here:
http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/06/30/is-racism-to-blame-for-rise-in-suicides-among-black-children/

