By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill) has been away from Congress on medical leave for so long that his colleagues have been clamoring to know what’s wrong, and NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported that the Congressman was receiving treatment for addiction.  The truth, according the Rep. Jackson’s staff, is that the Congressman is being treated in a residential facility for exhaustion and mood disorders.

Why not say that in the first place?  Because divulging one’s mental health status is often the kiss of death in politics and public life.  It may be okay in Hollywood to speak exhaustion, mood swings, and other mental health issues.  In that world, treatment is often followed by a late night talk show interview and a career revival.  In contrast, any politician who has come out of the closet about his or her mental health gets anything but a hard time.

Senator Thomas Eagleton (D-MO), who had been elected to local, state, and national office since 1960, briefly joined the McGovern presidential ticket in 1972.  When his medical records were leaked to McGovern, Eagleton was pushed from the Democratic ticket, because he  had long-standing mental health problems.  He checked into hospitals three times for physical and nervous exhaustion, was known to have suffered from depression, and reportedly received electroconvulsive therapy twice.  While his mental health history was not part of the public record, his hospitalizations led to speculation that he had a drinking problem.  Still, he was so effective as a campaigner and politician that he unseated an incumbent Democrat in his race for the United States Senate.

When George McGovern learned that Eagleton had taken the anti-psychotic drug Thorazine, and when his doctors spoke of his “manic depression”, he initially supported Eagleton.  However, when McGovern learned that Eagleton’s depression could return, he asked Senator Eagleton to withdraw from the ticket and he complied.  Even though 77 percent of the American people said Eagleton’s medical record would not affect their vote, Republican opposition was geared up to attack McGovern because of Eagleton’s mental health status, and the press showed their ignorance by rather cavalierly referring to Eagleton’s “shock therapy”.

Since men are far less likely to seek treatment for mental health issues than women are, Senator Eagleton showed amazing self-awareness to seek help.  He perhaps did not reveal more, and sooner, because he understood the public perceptions, and thus the negative consequences of being open about mental health.

Fast-forward 40 years to Congressman Jesse Jackson.  Many would argue that we’ve come a long way on mental health awareness, but some would argue the point.  Many health plans do not even bother to cover mental health, and if they do, it is covered for a limited number of sessions.

Having mental health problems is still enough of a stigma for some professionals to pay for mental health out of their pocket rather than have their mental health treatment be a matter of record. Comedians and others joke that when someone appears to behave erratically (or in some cases, extremely mindfully), they must be “off their meds”.  The stigma remains, and it is stronger in the African-American community than the majority community.

Tell an African-American friend or colleague about feeling down for more than a week or so (two weeks of down moods is one sign of depression), and he or she will tell you to pray on it.  “God will help you through it,” they will say.  But the Lord helps those who help themselves, and sometimes the help needed won’t be found on your knees.  Or, the response to manic episodes is “Child, you so crazy” as if that is a badge of honor, not a sign that help is needed.  Every indicator we have of mental health utilization suggests that African Americans are less likely to seek help than their white counterparts, and while some of it may have to do with cost, some of it has to do with stigma.

As widely as post-partum depression is known and discussed, African-American women are only half as likely to seek help as White women.  Study after study reports the underutilization of mental health services among African-Americans.

Women are far more likely to be diagnosed with mood disorders than men are, which puts another burden on men.  Indeed, African-American men with mood disorders are more likely to rely on informal support systems, or to forego treatment than they are to seek help.  Thus, a 2011 study from the School of Social Work at Michigan State University concludes that there is an unmet need for mental health services among African-American men.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, DC-based economist and author.

Civil rights representatives line up for the groundbreaking of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. The $30 million, 20,000 square foot facility, slated to open in 2014 will house archives and a museum in commemoration of America's civil and human rights movements. It will also house cultural and research centers.

Participating in the June 27 groundbreaking are 1st row from left to right: Rita Samuels, SCLC boardmember; Rev. Dr. Bernice King, president, King Center; Christine King Farris, sister of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Evelyn Lowery, president, SCLC Women; Sam Massell, former Atlanta Mayor; Ambassador Andrew Young, former Atlanta mayor and civil rights icon;  Mrs. Jesse Hill, Jr., Atlanta Life Ins Co.; Xernona Clayton, founder, Trumpet Awards;

Frederick Lowe

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Target Market News

(TriceEdneyWire.com) The National Association of Black Journalists has named Frederick H. Lowe its 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year. Lowe is a 1972 University of Washington journalism graduate and the founder and editor of The NorthStar News & Analysis, a leading online weekly newspaper for black men.

Lowe received the Ray Taliaferro NABJ Spirit Award during NABJ's opening ceremony at the organization's 2012 annual convention in New Orleans. The Ray Taliaferro Award is a $5,000 grant given annually to one recipient in recognition for the introduction of or significant innovation to a new or existing media enterprise.

Lowe founded the online version of The NorthStar News & Analysis six years ago to report on issues affecting black men, including politics, health care, education and wrongful convictions. He developed the concept to address a gap in the media, which characteristically under reports issues of relevance to black men and, worse, which promotes negative and destructive stereotypes of them.

While other leading online sites targeting the African-American community emphasize celebrity and entertainment news, Lowe's The NorthStar News & Analysis has maintained an unabashed commitment to timely, thought-provoking stories that present an authentic image of black men and are also of interest to African-American women and others.

Lowe has reported about black men incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, detailing how some of the men died in prison and were pardoned or exonerated after their deaths. He has also reported the plight of some wrongfully convicted men who served prison sentences of 30 years or more, only to die a few years after their sentences were overturned, having lost the most productive years of their lives.

The NorthStar News & Analysis maintains a thoughtful point of view while seeking to uncover truth, correct distortions and expose injustices. NorthStar is positive in its approach, upholds high values for itself and others and seeks to tell positive stories about African Americans who are often overlooked by the general news media.

The recognition from NABJ comes at an important developmental juncture for Lowe, as The NorthStar News & Analysis begins a summer-fall fundraising drive, soliciting contributions from foundations and individuals, introducing itself and its mission to potential advertisers.

Those seeking to learn more about the fundraising drive and The NorthStar News & Analysis are encouraged to contact Barry Cooper, NorthStar's Director of Business Development at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Also visit the site at thenorthstarnews.com. 

The NorthStar News & Analysis is based in Chicago and boasts a diverse readership of educated professionals from across the country and from several foreign countries.

By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee, made a direct appeal to the African-American community for its vote in his address to the 103^rd NAACP convention.

He touched on five areas, “…open up energy, expand trade, cut the growth of government, focus on better educating tomorrow’s workers today, and restore economic freedom…”  It was a well-written and well-delivered speech, but Romney stated the obvious, told the audience what they already knew, and did not offer any substantive or new policy initiatives. Unfortunately for those in attendance he was playing more to his base and not his audience.  As the late James Brown would have said, “he was talkin’ loud and sayin’ nothin’.”

Mitt Romney’s primary objective for speaking at the NAACP convention was to demonstrate to his base that he would not compromise his ultra-conservative positions while speaking to a politically liberal audience. If Romney were truly interested in courting the African-American vote he would have used the opportunity to present some new and cutting edge policy initiatives.

He could have offered a targeted urban jobs program or a targeted urban education initiative. All he did was to claim “I am running for president because I know that my policies and vision will help hundreds of millions of middle class Americans of all races…. My campaign is about helping the people who need help…” What policies? None were offered.  There was no articulation of vision, just a restatement of the horrific realities that too many in the African American community face. He did not even give the audience the “Bill Clinton,” “I feel your pain.”

He told the audience, “Americans of every background are asking when this economy will finally recover – and you, in particular, are entitled to an answer.”  Yet, he failed to provide one.  He went on to say, “Any policy that lifts up and honors the family is going to be good for the country, and that must be our goal.”  Yet, he failed to offer any policy initiatives to lift and honor the family.  All he offered was his “support for strong families” and a defense of “traditional marriage.”  Too many it’s those Republican “family values” that continue to cause problems in American politics today.

His statement, “I will eliminate expensive non-essential programs like Obamacare…” was calculated.  Someone who was trying to be “Presidential” would have referred to the legislation by its proper name, the Affordable Care Act.  Instead, Romney chose to use the hyperpolitical invective that was created by partisan Republicans to misrepresent the legislation and turn public opinion against a beneficial initiative.  Again, this was a clear example of how he wanted to demonstrate to his base that he would not compromise his ultra-conservative positions while speaking to a politically liberal audience.

Romney talked about “…the expansion of the middle class” while challenging the power of unions.  Unions played a major role in creating a stable and level working environment that helped to create the Black middle-class.  He also praised the ideas of school choice and charter schools.  Charter schools have shown levels of success but at whose expense?  Instead of corporatizing individual schools, provide the proper funding and resources so the entire school system and all children in the system benefit.

With all of this being said, in spite of the empty rhetoric and lack of specific details on how he will actually implement policies that result in substantive progress, at least Romney showed up.  Unlike President Obama, Romney did not send a surrogate.  Whatever his intentions were Mitt Romney spoke to the NAACP, was applauded in some instances, booed in others, stated his case and moved on.

President Obama missed an incredible opportunity.  He probably feared that speaking to the premier national civil rights organization would allow his detractors to claim he’s “too Black”.

What the President and his advisors failed to see was the opportunity to tie so many of his recent policy successes together in one place.  The NAACP, the Civil Rights Movement, and the 1964 Civil Rights Act have been the foundation of equal rights for all Americans.  His support for same-sex marriage and the national movement to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” came out of the efforts of the NAACP as the champion of civil rights for everyone.  His executive order in support of the “Dream Act” and the movement for comprehensive immigration reform came out the NAACP and the Civil Rights Movement.  Support for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and equal pay for women came out of the efforts of the NAACP and the Civil Rights Movement.

When President Obama expressed his support for same-sex marriage it was NAACP President Ben Jealous who went out on a limb and provided cover for President Obama.  Jealous, speaking on behalf of the NAACP said, “Our calling as an organization is to defend the Constitution…We are here to speak to matters of civil law and matters of civil rights…”  President Obama missed an incredible opportunity.

At the NAACP convention Mitt Romney played to his base not his audience. Why does President Obama continue to ignore his?

^{Dr. Wilmer Leon is a political scientist at Howard University and host of the nationally broadcast call in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon” on Sirius/XM channel 128.’s Prescription @ Facebook.com or www.twitter.com/drwleon}