List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Jul-12
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
In May 2012, news that a 7-year-old boy had used a belt to hang himself on his bunk bed, the city was shocked. What would drive a 7-year-old to die by suicide? But upon closer examination, BLAC Detroit Magazine learned that suicide among African Americans is on the rise. One African American dies every 4.5 minutes in the United States.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
For this report, we used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide and other organizations that track social health. Additionally, we used the April 2012 report, “Silence is Not Golden: Attitudes Toward Suicide in the African American Community,” news reports on the suicide deaths of Detroiters and recent celebrity deaths, including “Soul Train” creator and producer Don Cornelius.
Explain types of human sources used.
For this report, we used a prominent Detroit undertaker who has been burying folks for more than 50 years, Terry Williams, a national-level mental health expert who battled severe depression and started an organization to respond to Black depression, a woman who attempted suicide as a child, a local minister and a family counselor.
Results:
This report resulted in talk radio conversations, heightened awareness in the community.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Be aware of your surroundings and see how a breaking local story can be broadened to an issue piece with national implications. In this case, the nation was shocked that Soul Train icon Don Cornelius died by suicide and then a couple months later, we learned of the death of a 7-year-old boy. Ironically, right after this report was completed and in the same month in ran, a 9-year-old jumped out of a window of a high-rise apartment building further proving the point that suicides among African Americans are happening every day.