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Kayla Cosby
Prof. McDonald
English 101-13
October 26, 2016
Annotated Bibliography:
"Black & African American Communities and Mental Health." Mental Health America. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. This website is the verified site for Mental Health America, and
contains many resourceful, accurately fact-filled articles that contain information
on

mental health in the U.S. One article discusses topics such as the distinctive link between
the exclusion of mental health services during slavery and the stigma displayed in the
African-American community today regarding mental illnesses. The article also makes a
point referencing a fact-proven stereotype that, People who are impoverished, homeless,
incarcerated or have substance abuse problems are at higher risk for poor mental health
(Mental Health America). The article includes comparisons to other races, issues
involving seeking treatment, and common thoughts/attitudes of African Americans
on the topic. This source is very relevant to my project because it gives background facts
that can help with supporting details under the main points.

Hays, Krystal, and Maria P. Aranda. "Faith-Based Mental Health Interventions With African
Americans: A Review." Research On Social Work Practice 26.7 (2016): 777-789. EJournals. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. This E-Journal discuss how some African-Americans seek
guidance for mental illnesses through spiritual alternatives rather than the traditional
ways. It includes several cited excerpts from other authors who discuss mental illness

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within the African-American community in their own works. They also relate the
traditional stigmas and treatments to this Faith-Based Intervention method which is still
in the process of being proven effective or not. This Faith-Based Intervention strategy
was tested with a number of individuals through a series of tests. This source drawn
from the database is important to my research because it provides another perspective and
aspect to my paper that happens to be different.
Plowden, Keith O., Linda Thompson Adams, and Dana Wiley. "Black And Blue: Depression
And African American Men." Archives Of Psychiatric Nursing (Science Direct) 30.5
(2016): 630-635. Periodicals. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. This periodical provides information
on how expectations, economics, and stigmas, generally effect African-American men
thoughts toward to the topics of mental health and depression. The stereotypical role of
the African- American man is to conform to masculine roles while dealing with other
social issues such as racism and discrimination (Plowden). This ideology contributes
to the reasoning behind why black people do not tend to seek help in cases where there
might be an underlying mental illnesses. This source will help with forming subtopics
discussed in my paper which will relate to the overall thesis. This source will be
helpful

when it comes to answering my research question with a full response.

Robinson-Brown, Diane, and Verna Keith. In and out of Our Right Minds: The Mental Health of
African American Women. New York: Columbia UP, 2003. Print. In this book excerpt
obtained from google books, Robinson-Brown discusses how mental health is viewed and
dealt with from an African-American womens perspective. In contrary to the last source
which refers mostly to men, this one deals with how racism and sexism come into play.
How in some cases, cases of denying mental illness can being much worse due to the

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even

more difficult circumstances women are placed under. This source will provide a good
comparison between the views of the last source and this one. Having a womans, mans
and general perspective will add an interesting diversity factor.

Snowden, Lonnie R. "Barriers to Effective Mental Health Services for African Americans."
National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine,
2001. Articles. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. This article discusses some of the main obstacles that aid
in the prevention of African-Americans willing to seek treatment for possible mental
illnesses. It also includes information from survey done by Snowden in 1998, where he
conducted an experiment and obtained results that stated that a majority of blacks sought
treatment from family or church members rather than professional. Even though this
survey was conducted 18 years ago, based off information conceived from other sources,
its safe to say this mindset has not changed by much. The article also brings up another
important reoccurring point that, African -Americans suffering from severe mental
illness as indicated in high rates of homelessness and incarceration, and as exacerbated by living
in stress-enhancing communities (Snowden). Since this source mostly contains
information from the past it will be helpful with comparing facts and stigmas from then
to those in the present.