To mark Black History Month, nursing student Julieth shares her reflections on mental health by looking back on Dr Martin Luther King’s life. She wants to help others to stop suffering in silence and know that it is ok to ask for help.
October, let us remember those that came before us. Let’s celebrate, acknowledge, and pay homage to the Black individuals that fought for our freedom and equal rights day in and day out. As we honour this heritage, it is fundamental to recognise the importance of mental health. Let us reflect on the challenges that freedom fighters faced in those segregating times.
“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right”
Just imagine for a moment if you were a public figure. Everybody knows who you are because you are fighting for freedom/change to eradicate racism and discrimination being faced by Black people all over the country. The majority do not want this change, but you have become the face of this fight for change.
You know deep within your soul that each day you step out of your house could be your last day on this earth. Because one day, any day, someone will succeed in killing you. Yet, you know that no matter the outcome, dead or alive, this change must come and someone must fight. Change/freedom does not come to your door and knock and say “hi there, my name is freedom, my name is change and now you are free”.
Dr Martin Luther King once said, “we know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” You know you must fight and when I say fight, I mean really fight.
“When our nights become darker than a thousand midnights”
And it is not just your life in danger. It is your family members (Dr Martin Luther King’s house was bombed in 1956 because he was leading the Montgomery bus boycott), your associates, even neighbours. To the point that some Black people may not want to be associated with you for fear of their own lives and family.
This will lead to loneliness being shunned by your own people even though you are fighting for everybody’s freedom. Stop and think for a moment, do you think you could have taken on that kind of responsibility especially back then, would you have had that dedication that drive at that time when being black alone felt like a crime?
Let alone this man this great man became the face of that fight, of course he had people that fought along with him absolutely but as far as most people were concerned, he was an infuriating Black man that wanted to ruin what was working for that system back then. The system that was driven by ignorance and hate.
“Let us realise the arch of the moral universe is long but bends towards justice”
Yet even through all this, Dr Martin Luther King Junior took on this mantle and said “I will speak up no matter what.” What do you think went through his mind at the end of each day he got to step his foot through his front door? Do you think he took a deep long breath and said “made it back home another day alive and well, but it could be my last”?
What about when he was sitting alone in his office/study just thinking. Do you think there were times he got really scared and wanted to give up? Or do you think the resolve of what he was trying to achieve gave him such adrenaline that the only emotion he experienced was that of one marching off to war saying come what may I’m here for it?
Because it was a war, fighting for freedom, so do you think he may have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or even anxiety?
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character”
Do you think there was Dr Martin Luther King Junior the activist and Dr Martin Luther King Junior the family man so that he could separate the two and be able to function in both roles when needed? The family man is left at home and the activist goes to war.
But if that were the case, would he have been able to fight so hard without being both of those personalities at the same time? Because both are connected and need the other.
“When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair”
There is a saying it is lonely at the top. This saying may have very much applied to Dr Martin Luther King. Think of the threatening letter that Dr Martin Luther King received, the letter he himself deducted as a letter to urge him to commit suicide. At that time, the only thing that made sense to him was these people wanted him dead and they sure did want him gone as he was a hated man for fighting for freedom.
Even anger can turn a person mad even if it is just for a moment. Dr Martin Luther King grew in a world full of hate and discrimination.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”
A time where a Black person had to stand up and give up their seat on the bus for a white person to sit. How many moments like those can you imagine he had to endure silently as it was the law at that time (Jim Craw Laws)? How many times did he have to internalise his anger for fear of prosecution or retaliation as he had no rights?
That kind of anger and despair can build up into something unimaginable. In his younger years, it has been claimed that Dr Martin Luther King tried to commit suicide twice. The first time when he thought his sister had died, and the second time when he blamed himself for his maternal grandmother’s death because he had snuck away from studying to go and watch a parade.
So, he thought God was punishing him for this. He was also stabbed in the chest in 1958 and was arrested 29 times for fighting for equality and freedom.
“Hate is just as injurious to the hater as it is to the hated. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity”
Would you say that this is a person who did not have difficult moments, a man not haunted by something, or a man without ghosts? I think not.
Is it a possibility that his mental health well-being may have been compromised because of so much hate? I am posing questions to you the reader and speculating whether there may have been times in his life where his responsibilities may have become too much to bear. And if so, do we think whether he had support in the background such as his peers, family or other activists that were his pillars that supported him when he had dark days?
I imagine he had many dark days as those times/that era was a time were Black people were expected to stay in their lane and be grateful for being allowed to walk on the earth and be still breathing, let alone start fighting for change.
“I just want to do God’s will”
Do you think he turned to God for support as he was a Reverent in his own right? Do we think his faith, his beliefs are what drove him, made him strong and empowered this man. And for a person who believes in God, the motto is always “it is God’s plan”. I am a very curious cat really just wondering, as there are so many people we take for granted. We do not take the time to wonder what someone is going through.
“The true neighbour will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others”
You could see a person smiling, being helpful, laughing, and joking only to find out tomorrow the same person committed suicide. There have been so many stories when you hear people say “I was just with them yesterday they were in good spirits and I am shocked that this happened”. This is because we are not mind readers. You can never truly know how someone is feeling, what is going on in their mind and what type of baggage a person is carrying, the turmoil inside, if they have a lot on their shoulders.
Be kind, treat others as you would like to be treated and take the time to check on one another, show that you care and be very observant of others as you may just save a life.
Julieth C Mudarikiri
If you are struggling with mental health, RGU offers free counselling sessions to all students, this includes both UK/Scottish students and international students. You can find out more about the service on our website or book directly via AskRGU.
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My Mental Health Journey at RGU
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