“Black People Die by Suicide Too.” It’s a sobering statement. A message T-Kea Blackman says, like many, her family avoided those kinds of talks.
“I always heard black people don’t kill themselves,” T-Kea said.
However, with suicide rates on the rise across the country over the last decade, specifically with black youth, that statement couldn’t be further from the truth. T-Kea, a Howard graduate, eventually came face to face with that reality after getting her master’s degree at Georgetown.
She battled with thoughts of taking her own life and at a time when she was celebrating her latest academic achievement, she tried to go through with it.
T-kea Blackmon She considered herself fortunate to be a survivor and learned how to heal while dealing with those dark thoughts. However, as she was going through her healing journey, T-Kea realized she wasn’t alone. Many others were going through the same things that she was.
It’s the very reason she started her podcast, which eventually grew into a nonprofit. She and her co-founder Jordan Scott made it their mission in life to help break the silence, and the more they talked about it, the more they realized people wanted to have the conversation. They just needed a safe space.