Congressman Cleaver Urges President Obama to Develop Joint Task Force Between CDC and ED to Battle Increased Suicides Among Black Children

Press Release

Today, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II wrote to President Obama to call for a joint task force between the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Education, on the problem of increased suicides among black children. A recent study revealed the rate of suicide among black children has increased in the past few years.

"Suicide is truly a tragedy for any family it affects," said Congressman Cleaver. "There is something especially saddening and shocking when very young children, between the ages of five and eleven, take their own lives. As a father and grandfather, I can only imagine the pain these families must face. This national study demonstrates that African-American children are more likely to be exposed to violence and traumatic stress which, in part, can increase the risk of depression, impulsive aggression, and suicide. The consequences for our children are more than dire--they are deadly. I urge the President and his Cabinet to identify proposals that healthcare and education providers can implement to deal with this heart-wrenching crisis, and to prevent further loss of life."

The study, Suicide Trends Among Elementary School--Aged Children in the United States From 1993 to 2012, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, found that the suicide rate among African-American children has almost doubled in the last two decades. This study also revealed that suicides by hanging roughly tripled among black boys, while remaining virtually unchanged for whites. To that point, the study noted that from 1993 through 2012, there were 657 suicides among children aged 5 through 11. Most were ages 10 or 11. The rate during the years studied was just over 1 per million children. But for black boys, it edged up from less than 2 per million to almost 3.5 per million.

Source