March 20, 2024, will mark the 5th anniversary of the tragic death of Osaze Osagie, a former Penn State student killed by local police during a mental health event. While mental health challenges occur among black or African American people at about the same or less frequency than their white counterparts, racial disparities in health care and treatment, and encounters with law enforcement affect the former far more severely. This state of affairs demands urgent attention and "people-first" solutions.
In honor of Osagie's memory, and building on the far-reaching accomplishments of Penn State's African Studies Global Virtual Forum, the Africana Research Center and the College of the Liberal Arts are establishing an annual "Global Black Communities and Mental Health" series intended to elevate attention to issues of mental health among black communities across the African Diaspora, and advance critical conversations that foster meaningful connections between scholarly research in the social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities, and the everyday applications of this research for families, service providers, advocates and allies working to improve the quality of life in black communities. The highlight of the series will be an "Osaze Osagie Memorial Lecture" featuring a leading domestic or international scholar in areas of race and mental health.
The inaugural series event will feature a public conversation with Sybrina Fulton, racial justice activist and mother of Trayvon Martin, a child unjustly killed more than a decade ago. Jennifer Hamer, Professor, Department of African American Studies will serve as the event's host. The evening event will be open to the public and held in Hintz Alumni Family Center 6:30-8:00pm, March 26, 2024 and will be following by a reception. The Africana Research Center and the College of the Liberal Arts invite you to register HERE and look forward to your support for this critical work.