Following the fatal shooting of Walker by police, members of the black community are stepping up to provide emotional support.
Following the death of Joyland Walker, 25, an unarmed black man shot 46 times by police last month, black leaders in Akron, Ohio, are focusing on ways to help their community heal. While his death shocked residents, those who have lived in Akron for decades say that racial violence is all too common. The violence, combined with the community’s increased fear of police following Walker’s brutal death, has prompted advocates to develop health and wellness activities to assist those suffering from racial trauma, which, experts say, can lead to a post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression.
Brian Turner, the former dean of Buchtel Community Learning Center, the high school Walker attended, is among those coping with and addressing the trauma of Walker’s death. According to Turner, whose role frequently involved disciplining students, Walker was a good student who never got into trouble. “I just know that when he was in the building with his friends, he was a very respectful, mannerable young man,” he said. Turner, 59, said he sought solace after learning of Walker’s death by shooting. He was among more than 300 people who marched in downtown Akron during an NAACP-organized peaceful protest. While he was unable to attend Walker’s funeral, he said residents were expressing “a variety of different emotions,” including anger and hurt.
“We’re definitely upset,” he admitted. “The main concern is, ‘Why can’t we be treated humanely when you pull us over?'”
Turner, a former military police officer, finds Walker’s fatal shooting extremely upsetting. Turner claimed that in the spring of 1994, he was racially profiled by two white officers, one a training officer, and the other a rookie and that the incident could have escalated if he hadn’t been wearing his military uniform. “It was a racial profiling situation where they were following me,” he recalled. “I took three turns.” They turned three times. “OK, these guys are getting ready to light me up,” I said.
The officers explained that they couldn’t see the entire car tag on Turner’s license plate, which led him to believe they had no reason to pull him over. Myron Lewis, 59, a retired chemical dependency counselor in Akron, said Walker’s death has triggered him as well. Lewis, who previously worked in the prevention of juvenile substance abuse, said he met Walker after giving a motivational speech at his high school. He grew up with a few of Walker’s relatives and even played football with one of them. Lewis admits it was difficult to march in a peaceful protest in downtown Akron after Walker’s death.
“If I wanted to, I could have gone to six funerals in the last month,” Lewis said, referring to those in his community who died as a result of gun violence or natural causes. “It’s just been a difficult time.” He also stated that he sought therapy to address the emotional trauma he experienced as a result of gun violence in his community. With Walker’s death affecting many people in Akron, it appears that there will be a greater push for mental health counseling. However, according to Lewis, seeking therapy to deal with trauma is still a taboo subject in the black community. “A lot of people will say, ‘Well, you know, if the cops just stopped shooting, we wouldn’t even need mental health counseling,” he says.
According to John Queener, a psychology professor at the University of Akron and the executive director of the Minority Behavioral Health Group, one of the reasons black people don’t seek therapy on a regular basis is the belief that “what happens in the family stays in the family,” or that it’s best to keep personal matters private. According to him, there is a significant racial disparity in the mental health community due to a lack of culturally competent mental health care providers.
For example, in Summit County, which includes Akron, many black boys with behavioral issues at the local juvenile detention center are diagnosed with conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder. According to Queener, this diagnosis is made by in-house counselors based on an assessment that was not developed for them, which often results in many black boys being placed in the criminal justice system. “Whereas their white counterparts are more likely to be [diagnosed with] a mood disorder and to be placed in a diversion program,” he added. Queener believes that mental health professionals must address the cultural stigma of therapy as well as the need for more qualified therapists who can better evaluate the black community. He believes that if therapists create a system that caters to the needs of the black community, more people will attend and receive assistance.