Consider This Our Flag

It was with bewilderment that I read the article at the end of September about a controversy at the University of Vermont. Students, with the university’s approval, had created a Black Lives Matter (BLM) flag and raised it alongside the flags of the university and the country. It was not long before there was all manner of debate. Incomprehensibly, there were voices stating that the BLM movement was a racist one. Then, on the next Saturday night, the flag was stolen. By Monday, a new flag had been run up the flagpole.

Our country is in a crisis. Black men and women are being shot and killed by law enforcement at a stunning rate. Most of these individuals are unarmed. Each one represents a distressing loss of life, weighing heavily on the individual’s family, community, and ultimately this country.

It is hard to overestimate the deleterious impact of such senseless deaths on black communities. You have likely heard the grim quip: “Driving while black.” Understandably, many in our country fear that the color of their skin will have a significant effect on any interaction they may have with law enforcement. For those who are black or brown, the fear, sadly, is far from unfounded.

Of course we need a solution to stem this wave of deaths. Maybe the solution can come through sensitivity training for law enforcement agents. Perhaps community oversight of police department functioning might be useful. But while we are implementing these kinds of potential solutions, we as psychiatrists must act. Our communities are in need of healing. Access to care for trauma and stress-related symptoms must be made available. A key challenge is that in some of these very same communities, mental health care services are scarce. We need to be creative and generate ways to provide support even in areas where services are scant. Perhaps a “train the trainer” approach to teach community leaders or peers to run group meetings focusing on healing and support can be implemented. Perhaps enlisting volunteers to come to the communities to conduct such trainings could help. What we know is that our profession is uniquely positioned to help our communities weather these tragedies.

APA has posted resources on its website that provide guidance on how to help in the setting of disaster. These resources can be deployed to local practitioners, because that is exactly what we need to call this heart-wrenching epidemic: a national disaster. The resources contain guidance on how to restore a sense of well-being in children after a disaster; instill safety, recovery, and hope after a crisis; and provide leadership in stress management, to mention a few.

Now, unlike the University of Vermont, APA does not have a flag posted outside its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. We cannot put up a flag to signify our solidarity with our fellow citizens engaged in the Black Lives Matter movement. But that does not mean we cannot wave a flag of a different sort: CONSIDER THIS OUR FLAG. ■