🌑 The Invisible Ache: Grief, Black Youth, and Suicide Prevention

There is an ache that lives quietly in the hearts of many Black youth—a pain that is often invisible to the outside world. It is the ache of carrying trauma, systemic inequities, and cultural stigma while trying to navigate the everyday challenges of growing up. This Invisible Ache is not always spoken about, yet it shapes lives, choices, and futures.

Before I begin, I learned so much about this ‘Ache’ from Author Cortney B. Vance in his book ‘The Invisible Ache: Black Men Identifying Their Pain and Reclaiming Their Power’.

For me, this ache became devastatingly real with the loss of my 19 year old son, Jamal, to suicide. Jamal was bright, loving, and full of potential, but the weight of unspoken pain became too heavy. His death shattered my world and revealed a truth I am still learning to carry: he did not have to die. The systems around him, the silence in our communities, and the lack of culturally grounded support failed him—and too many others like him.

Doing hard things like grief means facing this reality head‑on. It means naming the ache, refusing to let it remain invisible, and building spaces where Black youth can be seen, heard, and supported. It means creating resources that speak their language, honor their culture, and remind them that their lives matter deeply.

Jamal’s story is not just my grief—it is a call to action. Suicide prevention in Black communities must be rooted in equity, representation, and healing. We must dismantle stigma, amplify youth voices, and ensure that no parent has to whisper the words, “My child died, and it didn’t have to happen.”

The Invisible Ache is real, but so is our power to transform it into resilience, belonging, and hope. By speaking Jamal’s name and sharing his story, I honor his life and commit to building a future where Black youth are not defined by silence or loss, but by possibility and joy.

✨ “In memory of Jamal, and in honor of every young life, may we continue the work of making the invisible visible—and the ache, healable.”