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July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, but how much do you know about the Black woman who inspired its creation? Before mental health became a mainstream conversation, Bebe Moore Campbell used her voice to challenge the silence surrounding mental illness – particularly in Black communities.
Campbell was an award-winning author, journalist, educator and advocate who transformed her personal experiences into a national movement for mental health awareness. Her work helped expose how cultural barriers and a lack of accessible care prevented many people of color from seeking support.
Her daughter, actress Maia Campbell, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, according to Campbell’s bio on Mental Health America. The author saw firsthand how difficult it could be for families, particularly Black families, to find culturally informed resources and support. Instead of keeping that struggle private, she turned it into a mission to make mental health conversations more open and inclusive.
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“While everyone — all colors — everyone is affected by stigma – no one wants to say ‘I’m not in control of my mind.’ No one wants to say, ‘The person I love is not in control of [their] mind,” Campbell said.
Her books often explored issues of race, family and mental health, including “72 Hour Hold,” a novel centered on a mother navigating her daughter’s mental health crisis. Beyond writing, she became a leading advocate, co-founding NAMI Urban Los Angeles and pushing for greater awareness of mental health disparities affecting communities of color.
Her message was simple but revolutionary: mental illness should not be met with shame.
“People of color really don’t want to say it because we already feel stigmatized by virtue of skin color or eye shape or accent,” Campbell previously said. “We don’t want any more reasons for anyone to say, ‘You’re not good enough.’”
In 2005, Campbell called for a national campaign to address stigma around mental health, particularly among African Americans, according to NAMI. She emphasized that seeking treatment was not a sign of weakness and that recovery was possible.
Campbell died from brain cancer in 2006 at age 56, but her advocacy continued through the efforts of her family, friends and mental health advocates. In 2008, Congress officially designated July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month to increase awareness of mental health challenges facing underserved communities and promote access to care.
Today, the month honors Campbell’s belief that mental health care must recognize culture, identity and lived experiences. Communities of color have historically faced barriers to treatment, including stigma, limited access to providers and a lack of culturally responsive care.
Her life’s work challenged a long-standing belief that pain had to be hidden. Instead, she showed that telling the truth about mental health could be an act of healing, advocacy and change.
