Racism Is A Mental Illness
So why is racism not included in the current DSM?
The most current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, was published earlier this year. Mental health professionals use the DSM to diagnose mental illnesses and personality disorders. Yet, after we have seen so many mass shootings carried out by avowed racists, racism still has not been officially classified as a mental illness.
Some psychiatrists believe racism is a social issue, and to include racism in the DSM would “medicalize” a social problem. Others advocate for making racism a psychological disorder, especially since extreme racist acts and beliefs often include some semblance of paranoia.
If racism was classified as a mental illness, and included in the DSM, could a defendant use racism as a legal insanity defense in court? Probably not. From Cornell Law School:
The federal insanity defense now requires the defendant to prove, by “clear and convincing evidence,” that “at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts.
Unless a defendant charged with a violent crime rooted in racism could prove they had no understanding of the crime they allegedly committed, a legal insanity defense based on racism would not be allowed.
Classifying racism as a mental illness would not mean people charged with hate crimes could simply plead insanity. It would mean, however, that racism would finally be treated as the mental health crisis it is. Perhaps behavioral therapy could be created to help racist individuals change the way their brains work.
And what about the psychological trauma racism causes people and communities of color? People of color live with fear, anxiety, and depression, Black parents teach their children how to survive if they are stopped by police. How to survive in a world where so many white people see them as violent or dangerous, or less than deserving of life. Trayvon Martin. Tamir Rice. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Philando Castile. Sandra Bland. People of color live with the effects of racism every minute of their lives.
We can’t end all hate crimes, we can’t teach every racist to see people of color as equal. But treating racism and racist beliefs as a mental health crisis might help stem the tide. Understanding that racism is a mental health crisis is the first step toward a possible future where acts of racist violence like the mass shooting in Buffalo, and the mass shooting at the hands of a white supremacist during a bible study at Mother Emmanuel Church, could be stopped before the horrible idea even plants a seed.
For more information on racism as a mental health crisis, and how racism affects the mental health of people of color, please visit Mental Health America.
