Kofi Siriboe Makes An Urgent Case For Discussing Black Mental Health
His new short documentary, “WTF Is Mental Health?,” seeks to define mental health and undo some of the preconceived notions people have about it.
Black mental health isn’t just a talking point for Kofi Siriboe.
He’s serious about the topic ― and about making room for black people to have open and honest discussions on it.
“I feel like with mental health, people always react negatively. We kinda have a lot of stigma in our community and in society in general,” the 24-year-old actor told HuffPost. “I feel like that space wasn’t really created for us.”
The “Queen Sugar” actor is using his platform to change that. Siriboe stepped behind the camera for “WTF Is Mental Health?” ― one of his first forays into production and a project he’s releasing exclusively to HuffPost. Filmed in the Bronx, the short-form documentary explores mental health among young black people. In the mini-documentary, seven people get real about their individual mental health journeys and discuss the challenges and stigmas they’ve faced along the way.