Sheila Abdus-Salaam may have very well taken her own life. Reports have suggested she struggled with depression and was taking new medications for it a few weeks ago. And the truth is that none of us have any idea what in the world was going on in her own mind in the days and hours before her death. Issues of depression, suicide and even counseling are still far too taboo in this nation — doubly so in many black communities. I'll admit that even my own initial gut reaction was, "No way a 65-year-old black woman took her own life." But that reaction denies Judge Abdus-Salaam the full three-dimensional humanity she deserves. It erases the possibilities of her struggles. Black women can be depressed. Successful black women can be depressed and they can commit suicide. That may have happened here and it's inappropriate to fully deny that possibility.