If you are a black man in Britain, you are 17 times more likely to be diagnosed with a serious mental health condition and six times more likely than a white man to be an inpatient in a mental health unit. These statistics alone are shocking; but what's more, these problems are often suffered in silence. According to U.K. charity Time To Change, 80% of POC who have experienced both mental health illnesses and discrimination are “unable to speak about about their experiences.” Without hearing about these experiences, many don't see how mental health issues can impact on the day-to-day lives of black men and women.

ADVERTISEMENT

This is what Zimbabwe-born, London-based writer and presenter (of online London station Radar Radio's breakfast show) Keith Dube sets out to uncover in a new documentary. Launching September 27 [update: available here] on the BBC's younger, cooler online channel BBC Three, Being Black, Going Crazy? shows 26-year-old Dube meeting black people suffering a range of problems, including anxiety, depression, and psychosis. The program aims to sensitively bring attention to the mental health crisis ongoing in black, British communities.

Dube’s interest in mental health is borne from his own experiences; three or four years ago, he was diagnosed with depression. Thankfully, he was referred to a therapist through the NHS, and today says he's doing much better. In February 2016, he published a self-help book (Kind Of Like A Self Help Book) which touches on his criminal past, the fall into poverty which triggered his depression, and how he managed to get through his darkest times. With all this behind him, Dube’s immediate empathy with the subjects of the documentary shines through its scenes. In a long phone conversation with The FADER, he was just as willing to be open and honest.