Inside STAT: Black Americans on mental health, trauma, and resilience

AMONI (CRYSTAL MILNER/STAT)

“The weight of this moment is immeasurable,” writes STAT’s Crystal Milner in a new photo essay — this moment that is at the nexus of the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate effect on the Black community and the tragic deaths of Black men and women at the hands of police. For the essay, Crystal photographed and interviewed family, friends, and others in her community of Southern California about repeated trauma and stress and how being Black in the U.S. affects them, especially right now. "My mental health is not — it can’t be where I want it to be because Black folks are dying," Alexa tells Crystal in one interview. Amoni, who's originally from North Carolina, shares, "On top of having to navigate a pandemic and trying to stay healthy, Black people are having to fight for the right to live free of state violence. I’m just really so exhausted, so fed up, and out of the capacity to be nice." See their portraits — and read their stories — here.