llion americans have disabilities. capitalize on their talents with employment practices that benefit everyone. learn more at whatcanyoudocampaign.org welcome to "our world with black enterprise." i'm lamont hill. our all access profiles one of washington's most influential lawmakers, plus we'll take you inside the trauma and silence of mental illness in the black community. later, how a failed suicide attempt changed the life of r&b singer general ian. that's what's going on in "our world" starting now. captions made possible by the u.s. department of education and central city productions, inc.

democrats are under attack. republicans are threatening to take back congress and the tea party is creating controversy that some say has racial undertones. so what is the congressional black caucus doing to keep democrats in power? in our all access interview, i talk with california congresswoman and chair of the cbc barbara lee. thank you so much for being here. i know this is a very busy time for democrats in particular. there are all kinds of predictions coming out. people are saying the house and senate might be lost, voters aren't going to turn out. how are you feeling right now about everything? >> i'm feeling a sense of urgency. it's very important that the african-american community get energized to come out to vote in november. casting on our historic vote for

our great president barack obama was just the beginning. what's important is we understand the political process and recognize that in order for change to occur, we have to stay solved. that's the essence of democracy. >> you talked about being a lot of first-time voters in 2008. we saw energy from celebrities and everybody in getting president obama elected. many of those voters now feel as though their work is done but they also seem to feel nothing is happening. what do you say to people who say we voted for change and we don't quite see it manifesting yet? >> i would say to those voters that, first of all, change is really hard. it took us this far and this long to get this far, and so when you look at the historic legislation, for instance, that's been passed, my goodness, health care reform, that is so, so big, so essential to the african-american community. that's the big fight.

but we made a great first step and established a foundation for universal and affordable health care. also, i have to say when you look at the numbers of jobs that the bush administration had not created and the job loss that was taking place, and when you look at now what is taking place in our economy, of course we have not created enough jobs. but we've stopped the hemorrhaging and things are moving in the right dprex. >> do you think the press response and media response and maybe even the country's response might be different if, say, the president weren't black? >> well, we don't know. all we have is history to look at. we have to look at what happened during the last administration, previous administration. of course, i believe that race is still a factor. we have to understand this is not a post racial america, and understand that there are those who would like to see him fail for a variety of reasons. and so if we try to sweep race under the rug, then we will have not really addressed the entire

picture and the entire moment. and we have to understand that we must move forward and that the issues of race and the issues of racism and sexism and all of the inequalities that still exist in our country are there. we have to fight and move forward to try to correct those. >> there's one group of people who feel like they're being excluded, talking about the tea party. they are on the right and they're visible and starting to influence statewide elections. they're everywhere. people are talking about them. what does it mean that we have this kind of tea party plovment at the same time we have these pressing issues in our country? is the tea party a sign we're moving in the wrong direction or that something is wrong? what does it mean? >> i think it means there are many opportunities, first of all, to organize. of course, i totally disagree with the tea party. but in a democracy, everyone has a right to petition their government. so i say to the african-american

community, to communities who are struggling, who have been marginalized, we need to make that kind of noise. we need to march, we need to rally, petition our government. hold your elected officials accountable. >> i want to talk about perhaps the most important vote cast in the last ten years in the congress. talking about your vote in 2001. planes go into the towers. the nation is petrified. george bush asked congress to authorize him to do whatever he needs to do. everyone authorizes it except one person. >> september 11th changed the world. our deepest fears now haunt us. yet i am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the united states. >> what were you thinking? >> well, first, that was such a tragic time. it was a terrible time for the families of victims, and i still pray for them.

it was because of the tragic moment that i thought congress should step back for a moment and be rational about a response. the resolution that came to the congress three days after that horrific attack was a resolution that gave not only president bush but any subsequent president a blank check to use force anywhere in the world. and that resolution as it was written said the president is authorized to use force against any organization, nation, individual he or she deems connected to 9/11. now, that resolution did not target al qaeda. it did not target afghanistan. it was so unspecified it was scary. first of all, congress has the constitutional responsibility to declare war. you don't give any president that the power of the people to declare war. that's the first problem. secondly, it was a blank check. that resolution has been used

for wiretapping. it's been used as the basis for the war which we should not have fought in iraq. i'm trying to get that resolution repealed. so i've introduced a resolution to repeal that authorization. >> what are the challenges of being an african-american woman trying to make change in washington? >> well, we have 14 great african-american women in the congressional black caucus. these women are the boldest and the most brilliant members of congress. they're incred nl. i am telling you, we bring our unique perspective to public policy. for example, i was on public assistance. i raised two children as a single mom. and we have to fight these battles such as cutting food stamps, such as cutting the safety net, and many of us who are african-american women really get it. we know what that's about. so we have to use our experience and our understanding of impacts of budget cuts and of doing

things that would be terrible for people on our deliberations and our decision making. but we still have to face a lot of the stuff that everyone faces, all black women face. so wet can't forget, and i don't think any woman in the congressional black caucus has forgotten from where they came and who they are, and so, you know, i have to take that into my decision making whenever i cast these votes. >> powerful words. congresswoman, thank you. it's been a pleasure to meet you. >> thank you. up next, struggling with mental illnesses, how the black community is coping. >> i wish somebody would have told me i wasn't crazy.

welcome back to "our world." mental illness is one of the most difficult stigmas to deal with in the black community. so what can be done to break the cycle that may be preventing proper diagnosis and treatment? joining us in the studio are psychiatrist dr. janet taylor, mental health advocate michael denzel smith and seliah abrams, author of "no more drama." thank you all for joining me. dr. taylor, i want to start with you. we've seen so many statistics come out. for example, african-americans make up only 12% of the population, yet 25% of all mental health rates. what's going on in our

community? >> it's not just our companity. statistics show that over half americans have a diagnoseable mental illness or disorder. most don't seek treatment. we may have issues of depression but we think it's a sign of weakness. we really haven't made the connection between a diagnoseable mental illness that can be treated and actually going to have care, understand we need to lose the stigma so we can function better for ourselves and our families. >> speaking of stigma, we have a cultural thing around church, community, school. trying to avoid mental health issues. michael, what do you see is the principle reason we walk away from mental health issues without addressing them? >> we view it as a personal weakness. we choose to suffer in silence because we believe that's strength. we have had to adopt strength as a defense mechanism and survival technique. >> what's the first step? when we first have, as you call it, a breakdown, what should we do? >> the first thing that anyone

needs to do when going through a severe depressive episode which is what i had experienced is to be able to reach out and get help. you have to first acknowledge the truth of what's going on. but aside from the general mistrust of medical profession in our communities, there's a huge amount of emphasis placed on game face, holding it down, keeping it together. are willing to suffer in silence rather than to break that code of silence and admit they need help. >> that's an interesting thing. michael, you talked about in your own writing, your journey through the issues around mental illness. you talked about not just howdy it is aa black person but particularly as a black man. >> there's no one that looks like me who is talking about their journey through mental health disorders. recently ron ar test who at the end of the championship said he has a psychologist and people are laughing about it because we don't -- it's not something that -- i've heard all the time,

black men don't go to therapy, they go to the barber shop. when i was going to my depression, the only people i knew that went to therapy were in woody allen movies. they're all white people who are crazy. we need more people that look normal that are living with the mental health disorder instead of they are the mental health disorder. >> can i just touch on that? when you mentioned about normalizing, in my instance i was suffering from a personality disorder. for people to say if you suffer from a mental illness, that somehow you're crazy; that's the first thing that needs to go. we need to stop putting that label on people and allow it to be seen as a normal spectrum. >> that's part of popular culture. we have haunted houses that have people that escaped from the mental institution, somewhere movies about people who so-called lost their mind. >> we believe they can't function in normal society. we have to erase that because there are so many others that are going through it and going

through it silently. if we present images of people that are living with it and going through and coming out of it and functioning normally, then we can break those type -- >> movies talk about soes opinion think and psych path think. those aren't curable disorders. i know you can speak more about that. >> i think the media does do a disservice. also when people are depressed or have a disorder, they will self medicate with alcohol or drugs before they do something else or go see someone. in many cases it's easier to say i have a problem with drink or drugging than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. >> how much of that is not just people choosing alcohol over medication, how much is people not having resources, whether it's money or not knowing which doctor to go to. >> it is difficult, but resources are out there. you have to open your mouth and you have to ask. so access alone is not the issue. i'll tell you one thing, even once people access the system,

75% of people don't come back. >> why is that? >> that's the million dollar question. do they not feel welcome, not want the diagnosis, do they not have money for medication? that's where the real barrier is. it's one thing to access the system, another thing to keep people coming back. >> we live in a culture that wants a fix now. alcoholism, of course, is a great escape route. i've been in recovery for 16 years. i know when i was younger, i would go and see a therapist and keep drinking, not wanting the give up the alcohol. you think it's easier to drown yourself in a bottle or take pills or get lit and not deal with the issue which in and of itself creates a whole other issue. >> speaking of medication, we actually have a question from one of the viewers that deals with this issue that i'd like you to respond to. >> hi. my name is ash ka jones. my question is do you think more children are on add, adhd medicine because the diagnosing criteria has changed or it's

easier to deal with children on medication than it is to counsel them? >> what do you say about that? african-american children some say are over medicated with things like ridlin and drugs. what is that about? >> it is about an over diagnosis. add, adhd is a real psych ak trick diagnosis. unless the criteria are followed and they have the complete neuropsych logical exam, they could have thyroid disorder or medical problem. we shouldn't be medicating our kids. >> on the ground, michael, if you were talking to teachers or if you were talking to parents and you were wanting to give them some instruction on how to identify or respond to their children who may have mental health needs, what should they look for? >> the thing i tell people, i wish somebody would have told me i wasn't crazy. that's the first thing -- don't attach any shame to it. approach it with the same love and care that you would when they have a cold, a sniffle, a headache, a fever. that same approach, it works

when you're dealing with mental health issues. >> that seems to be the key here, dealing with the care and dealing with it publicly. i'm glad you were able to come here and have a publication conversation, and i hope we can move if conversation forward. promise me you'll come back again. dr. janet taylor, michael denzel smith and seliah abrams, thanks for being here. up next, r&b singer general ian shares his own struggles with mental illness and how it almost took his life. >> i took the road of self medicating as far as drinking. i didn't shoot drugs or nothing like that. i didn't go that far.

it was more surreal than anything. you're under fire. you're getting blown up. there's definitely adrenaline. there was the explosion, and i remember just opening my eyes, and it got both of my legs. i had surgery after surgery, you know, i was on a lot of pain medicine. "what's going to happen next? and how long am i going to be here?" the wounded warrior project dropped off a backpack for me. and it had everything in there that i could possibly have needed at that time. peer visitors, people who have been where i had been before, said, "look, brother, "everything's going to be okay. "three months from now, or four months "from now, a year from now, you'll be fine." that type of thing was an invaluable service. to be honest, i don't know if i would be as well adjusted as i am now if it wasn't for them. to learn more, call...

or visit woundedwarriorproject.org. welcome back to "our world are black enterprise." when celebrities are rising to the top, one r andb singer is sharing his story to help others. ginuwine is our slice of life. in the '90s, r&b singer ginuwine was on top of the music charts, selling multi platinum albums with songs like "pony" and

"differences." with his sold-out concerts and tours, everything was going well for the artist until one day in 1999 when tragedy hit close to home. >> my dad passed first. he shot himself in the head. then my mom passed the next year. at that point it was too much to bear. with my father, he called me before he did it. my mom passed while i was doing a movie. it was one of those things where i was, oh, my god, what am i going to do? i took the road of self medicating as far as drinking. i didn't shoot no drugs or nothing like that. i didn't go that far. but drinking was one of my getaways. >> getaways that let ginuwine down a road of depression causing him to attempt suicide three times. yet after the birth of his daughter, he realized it was time to get his life together. >> until then everything was really cloudy. that's the best analogy that i can use. then when my daughter came,

things started -- it didn't go away, but things started clearing up for me. >> ginuwine has been clean since 2005. after recovering from his own mental illness, he decided to help others in need. teaming up with his wife, former hip-hop artist tonya lump kin and friend terry lathe that, they fired spruce, special people requiring unique care equally. they have social and career development workshops. in his second year, the team hopes to build more houses around the country bringing more awareness to this silent community. >> i wish a little more light could be shed on what's going on in the mental health arena all around, with him being involved -- him having a platform that he can bring a little more light -- shed a little more light. >> people in the world need help. i needed help. there are some people -- i

thought, wow, what if someone was going through things i was going through and didn't have nobody to help. they usually check out. i always had a heart to help people period. >> these are people that can't care for themselves fully by themselves which is why they need the program. to me they need extra, the above and beyond what's required. we wanted to be able to do that. >> now back in the spotlight for his philanthropy and another new album, ginuwine say it is balance of both is exactly how he wants to be remembered. >> i want something that i created and something that i am a big part of to live on. to me the purpose of life is for you to really leave a seed in the earth to blossom. that's what i'mrying do. we'll be right back.

that's all the time we have this week. watch barbara lee's full interview at blackenterprise.com/ourworld. join me next week when i talk with blair underwood about his new role as president of the united states in "the event." i'm mark lamont hill. don't forget to follow me on facebook and twitter. thanks for watching "our world with black enterprise." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com