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 becaus