Virus, racism pose more mental health risks for black Americans

Kendrick Sampson attended a peaceful protest in Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles two weeks ago, which left him scarred in more ways than one.

During that protest against police brutality, he was shot by officers seven times with rubber bullets and beaten with batons, leaving him with lingering mental and physical wounds.

“We have never prioritized mental health in this country,” said Sampson, an actor and activist, speaking Monday at a Los Angeles City Council meeting where he and other Black Lives Matter Los Angeles representatives advocated for changes to the city’s budget. “Black and indigenous and brown folk in this country need healing, deserve healing, but instead are met by more trauma by these systems.”