I hate Black History Month. I think it’s preposterous that black history is something that gets only a month from the year, despite the fact that it is just history. Just teach the truth. And I’m not huge on black as a prefix. Of course, there are some important exceptions, but many things that we see prefixed by “black” aren’t a precondition of black lives. And the word or phrase that follows does not become “un-black” without it. Black history is all our history.
That’s why I don’t like the idea that my show The Whole Truth is a black mental-health music show for Black History Month. It’s not.
I’ve been campaigning in mental health through the IAMWHOLE campaign for the past four or five years, and even though Black History Month is always October and World Mental Health Day always falls on 10 October, this is the first time I can recall “black mental health” being a phrase with any traction. We are more than happy to utilise the overdue reflection that has come this year to raise awareness, but both topics are things that should live beyond a day and a month of the year.
For me, The Whole Truth, the music programme that was on Channel 4 to mark World Mental Health Day, is a platform for incredible creators in their own right, from the three amazingly gifted musicians featured to the crew backstage. They all excel and aren’t being given a seat at the table just because it happens to be October. The show will live on through streaming on All 4. It’s an opportunity for viewers to tap into the knowledge of people who have a lived experience that may be different to their own or, perhaps more importantly, similar in ways they might not have anticipated.
Arlo Parks, at just 20 years old, demonstrates an understanding of pain and grief that many people well beyond her years can learn from. The same can be said for Che Lingo, who also channels an authentic anger into his lyrics – a very misunderstood emotion, too often dismissed as unhealthy or unproductive. Kojey Radical has a deep voice and commanding delivery, and his words carry a vulnerability that other strong, tough men are carrying, too. The three aren’t the typical faces we see at the front of the mental health movement and that’s why it’s so important that this opportunity gives them a platform to speak, and for us to hear their perspectives.
These three emotionally intelligent artists make beautiful comments about bravery and grief, self-love and relationships. These are parts of our lives that transcend race. They connect everybody to everybody. We all need the same inputs to survive. Breathing helps everyone. Eating well helps everyone. Talking about your emotions helps everyone. Recovery doesn’t have an identity. It doesn’t shift because of the way you look.
A music show may not seem like the most obvious place to find an informal group therapy session, but music in itself is therapy. Lyrics and poetry can express our innermost feelings in ways we cannot otherwise find the words for. Rappers and MCs have been normalising words of bereavement and loss in music for decades.
There has also been a transition in the way people interact with musicians, who are more open than ever about their lives offstage. With social media, you can see what your favourite artist is doing throughout the day. Musicians feel less afraid to show their humanity. This programme has power by bringing together those two threads – the onstage and offstage artist – into one. You see their connection to humanity in a way that isn’t contrived.
Being a mental health campaigner, I want the conversation to be as inclusive as possible. The people whose voices are heard the loudest in these discussions have made it almost another type of gentrification. It shouldn’t be about wealthy white celebs flogging green juices and yoga while excluding people who may be dealing with different financial circumstances. It’s so important for everybody to see themselves represented in conversations around mental wellbeing, especially those whose circumstances may bring more psychological unrest. Grief is a language everyone speaks. Love is a language everyone speaks. They are two sides of the same coin.
We live within a system that is anti-love. You can get rich by being a horrible human being, while care workers are paid next to nothing. I think everybody struggles with that. It’s important that we don’t turn away from each other’s hardships because we’re uncomfortable dealing with our own.
Listening to people speaking their truth opens up the idea that, ultimately, we all have a similar goal, which is to find an authentic sense of our self in a world that is incessantly overwhelming.
The Whole Truth is available to watch on All 4
