10 - We Were Calling For Help (Part 1) Artwork

The Next 72 Hours

In most states, a person may be held for up to 72 hours for treatment and evaluation of a suspected mental illness. Sometimes, 72 hours can't tell the whole story.The Next 72 Hours brings you the lived realities of Black people navigating the American mental health system. In each episode, psychiatrists Dr. Dani Hairston and Dr. Nwayieze Ndukwe break down and delve into stories of people seeking (or not seeking) mental health help and the repercussions that come with either decision. Through current events and historical happenings, the hosts and their guests explore provocative questions about medicine, society, racism, and mental health. Every hold has a story. Every story has a history.

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The Next 72 Hours

10 - We Were Calling For Help (Part 1)

June 28, 2022 • The Next 72 Hours

In part one of our season finale, we hear the story of Samuel Celestin, who was killed by the police while experiencing a mental health crisis. Sammy’s sister, Joanne, and brother, Jean, join us to describe how a 911 call for medical transport to psychiatric treatment was answered by police brutality and death. Why weren’t the police ever held accountable for causing Sammy’s death? Would Sammy have been treated differently if he was not a Black man?

We’ll also speak with DeRay McKesson, a civil rights activist, author, podcaster, and educator who is often associated with the Ferguson protests and Black Lives Matter movement. He co-founded Campaign Zero, a campaign to reduce police violence through policy reform that is helping to bring attention to the Samuel Celestin case.

MUSIC

“Faster Bassier” (theme song) by DJ Fatha Julz
“Sunset” by Podington Bear // From Free Music Archive // CC BY NC
“Between Four Eyes” by Czar Donic // From Free Music Archive // CC BY NC