With Sisters Thrive, Chirlane McCray Is Tapping the Power of Black Women to Address the Mental Health Crisis

Chirlane McCray is doing the work.

A recent write-up in the New York Times noted that McCray had redefined the role of first lady in the nation’s most populous city, with the paper calling her “likely the most influential, if not consequential” first lady in New York City’s history.

On Monday, McCray announced the latest component to ThriveNYC, her signature mental health initiative, Sisters Thrive, which harnesses the power and service of black women to address the unmet mental health needs of the black community.

McCray will spearhead a national coalition that brings together six historically black service organizations: Jack and Jill of America Inc., the Eastern Area of The Links, Incorporated, and each of the nation’s historically black sororities—Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority.

“It’s hard for me to imagine any group, any demographic, that is more deeply involved in terms of service to the community than these women,” McCray tells The Root.

The initiative is significant because black women are so frequently an afterthought, if they are considered at all, in conversations about health, generally. With Sisters Thrive, McCray not only centers black women but also taps into their networks and their commitment to their communities to create a viable, sustainable solution.

One of the coalition’s first-year goals is to train 10,000 black New Yorkers in Mental Health First Aid, a course that teaches people how to identify and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance-use disorders.

McCray took the course before launching ThriveNYC—“I was transformed by it,” she says.

“We all know what to do if someone is bleeding, if somebody fractures a body part. But we don’t know what to do if someone has a panic attack…

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