Beginnings...

      I am black and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder six years ago at the age of 23. After searching the web for, "black and bipolar" and finding hardly any results relevant to these predominant aspects of my identity, I figured there must be at least some people like myself out there who are dealing with these dual blessings that all too often masquerade themselves as burdens. That being said, this undertaking is open to and inviting of everyone; whether or not you find these descriptives personally applicable or completely foreign is immaterial; my focus lies in overraching and underlying commonalities to which all can relate.
     As I probe universal themes that may be intimately tied to or merely tangentially aligned with dimensions blackness and/or bipolarity, I hope that this blog 1) provides those interested and/or affected either directly or indirectly with a measure of empathy, a sense of empowerment, a source of "info-tainment", 2) operates as a resource for minority and/or mental health in general and bipolar disorder in particular 3) opens for debate taboos regarding the intersections between race and mental illness, and finally 4) clarifies the myriad misconceptions swirling around these issues.

      N.B: Please bear with me as I begin, and attempt to find a writerly voice that is consisent in tone; not overly colloquial and conversational, not cluttered and clinical to the point of sterility, but one that bespeaks a happy me(dium).