Candles burn during a candlelit vigil to mark World Suicide Prevention Week at College Green, Dublin. | Source: Liam McBurney – PA Images / Getty
UPDATED: 2:00 p.m. ET, Feb. 18, 2025
Originally published: Sept. 10, 2021
The world woke up to the tragic news Saturday morning that the only son of celebrated actress Regina King had died by suicide just a few days after his 26th birthday and less than a week after his mother’s.
Ian Alexander Jr.’s death was confirmed by his mother in an emotional statement that underscored the deep bond between the two, PEOPLE reported.
MORE: Suicide Rates Are Soaring For Black People During The Pandemic. Here’s What You Can Do To Help
“Our family is devastated at the deepest level by the loss of Ian,” King said. “He is such a bright light who cared so deeply about the happiness of others. Our family asks for respectful consideration during this private time. Thank you.”
King previously described her love for her son as “unconditional” and called being his mother “most fulfilling.”
Alexander, a DJ who performed under the name Desduné, offered a moving birthday tribute to King via an Instagram post a little more than a year ago that said in part having her as a mother “is the greatest gift I could ask for.”
The circumstances and details surrounding Alexander Jr.’s suicide were not immediately available.
However, his death draws attention to a rising trend of Black people taking their own lives. While overall statistics point to Black people typically having among the lowest suicide rates, new data shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed those numbers for the worst.
Whether it’s due to mental illness, stress, feelings of hopelessness or any of the multiple other reasons why people commit suicide, it is something that affects folks from all walks of life. Keep reading to find a list of notable Black people who have died by suicide.
Data provided by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center show that from 2010 to 2019 — the most recent years statistics were available for — Black people in the U.S. had a suicide rate of 7.4% per 100,000 people. That is compared to the overall rate of 13.2% per 100,000 people for everybody in the U.S.
When looking at the data according to age, Black people have the lowest suicide rates of all age groups, from childhood on up through the mid-80s.
“Among Black populations, suicide rates peak during adolescence and young adulthood, then decline. This is a different pattern than is seen in the overall U.S. population, where suicide rates peak in midlife,” according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center data.
Black males have more than double the suicide rate of Black females, but each group’s rate is significantly lower than that of their white counterparts.
Overall, “the suicide death rate for men is more than four times the rate for women in Black populations” and the “suicide death rate for the overall U.S. population is approximately double that of Black populations for both males and females,” the Suicide Prevention Resource Center found.
When it comes to suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, however, the rates for Black people are commensurately higher than the previous categories. In fact, “the percentage of past-year suicide attempt was higher in Black adult populations,” the Suicide Prevention Resource Center said.
Similar numbers are consistent with Black high-school-aged youth, as “a higher percentage of Black youth have attempted suicide in the past year.”
But that Suicide Prevention Resource Center data has been upended by the pandemic, which has sent them shooting through the roof.
A recent study analyzed a group of Maryland residents during the first six months of 2020. Interestingly, at the height of the lockdown during the Spring of 2020, researchers found an “overall decrease in suicides rates compared to the previous three years,” the study notes.
However, investigators also uncovered some alarming data. While suicides among White Marylanders decreased by 45 percent between early March and May, rates of suicide-related deaths among Black people in the state spiked by 94 percent during the same time period.
psychiatrist Paul Nestadt, who conducted the study, said he believes the virus’ disproportional impact on the Black community could have contributed to the massive surge, noting that African American’s were impacted harder during the pandemic–both in terms of fatality and infection rates coupled with historic numbers of unemployment.
“Infection and fatality rates are higher among Black people, and we know that there are huge disparities in access to care, including mental health care,” Nestadt told USA News, adding that the data was concerning. “This is a recipe for bad outcomes. When someone is struck hard by things around the pandemic and they can’t get access to good mental health care, they are in the most danger.”NewsOne has compiled a list of suicide prevention resources.
Keep reading to find a list below of notable Black people who have died by suicide, in no certain order.