Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending one’s own life (Wikipedia). About one million people commit suicide annually, which is more than those murdered or killed in war, making it the eleventh leading cause of death in the U.S. Furthermore, suicide is the one category where rates have contestably been lower for blacks than for whites. Caucasians (12 per 100,000) have higher rates of completed suicides than African Americans (5.1 per 100,000) (American Association of Suicidology). Suicide ranks third as a cause of death among young Americans ages 15-24 and for African Americans suicide has increased 83% for males in this age group. The rates of suicide among African American youths were generally low until the 1980’s when rates radically started to increase. The unusual increase in suicide rates among black males is now passing the rates of their white male age cohorts, more specifically in the 25-29 age group. This increase in suicide rates for blacks has prompted growing concern for psychiatrists, epidemiologists, social scientists, and mental health practitioners. In addition to the increase in black suicide rates, we are more interested in the attitudes toward suicide which may be a contributing factor to the increase in these rates. There are many factors which contribute to the differences in attitudes people develop toward suicide which include racial/ethic, religion, education, age, etc. Durkheim along with many other psychologists are arguing that suicide rates are higher for individuals who have higher education levels than individuals who are less educated. In an article done on privileged children it was reported that children experience more negative consequences, such as suicidal behavior, because they feel more pressure to succeed, attend college, and uphold the family name. Depending on these factors "some see suicide as a legitimate matter of personal choice and a human right, and maintain that no one should be forced to suffer against their will…" (Wikipedia). While on the other hand there are those who "consider suicide a sacrosanct right for anyone who believes they have rationally and conscientiously come to the decision to end their own lives" (Wikipedia). Obviously these differences are going to influence whether suicide is more acceptable to one person and not to another, making this topic of interest to us. We are curious about which factors contribute to more lenient attitudes towards suicide compared to those factors which contribute to more opposed attitudes. These differing attitudes may also help to explain the reason for the increase in suicide rates among young blacks. Therefore, we decided to do our research on suicide and education. Why suicide rates increasing among educated blacks compared to that of educated whites?

Although there are no theories in the United States that have been developed which are of special use in explaining racial differences in suicide, some explanations have been suggested in efforts to explain this phenomenon. Some explanations for the increase in suicide rates among young blacks are urbanization and the stresses associated with it (i.e. migration, unemployment, frustration), movement into the American mainstream, and certain conditions associated with "black female-black male" relationships (Phylon). In addition it has been said that blacks are unable to compete on equal terms because they are prevented from acquiring skills which are necessary for a technologically oriented society. There has been previous research and theories about suicide which we are going to use to help explain the different attitudes towards suicide.