The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Therapy in the Black Community - Beyond the Scenes

Episode Date: May 31, 2022

Roy Wood Jr. is joined by Daily Show writer X Mayo and producer Ashton Womack for a discussion about Black mental health, the Black church and the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Daily Show Ears Edition, listener. What's up? It's Roywood Jr. I'm recommending one of my favorite episodes of the Daily Shows Beyond the Scenes podcast as we bring Mental Health Awareness Month to a close. This episode was about the obstacles black people face when seeking mental health treatment. I was joined by Daily Showwriters, the ta. And Daily Showwriter Astran Womack for a deeply personal discussion about mental health, the Black Church, and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. If you like the show, be sure to check out new episodes every Tuesday in Telafrain available on IHart Radio App, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. What is up everybody? I am Roy Wood Jr.

I am a correspondent for the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Welcome to Beyond the Scenes. This is a podcast where we journey deeper into the topic and issues that we've addressed on the show and explore them even more to see where we are today on these same issues. And we're going to do that with some of the shows, writers and producers and special guests, you know how, like, the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their th. I th. I th. I thi tho. I tho. I their tho. I'm tho. I'm tho. I'm tho. I tho. I their their their their their their their th. I I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I their th. I their their thi their their their thi tho tho tho tho tho tho th their th their their tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho their where we are today on these same issues. And we're going to do that with some of the shows writers and producers and special guests. You know how on the actual daily show we do between the scenes. But see now we're going beyond, I'm going to say it just like that every time, beyond the scenes.

Today we're going to be talking about mental health in the black community. Now this is a topic top to to to to to tod tod tod tod tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho the tho tho tho their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, the, the. today, today, today, today, today, today, today, the. their their their their their, their, their, their community. Now, this is a topic that we dealt with on the show back in December of 2019. There are few groups who could stand to benefit from therapy more than black people. I mean, think about all the things black people have been through. Slavery, segregation, winter, all equally traumatic experiences. But unfortunately, even as therapy has become more mainstream, the black community has had a tough time getting the help that they need.

Now I don't know if you heard, 2020 was a crazy year, all right? A little bit off. You know, you had the pandemic, we had the election, we had the uprisons that occurred after the murders of George Floyd, Ahmed Abrey Blynay, taler. Needless to say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say say to say to say say say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say the the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, th. th. th. th. th. t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20. t, 20. t, 20, 20. t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t, t. t. tha. tha. tha. t a country that needed some therapy, especially black people. But see, in the black community, access to mental health care is lacking. Black and Hispanic children are less likely to get mental health care than white kids. And studies show that irritability and the average white teenager is often labeled as

depression. That same behavior is more likely to be seen as disruptive in black or Latino children. And doctors say that can lead to feelings of hopelessness at a very young age. We have a stigma in the black community when it comes to dealing with mental health. Black students say where they come from, it's shameful to talk about anxiety, depression and trauma. Making the crisis worse, not enough African-American therapists. Today only 4% of psychologists are black. It's a serious issue and then having to talk to therapists who don't understand you, that can make matters even worse. Like imagine wasting half your session explaining what while and out

means. Like you'd have to stop every 10 minutes talking to a white therapist to break down some of the damn ebonics or imagine how awkward it gets telling your white therapist that you're in therapy because of white people. Like, that'd be like the roadrunner talking to another coyote about Wiley Coyote.'s a lot more to explore with this issue. And that's why we have to go beyond the scenes. So to help me do that, I'd like to bring in two wonderful, wonderful people from the Daily Show. I saw these people in the hallways numerous times before the shutdown.

First up, I'd like to introduce Ashton, Womack. He is a producer and researcher for the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Ashton, good day to you, sir, from Parts Unknown, wherever you are. What up, Roy, it's gonna stay Parts Unknown, because I don't trust nobody on the internet. What up? You're literally on the internet right now talking to me, is that of one of our many Emmy nominated writers on the Daily Show Staff. She is ex Mayo X what is Hattonin'

Hello Roy. Now it's my job to take this topic and kind of merge where you two came in because you both have different entry points but you all are integral parts and how the show is created on the day to day. The best thing the best analogy I can give to these two for the listeners you know you have a producer researcher and you have a writer the producer he goes in shops for the groceries the writer the writer is the chef with that analogy does that make sense at all does that even yeah. That's a th. th. That's a great a great a great a great th. That's a great. That's a great. That's a great. That's a great. It's a great. It's a great. It's a great. It's a great. It's a great. It's a great. It's a great. It's a great. It's a great. th. th. th. th. the the the th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. thi. tri. tri. tri. tri. te. tri. te. te. today. today. thi. the. the. the. the. the is the chef. With is that analogy? Does that make sense at all?

Does that even? Yeah. That's a great analogy. It's a great. I bring the popcorn, the apples, the milk. And then I tell her to make me a great. And I say, what the fuck is this? Ashtah, hell I am I supposed to do with popcorn apples and milk? That's

what I grew up on, okay? Yes. That sounds wild but that's literally how the show is made. One person has an idea or an issue or a problem. Ashton will go to Trevor and the producers and go, hey mental health and the black people and we need a hug and nobody is hugging us and the people that can give you a professional hug you can't, and then X goes okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, I I I I I I I I I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tha, th. tha, tha, tha, tha, thi, thi, thi you a professional hug you can't find and then X goes okay I'll figure out a way to make that funny you go sit down somewhere and have yourself some milk and apple so Ashton I'll start with you so how did you settle on black mental health and clearly the pitch was so good that we actually put it on the show so what was what was your entry point into this top the entry point? Oh the entry point was actually. I was the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the th. the th. the the th. th. their. their. their their their their their their their their their their. their their their. th. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. their. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their te. te. te. te. te. te. te. to. to. their. their. their. their their wasn't going to submit that idea at all. I had my packet was already done.

I was at the end of my packet and I was looking at it and I was looking at the topic that's been in my head and I was looking at the topics I was talking about and I was like if I'm going to submit a packet I'm going to talk about. I'm going to talk about something. I'm not going to to to to to to the the to the the to the the to the the the the the the the the the the the the the to talk about what everybody's, not necessarily what everybody's talking about, but I'm gonna put my flavor on it, what is something that's deeply inside of me that I want to talk about? And that is mental health issues is like, I don't wanna say mental health issues, it's something I had to overcome. I think that's something many people,

everyone in this country faces, everybody on the planet is the, And that was something for me that kind of really helped define my adulthood was battling, just battling trying to stay mentally healthy. No one teaches you how to, you learn how to do push-ups, you learn how to eat right, but no one tells you how to keep your brain right, how to keep positive thoughts or how to, seeing where the source of your problems were. So like, I had a personal, a very personal encounter with dealing with, or running up against the problems of trying to find therapy and mental health, not just advocates,

but someone who could help me get out of the dark hole and beat depression, and, you know, I found in battling my own depression that in our own community we have certain stigmas, we have, there's a lot of roadblocks in battling depression. Sometimes, you know, depressed, I grew up, it was, depression is a joke, like depression. Black people go through so much, you got depression, and so it used to be a punchline to me.

And now I unfortunately ran into the actual ramifications of actual depression. You have your own journey with this issue. And then you settle on this, you go, you make the decision, all right, I'm going to pitch this as a topic. So now you have to dig and start finding stuff. What was something that you didn't know? Like what, illuminate me, if you will, on what were some of the things that you discovered as you start going down, because you have to, because when you're pitching the segment, it's not just why it's important. It's here's all of the, as I like to call it,

the goddamn, like every story that's in the field department, we don't leave, it's called, the story. the, that, that, that, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, the, the, the, the that's, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th. the, the, the, th. th. Because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, the, because, the, the, the, the, the, the, because, the, the, the, because, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, they. they. Because, the, the, the, the, th. th. Because, the. the. Because, the. Because, th. Because, because, th. Because, because, because, because, th. Because, because, because, because, because, because, th. Because, because, because, leave, it's called you don't leave the building unless your story got it. Well, goddamn. Yeah, I like that. I like that a lot. So what was in your research, what did you find? It was a lot of goddam's, for real. It was a lot of goddam. One was like when I was researching, it was the amount of black therapists that actually existed. It's one thing I

started when I went to go search for my own personal therapy, I went to the church first but then when it came up to actually trying to find a culturally competent therapist, I found out there's only 4% of black therapist out here in America. That's a... And how many other them motherfuckers is in Texas? Exactly. Yeah, exactly. That's a great point. Ain't none of them. Only black therapists in Texas I know is was my whole... TD Jakes. What? The Potter's house? Come on. And Serita don't forget first lady. Serita. Yeah, no, or listening to a Beyonce album. Those was the only thing we got. Those are the only things I got to cure my soul for a second. Right. But yeah, no, that was, it was the amount of therapist.

I think I've heard Taraji P. Henson in my research, finding out people like, to Rogey P. Henson and her son was also battling depression. realized when she was trying to find a therapist, a culturally competent therapist, like she used the words, it was like finding a unicorn. And it really, really is. And it's, I think a lot of it has to do with one, you know, it's already hard for black people to get in any kind of medical profession, any, any kind of spaces that are like professional in that sense. But two, the stigma in our community, it's not a, you know, I'm saying, it, it, it, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the stigma in our community, it's not a, you know what I'm saying? It ain't, it ain't some, therapy is not something that's like wily talked about or like, years prior, I think it's becoming more acceptable. But before, therapy was a punchline. That was some shit white people did. Like, we treat therapy like it's white claw or storm in the capital. It's not that's like for white people So before like walking with no shoes on outside with your feet bad in Miami during spring break

Right khaki's in the winter I used to be barefoot in Mississippi I grew out of it, but I mean That's just more country living. Yeah, I guess that's country. Yeah, this is white in this country. There's two different types of Bac. Country. you just out out in the yard. Yeah, I guess that's this. That's is is is is. It's. It's. It's is. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's the white. It's the white. It's the white. It's the white. It's white. It's the white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's white. It's out in the yard. White bear put you out running errands. That's a separate conversation. Ex, before I come to you, lastly, Ashton, talk to me a little bit about the black church and how you said you went to church first. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. You sit down with this pastor. Walk me through that, that conversation because more often than not, a lot of black, and I came up, we all, all three of us came up in some version of the black church experience and they usually fast forward it to, you need Jesus. So what was the conversation like between you and your pastor? When you actually sit down and go, hey man, something's wrong. It was intense.

He, he, he brushed me off very, very heavily. And it actually maybe, having the past, first off, my mom sent me to the pastor. I told her, I was like, hey mom, it took me out. It took a lot for me to call my mom, because I don't want her to worry. You know, she's, my mama, she loved me, and I got tos. She got on the phone, got me a counseling with the pastor. I get in there and I tell them all my problems. I'm 23, I graduated two years ago and I'm struggling. I, once I lost my focus in school, I'm just out here.

I'm struggling financially, I'm struggling, I'm just, I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm having this like deep existential crisis But after I told him that I graduated school he looked at me. He was like You you graduated college Boy, you good. What you what you? I haven't even graduated man. Man, it's that ain't the classic? Passa response boy. He literally, he literally looked. I'm talking to you and I don't got no kind of degree. He didn't talking to me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He. He. He. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that's like, that's like, that's like, that's like, that's like, that's like, he. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. He. He. He. He. He. He. that. He. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's. He literally, look, he's like, I don't have, I'm talking to you and I don't got no kind of degree and you're here talking to me. So, yeah, he's like, I went to type in school and that was that's it. He was like, man, I don't even know why I took this meeting. I was like, I don't even, I didn't know what, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. I didn't th. I didn't tod, I didn't try. I didn't try. I didn't today. I didn't today today to to to to to to to third, if you ever in Houston, you know what third war it is. You know, you know, you know, what, what was it? Yeah, you know what, you know how it is over there.

And like, my pastor was just hood as shit. He was, he was like, I tell us to people all time, he's like one of them pastors that was like, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, th... They, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, that, that, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, like, like, th........ th. that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that's, that crimes and shit like it just be like and we've all murdered and stole out of our mama's purse we've all uh... What? We've committed larceny, grand theft auto, we've burned down a building for the insurance policy. He's like, yeah. And here come to police you have a right to remain silent period. So why are you playing my pastor did get arrested but yeah. Oh my let's we got so many spin off we need to go beyond the scenes on that. Right. So X. Ashton puts all of this research into a nice beautiful document and he's got to write you P. In there and celebrities the lack of black therists, the inability of black people even have the

health care to pay for them, you know, the church polluting the waters to a degree. How do you sift, well first of all, how did you become a part of this project? Let's start with that. And then 1B is how do you sift through all of these pieces to decide what puzzle to assemble? So I got assigned the piece, so I never really pick anything. As a writer you do what you are told, God bless. A good chef can work with any ingredients. Hello, hello, and I need to work with the ingredients so I get paid on Friday,

God bless. This is what's on the menu, cook it. Period. I got you. So yes, I was I was tha tha tha th I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was assigned. tha. tha. tha. tha. They're like, this is what's on the menu, cook it. Period. I got you. So, so yes, I was assigned this piece with myself and Devin Delacquante and I write with Devin and Zach a lot, both of them. Both the writers, yeah. You wrote the state of Black Shit, me and Zach, for you, which was one of my favorite pieces. Um, so yeah, so that's how I got brought on to the project as I was assigned it. And then once I looked at it because I'm born and raised in church, um, like I have such a connection

to this piece. A lot of this stuff I've already laughed at and it's already been fun to me. So for me it was just like time to play. And I had to make sure that some of the stuff wasn't too inside baseball as people say. That's the term we use like within comedy and stuff because if it gets like too specific I want people to know, I want people to get it, especially white people because they are in power and have positions to change this shit so I need you to get it. So I had to write the piece and to to to to to to to to to to to to the piece to the piece. I the piece. I the piece the piece. I the piece. I to the piece to the piece. I to to to to to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make the to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. I the. the. the. the. their their the. their their. the. the. their. their. the. their their the positions to change this shit so I need you to get it. So I had to write the piece and stuff with Devon and so once I got that they were like, hey, the issue is black people don't have access to therapy but what they do and they don't trust therapist right once they get there, so many barriers to entry. But what they do trust is God and the Black Church. Like it's helped us get through so much, child slavery, okay, George Bush.

So we was just like, okay, we're trying to help bring that to the forefront. I was like, okay, so we're trying to like bring these two worlds together. So we just need, we need, we need pass up and we need mental health. Okay, so we just have to like fuse it. Maybe that's one way we could try and help solve this therapy crisis. We need to make therapy a little bit more like black church. And I think it would be pretty dope. I don't know, it's just really hard for me to let people in. And I feel like it's probably because every time I show affection it just feels like weakness.

Uh-huh. Did y'all hear that? Did y'all hear what brother Jabuki just said right here? Brother Jabuki said that he can't show affection because it feels like weakness. But before we can understand what hurt us, you got to understand who hurt us. Who hurt your brother, Jabuki? Oh, wow. I would probably say my father, because he was really emotionally distant.

But then so was his father, which is probably where he got it from. The sins of the father. Pass down from generation to generation. And what will break this cycle other than a reflective analysis of the egos hold on your psyche? So after the break, I want to talk a little bit more about what that experience was like for me. Because see, y'all can have all that fun, but at the end of the day, I'm the one that's going the end of the day I'm the one that's gonna get all the grief if we don't nail this issue the right way and

I'm the one that's gonna get all the grief if the church is mad at how we came at him this is beyond the scenes we'll be right back. Now X when you all are writing this stuff, do you all ever consider at all, oh my God, will the correspondent even do this? Will Roy agree to wearing a cross and pretending to be a pastor? Or does the body of work of the correspondent inform you on what to do before you even start writing the actions?

I'm going to go with B. That my final answer. That for me, I was just like, Roy's going to do this shit. Roy is from Bama. Please. He is going to do this. He knows what it is. And also Roy knows I'm writing this. He know I ain't going to say no shit that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's going that's going that's going that's going to make to make to make to make to be to be to be to do to do that's going that's going to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do. to do. to do. to do. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. I's going. too. I's going. to be to be to be to be too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to be to be to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to do this. He knows what it is. And also Roy knows I'm writing this. He know I ain't gonna say no shit that's gonna make him look fucking stupid. And I am a believer.

Like I'm a, I am, I'm not confused. I love my Jesus, okay? So I wasn't going to write anything also that would be demeaning, disrespectful or dilute the power that we believe as Christians about God. So I wasn't going to write anything disrespectful. I wasn't going to have Royby out here like looking crazy, Djibouki as well. So I wrote with that in mind always, but I knew what she would do and wouldn't do because you're a black man. So I'm not going gonna have him looking crazy.

That was, that was always my biggest concern with any issues that are, like, so with stand up, I don't know if this is a mission statement or not, but with my comedy, the goal is to show black people that they're not alone and what they're going through, but show everybody else what the hell is going on with black people that they're not alone and what they're going through, but show everybody else what the hell is going on with black people. That's the period point blank mandate for, especially with issues that are concerning black people, because I'm not trying to make fun of the fact that, because let's be real, a lot of black people go to church because they cannot afford therapy talk about it so talk about it so within that so within that script I'm

scanning it for where's the where would I get in trouble what I get in trouble the next one okay okay I this feels funny you know what I think I had a pinky ring to mug hey hey you look good. You buy it. You really did buy. The only thing I wanted in addition to the, you know, for the people who haven't seen it, I'm in a ridiculously maroon red jacket. And I look like a shady Atlantic City casino dealer. And then I also have on way too much jewelry. You did. You did. You did. You did. You did. You did. You did. Like he was using that dealer. And then I also have them way too much jewelry.

You did. You did. You did. Like he was using that church collection money for something else. Yeah, you look like David Allen Greer and Martin. Remember when he was at? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. It's just something that I'm very, very mindful of. And you know I came up in the church and then that's the other thing I still got to go back home like my mom is friends touched the daily show come on and I don't want Miss Turk pulling me to the side at Thanksgiving now seeing what you did me was that pastor you didn't have to that but blah blah blah like that like that's always not my mom's my too's thrown tho tho th I I th I I I that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's not that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's all all all all all all all all all all all all that's that's that's that's all all all all all all all that's that's that's that's all all all all all all I I's not not not not not not not not not that's not's friends. Those are the people that are in the back of my head when I'm running my performance through a behavior filter. And I'm like, will Miss Turk approve of this? Because if Miss Turk don't approve, my mama gonna be mad because I'd have made Miss Turk

upset. And I don't want that drama. So I had the crucifix on, I was just like, don't touch it. Whatever you do, don't touch it. Don't touc it's still comedy. But I think that's like one of the benefits now of having like so many like, we have a lot more black people. First off, us doing the piece. I grew up in, I watched late night. I'm a stand-up comic. I love, I can't wait to be on late night, but late night is a white space. It is like historically

been a white space. And so when we did that, when we did that piece, and it was, it's my first time at a late night show, late night job, and seeing all these black people, all these black employees, all these people who just, it made it feel so right. And the thing that I appreciated was you did have all these black minds in there who. their. their. their. their. their. And. And, their. And, their. And, their, their, th. And, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their, their, their, their, thi. It, their, th. th. It's, th. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, th. It's, th. It's, th. It's, th. It. It. It, th. It, th. It, th. It, the, the, the, the, the, the, I. It, I. It's, I. It's, the, I. It's, I. It's, I. It's, the the th. It's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, th. It's, th. It's, thi. It's, thi. It's, th. It's, th. It the thing that I appreciated was you did have all these black minds in there who, if something was wrong, somebody would say something. There's a safety net of like, y'all, let's not, let's not, we're not trying to tap dance for white people on TV right now.

It's not trying to play on more negative stereotypes. So I think that was one of the coolest coolest coolest coolest coolest coolest coolest coolest coolest coolest coolest this black environment at our show, because it gives us some sort of like more minds to look at something that be like, y'all we're wilding on that, let's not do that. Well, that goes down to the importance of when we say diversity, it's often a specific black person that echoes whiteness, right? So that's why it's important to have all different types of black people, because there are some black people who weren't that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that then who weren't thereen, thun't thun't thu and thi thi people who weren't thi thi. thi. thi is thi is to to to to to to to thi. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to be more more more more more more to be more to be more to be more to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be th.... th. thi is thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thii. thi. thii. thi. to thi. to to thi. thi. thi.'s important to have all different types of black people, right? Because there are some black people who don't fuck with church.

There's some black people who weren't born and raised with church. You had a black Christians, you had, you had all, I'm black Mormons. I'm Mormon. At least was right there too, everybody was in the building. And it was great too because I think why it worked is that we were not just making fun of church the the thextaposition with the therapy with Roy using these technical-ass terms for mental health was just at that balance with that. Oh my god, it was so funny. We self-actualized.

That's still my favorite. My favorite part. I need to self-actualize. That's still my favorite. My favorite part. I need to self-actualize. You need to what? Self-actualize? Self-actualize. Self-actualize. Self-actualize.

He's going to empower himself. Overcome his demon. Deal with his forgotten memories. Repression. Confront his dysfunctional avoidance of intimacy. He didn't go to prom. He didn't go to prop. He didn't go to prop.

He didn't go to prop. So the show is called Beyond the Scenes, and that's what we're going to do after the break, after we hear a quick word from the sponsors. We're going to to talk about what's now today with black mental health and the things that are still contributing to a lot of the stresses that black people are going through and ways that you can get help yourself. We'll be right back. So we've been talking about black mental health as it relates to a segment that we dug

into back in 2019. But I want to kind of come now to today and go beyond the segment and talk a little bit about you know where we are you know as a people when it comes to stress because 2020 that was having 10 10 ton gorillas put on your back and then every month you get another gorilla. Yes it was executively produced by the devil, period. How do we view this sketch now? Like when you have Rianna Taylor and George Floyd and Albert Arbori and everything that was a lightning rod for a lot of what happened last summer, how do you view this sketch now in the context of that uprising?

Part of me feels like we didn't go hard enough. Now I'm going to let y'all continue, but it's like you thought it was an issue in 2019. Oh, no. But Ashton, I start with you. How do you view this? Well, me personally, I still, I'm very proud of what we did. I do, of course, with new revelations, yeah, definitely, I definitely agree. I wish we could have gone harder. I wish we could have really told you how dire the situation is.

Because yeah, we joked around, we joked about it, we informed people, but the situation is dire. The mental health of, especially after last year, it was a point in the summer time where it felt like day I was waking up checking my phone and there was a new dead black person on my phone. I just woke up, saw another dead black person. And it got to me. It was, I thought, I literally, I've never had this feeling my life

until last summer. I was like, oh, as soon as I go outside, I'm next. I like legitimately, I went just a whole brand new depression. And I feel like it was a nationwide black depression. After Amat Aubrey, George Floyd, I do, I agree. I do wish, I wish we kind of would have put more of like, this is a very dire situation and we need so many resources to help out black people in our mental health. You don't have to go down this road if you don't want to, but I am going to attempt to get you to talk about something

that you don't talk about often, you don't tweet about often. You went out to a couple of protests last summer. And, you know, as a protester, you got, got you know some first-hand front road treatment I'm not going to name cities but you was out there and the police was out there too and and what happened to a lot of protesters whatever you want to imagine as a listener happened to my man Ashton. So you come home, right? You come home from this protest. How do you, what did you do to deal? Because this is more of a, as we all, especially black people,

deal with the stresses of last year? And you don't have access to that type of stuff. And at, and at this point, and this point, this, and this point, and this point, this point, this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, this, and this, the, the, the, and this, and the, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, this, this, this, and this, and this, and this, and the the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and the, and black people, deal with the stresses of last year and you don't have access to that type of stuff. And at this point, this protest, when you was out there protesting, you know, all the therapists was just now figuring out Zoom. These mothuckers didn't know how to unmute their self. Oh God. It wasn't a lot of good online therapy happening. What were some of your methods of being able to get through that valley during that time as a black person?

Because I just think you've had an experience as a black person pre-pandemic and during the pandemic that's, I think, is one to one. Yeah, no, I guess, yeah, I don't mind talking about it for sure. What happened was I went out to the protest and as you could see throughout, if you paid attention to anything that happened in 2020, you know, police were turning up on protesters. Literally nonviolent protest became these violent, crazy interactions with the police, little children, kids out there. They turn it up on kids. And I was, uh, I got, I got, uh, the the the protest. the the the protest, the the protest, the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, uh, uh, uh, I, to to, I to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to. I, to, to, to, to, to. to, to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. the protest. to to to to to to to to to. to children, kids out there, they turn it up on kids. And I was a, I got, I got, I got hit on the head by a cop for just following their orders. They told us to turn around as soon as I turned around, I got clocked on the top of my head, crack my skull open and I was bleeding and it was, you know'm a comic still a comic so like obviously it was a very traumatic experience I'm still a comic I saw a lot of funny in it like when my head cracked open the

first thing I heard was his black girl on the phone she was like oh they're cracking niggers head's open it's time to go and I was like oh that's hilarious you was a sign that it was time to go you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you the the you you you you the that you that you that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that was that was that was the that's that was that was was was was was was was was was that was was that was that was I was that was that was I was that was that was that was I was that was that was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was I was like I was I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like I was like. t. that was like. that was like. that was like. that was like they crack and niggins heads open. I got to go. And I was falling down. I was like that's that's hilarious. And then I passed out. But honestly at the like the next couple weeks. It were pretty terrifying. I didn't the protest weren't stopping and I didn't want that to stop me from this moment from from standing up the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that it was. th. that it was. th. that it was. th. th. that it was. th. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I. I. I. I. I. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. th. the. the. th. the. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th., and I didn't want that to stop me from this moment, from standing up for something I thought was right. And I felt a fear. I felt a fear of like, I don't want to go back out there. But I had to overcome it.

And the things that got me through it, like you said, I didn't have access to therapy at the time because I should have been in therapy. But what got me through it was I think there's this new wave of people, of just people who understand self-care and the importance of like taking time for yourself. You gotta, you have to take time for your mental health. And I knew that, I'm surrounded by a great set of friends and a great set of people, my surroundings, made it a lot easier for me to get through that and I did a lot of like riding bikes through the parks. I did a lot of things for self-care. I did a lot of meditation, I did a lot of drinking

water, just taking, I decided to take care of myself and honestly, you know, part of it's probably still compartmentalized. Part of it's probably, I don't think about it. I still have like my shirt, I still have all my, I still have like all the items that were like very bloodied up, just as a reminder. But most likely, I probably haven't dealt with it the way I should have. I kind of just thought I could just meditated away. But I probably do need to still talk about it. I probably probably probably, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I could just, you know, but I probably do need to still talk about it. And I probably compartmentalized it and didn't healthily take care of it, especially as,

which is, you know, someone who's like an advocate for people taking care of the mental health. You know, you know, no one's perfect. Ain't nobody, you know, everyone's trying the best. I can say I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm probably, I'm th. I'm trying their best. I can say, please take care of your mental health while I still got some work to do, you know, so. Well, I'll say this, brother. The fact that you're aware of it, at minimum, puts you on first base of dealing with the issue. So, you know, me and X got nothing but love for you. And that's why we're having this conversation is to help get other people to at least their the the th.

is to help get other people to at least first base X. How do you view the sketch now through the context of 2020? Do you feel like the sketch still stands up or is there a need for us to circle back? Do I need to go put on my pasta outfit again? I was just about to say, I got, I'm about to email you the second part. It's a part two. Yes. Well for me, I feel like the s up because it reflected the times back then. Had what was going on in 2020, was going on in 2019, we would have reflected the time. So I think we reflected the time that was 2019, you know, to be honest.

Because the thing for me is just kind of like The racism is always here It's not here, you know, like we're not racist listeners But what what I'm saying is that if like I feel we went as hard as we felt we needed to at that time like the people who were a part of this piece and myself and who was in it were very black. You know, like if there was ever a time that we felt like, oh, we could have went harder, I think we would have, right? So I'm very satisfied with the work that we did, and I think we reflected the times that we were in. So yeah, and I think, you know, I echo Roy for you, Ashton, when I saw your post about it, like, I was like full of tears. Um, because that's just, you know, like, I have a little brother to where he was supposed to start learning how to drive last year and I was like, no, the summer is too hot for you. Like, we just cannot. So just even things about like him being able to drive a car.

Like it's always that conversation we have had to have, but he can't, I can't, you can't even learn how to drive right now. So just a natural birthright for a young black man in America. It's like, no. No. Well, first off I love, than't, y'all. As soon as it happened, I didn't even, that's what I like really love, love working at our show doing. It's not even, it's hard to even say work.

Because as soon as it happened, everybody reached out to me. I was like, it's completely unexpected. I was like, it blew me away. That, I'm like, you wanna talk about something that helped me get through it, was the fact that I got to work for this, I worked for this dope ass show that takes, they takes my experiences and able to allow me to put it on a bigger platform

and possibly relate to more people who were blind or who have blinders on or who just don't know about what black people and minorities are really going through in this country. Like it's, I felt literally that was one of the most grateful feelings of seeing how many people reached out to me and knowing that what happened after that was, you know, we got to make a piece on it, we got to talk about it. We got to talk about, go more in depth. And as soon as I feel like this piece, the black therapy piece that we're talking about right now, it kind of, it was one of the pieces that like sparked us open to talking about way more stuff in our community that needs to be to be like, feel sorry for myself when I know I have like, I'm surrounded by great people. I have a great job where I get to express all these, all this turmoil.

I get to, it's kind of my therapy, to be honest. It's like, where is my therapy? I know I need real therapy. So, and seeing my co-workers like reach out to me, that was, that was one of the, you know, no, not a high, it's a highlight to a terrible situation, but it, you know, made me feel great. Well, I would challenge you Austin, Ashton too, when you said I don't want to feel sorry for myself. I would challenge that language that language that language that language that language that language that that that that that that that that that sorry for myself, I would challenge that language like what you went through was a very traumatic

life-altering Emotional experience, so there is no like feeling sorry Quote-unquote for yourself like I think if you take as much necessary time as you need because we don't know who's listening and there could be black people out there listening that have gone through traumatic events a level of violence with the police with white people whether it be verbal or emotional or physical so it's not I would challenge that language of you saying feel sorry for myself absolutely not you are experiencing something life altering and you're doing a great job at it. Well, God, X. I'm too black to blush. You're killing me over there.

So everyone who just heard that from X, we need you all to Venmo us a copay because that was some free therapy that she just gave you. Let's get to people some resources, man. Yeah. That's a great place to end, Dawn, because we need to get them. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the the, the, the, the, the, the, thi thi. the, the, the, the, the, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the, the, thi. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, thi. the, the. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. X, thea. X, thea. X, thea. X, th you. Let's get to people some resources, man. Yeah. That's a great place to end, Don, because we need to give recommendations on, you know, places that can aid and spreading more awareness around this issue. Ashton, you go first, where are some places people can go? Well, for starters, check out National Council.org that is a great place for resources for mental health in general. But specifically for culturally competent counselors and therapists, there are, what I learned in my resources, my research was there are a lot more resources springing up for minority communities.

There's an Iona therapy app. It's based out in Los Angeles, but there's an app. It helps you find, through a questionnaire, it helps you find therapist that can help you out. Because you know, that better understand where you're coming from culturally. You know, it's hard to go to a therapist. And you're like, well, where do you want to start and it's like black people we got to start at slavery before we even get to ourselves we got to unpack shit for

our ancestors and then we can get to ourselves so it's like you telling me I got to deal with Harriet Tuffman shit yeah Harriet Tubman she got you need to yeah yeah we love talking about our ancestors think your ancestors your ancestors need therapy too, all right? They're not there. Oh Jesus, I wish Harrit Tempman would pop up in my therapist's room during my session. That's our next sketch. Hello, call Duce. There are people somewhere to go.

Therapy for Black Girls.com, because black women, Lord Jesus, what we've, oh, my lord. The things we have to manage, my God, in the work work work work work work work work work work work, the work, the work, the work, the work, the work, the work, the work, the work, the work, the work, the work, the things we have to manage, my God, in the workplace. Hallelujah. And ask Dr. Jess, one of my good friends, and she's also a licensed psychiatrist, beautiful black woman from Alabama, okay Roy, and Tuskegee alumni, and she's been on everything, she's been on CBS, she's been on good money in America, and she has something called Be Well Convo, where she interviews black artists. She interviewed Toby. She interviewed Swiss Beats. She's interviewed Kirby, the creator of, um, damn, what's the name of that clothing line? Oh my god, it's so good. And I love it. I'm so sorry. It's escaping me. But his name is Kirby though on Instagram. But yeah, it's escaping me. But his name is Kirby Doe on Instagram.

But yeah, she's in a lot of dope like taste makers, Trailblazers, artists who are all black and talks to them about the importance of mental health. And also, I know this may seem kind of like unorthodox, but for me, I really learn more about myself watching other people their shit. So there is a show called Couples Therapy, and I believe it's on HBO, and it's an actual licensed therapist, and she's talking to these couples and so much stuff that they were going through, I saw myself, so many things was like eye-opening. So I think different shows like that,

and it's not a reality show, guys, it's a dockie series, like, like, Don't be watching Love Island talking about ex said. I can watch Love Island and I can work out my daddy issues. That it wasn't the fuck I said, okay? And so I think those three are, because some people are not, you know, people that want to go to actual therapy yet. You know, black people we don't really trust. So if you have to watch a television show to do that to kind of baby your step baby step your way in to like deal with your shit then do what you need to do. Well look I can't thank you all enough for taking a little bit of time out of your day to sit down and go beyond the scenes with me.

That's all the time we have for today and hopefully we've successfully taking you beyond the scenes. I'm Roy Whit Jr. that's that's that's Jr. That's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's. that's. th. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's the the only. the only. the only. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I. I. I's. I. I's. I. I. I. I. I's. I. I. I. I. I's. I. I. I. I. I. I's. I. I's. I. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. t. t. to. t. to. t. to. th. th. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm Roy Whit Jr. That's Ashton Womack and that is ex-Mayo That's the only name you get from her because she's hiding from the government Period! Mayo. Thank you, Roy. Until you next time. Listen to the Daily Show Beyond the Scenes on Apple Podcasts, the IHeart Radio app, or wherever you get your podcast. Want to go even further Beyond the Scenes? Check out the video version of Beyond the Scenes on the Daily Show's YouTube page.