New book explores Black mental health in the 19th century and how it shaped current beliefs

Diana Martha Louis, an assistant professor of women’s and gender studies at the University of Michigan, seeks to reframe some of the historical stories about Black people and mental health in the 19^th century in her new book.

The book is titled “Colored Insane: Slavery, Asylums, and the Politics of Mental Health in the 19th Century.”

Combining literary and historical analysis, the book explores the asylum movement, slavery’s impact on the mental health of Black people and how some historical beliefs about mental health have shaped how some in the medical field view Black people’s mental disability in the present day.