While national drug overdose deaths have declined by 10% in the past two years, Black Americans continue to die at disproportionately high rates. In a recent report from Word In Black, experts and advocates point to systemic neglect, underfunded services, and criminalization as key drivers of this ongoing crisis.
Saeeda Dunston, CEO of Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities in Queens, says Black and Brown communities have long been treated as “a throwaway population” when it comes to substance use. “We have historically criminalized substance use,” she says, rather than treating it as a public health issue.
Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are fueling the epidemic. Death rates from these drugs have doubled in just five years. Yet, access to harm reduction tools like naloxone and methadone remains limited in many Black neighborhoods. Tekisha Everette of Trust for America’s Health says the lack of culturally relevant care and prevention programs is a major barrier. “We know what to do,” she says. “We just need to be able to properly fund those trainings and activities.”
Recent federal funding cuts threaten to undo progress. Hundreds of grants supporting mental health and substance use services were terminated in April. Everette warns that Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native communities will be hit hardest.
Melicia Whitt-Glover of the Council on Black Health calls for trauma-informed, holistic care and investment in Black-led organizations. “No one’s gonna save us,” Dunston adds. “We have to save ourselves.”
See: “The State of Black America’s Drug Overdose Epidemic” (June 6, 2025)
