Mental Health Should not be a Death Sentence
Quajay Donnell is a Rochester, NY based photographer and writer, who is passionate about highlighting and championing what’s important to him and his family about their community.
Photo Credit: Whitney Young. Digital Artwork by David A. Paul, MD. Copyright Bold & Gritty, LLC 2021. All rights reserved.
Quajay Donnel is a photographer based out of Rochester, New York. His work has been featured in the Washington Post, Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), and CITY Magazine (Rochester, NY). In 2020 he was a recipient of the George Eastman Museum Award for the Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s 30th Annual Members Exhibition. He shared his mental health journey with NAMI Rochester and Bold & Gritty. Published below is his interview with Whitney Young for the iROC Mental Health Series.
WY: Have you ever struggled with your mental health? How did you heal and grow from your experiences?
QD: “I sometimes deal with increased anxiety. It took me a long time to get to [therapy], because I think there’s a stigma in the Black community about seeking support and therapy but speaking with a therapist over time has been very beneficial. Before I entered that room, I thought I’d be judged or looked at negatively, but it was more like a conversation, and that impartial voice became very necessary. I also now know that therapy is always an option and choice when I need it. Having a therapist or someone [who is] trained and impartial is paramount to recovery or the road to recovery.”
WY: How does art — specifically photography — improve or positively impact your mental health?
QD: “Photography allows me to focus on the photograph I’m taking. Photographing and sharing public art created by others has become that vehicle. When it’s just me, my camera, and an incredible piece of public art, that’s where I’m focused. My mind doesn’t wander. In that moment, all I’m thinking about is how to frame and capture. Sharing and building relationships has been a beautiful bonus.”
WY: It was an historic summer in Rochester — and beyond. You took some really moving photos during the Daniel Prude and BLM protests. How did all of that affect you mentally?
QD: “When I think of Daniel Prude and George Floyd, I see myself as a Black man, my brothers and uncles. When I think of Tamir Rice and Elijah McClain, I see my sons and nephews. When I think of Breonna Taylor, I see my daughter, sisters, and nieces. America has this way of weaponizing the color of our skin and it’s unsettling. As people took to the streets in protest, especially last summer, I found myself leaning into photography more as my way to process and communicate my own feelings and thoughts. I captured moments of protest art, where people spoke through their protest signs or in physical spaces throughout our community. Being Black in America is something I’m always thinking about, and [it] definitely impacts my anxiety. When I read or hear a story, I think, “Am I next?” Mental health should not be a death sentence.”
Photo Credit: Whitney Young
More about REVOLUTION: the bold & Gritty x NAMI Rochester Collab.
Bold & Gritty has this crazy idea that by honoring Black people’s contributions to the history of coffee and using it as a vehicle to tell inspiring stories from our neighborhoods – that we can liberate a group of people and inspire them to be the change they want to see in the world. From creators to doctors, we are fueling a Bold and Gritty Revolution - curating stories that elevate the culture.
NAMI Rochester is dedicated to providing support, education, and advocacy to individuals and families of all cultural backgrounds who are affected by mental health. NAMI envisions a world where stigma is no longer a barrier to treatment, support is readily available, and mental illness is universally accepted as a treatable medical condition.
Together, Bold & Gritty and NAMI Rochester launched Revolution Coffee - a project to tell the mental health journies of Black men and to raise funds and awareness for mental health initiatives within Black and Brown communities in Rochester, NY.
