Parenting While Black 2025: Black Parents and Black Mental Health

Join the Brazelton Touchpoints Center (BTC) as we dive into a conversation about raising Black children in today’s world, and how the daily acts of parenting—both joyful and challenging—affect our mental wellbeing. We will explore how our parenting journeys carry generations of wisdom, trauma, and resilience. We will talk about strategies that consider cultural expectations and current realities to shape our parenting approaches and mental health.

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Speakers:

Mr. Deutron Kebebew, Founder and Executive Director of MENtors Driving Change for Boys, Men, and Dads. With over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, he previously served as Program Manager and Project Director for the Supporting Father Involvement research and community initiative, in collaboration with UC Berkeley and Yale University. A dynamic and visionary leader, he has successfully led community outreach and development programs, connecting local residents with innovative human services. Mr. Kebebew is recognized as an organizational leader, community advocate, and collaborative ambassador, dedicated to driving positive change for boys, men, fathers, and families.

Dr. Quenette Walton, Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Dr. Walton is a licensed clinical social worker and has over 20 years of practice experience in school social work, child welfare, and with community-based organizations providing in-home individual and family therapy and parent coaching services to children and families involved with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). In her role as a therapist with DCFS, she was challenged to think critically about the ways in which race, class, gender, and discrimination impact mental health for Black women across diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and with various mental health conditions such as depression. Working with the children and families involved with DCFS has informed her research by pushing her to think about identifying alternative treatment approaches, translating the best scientific evidence into the best clinical practice, and supporting Black women’s access to culturally appropriate mental health services. Her practice and research are grounded in the tenants of social justice in which she places a premium on understanding the intersection of race, class, gender, context and environment on mental health.