The Legacy of Dr. Carl Bell
Dr. Carl Bell exemplified a pillar for public mental health in the black community. His passing in August of 2019 closely followed his keynote speech delivered at the National Medical Association’s annual meeting in Hawaii. Dr. Bell transitioned from this dimension during a time when it is still undeniably challenging to identify minority male psychiatrists dedicated to treating the underserved. Dr. Carl Bell dedicated his career to researching the intricacies of minority mental health and he insisted that we improve healthcare access in underserved communities.
Dr. Carl Bell dedicated much of his phenomenal career to treating African-Americans on the south side of Chicago. I met his acquaintance during his ownership and directorship of The Community Mental Health Council. Community Mental Health Council brought mental healthcare treatment to blacks in Chicago for nearly 20 years. Under his clinical mentorship, I completed an adult psychiatry residency at The University of Illinois at Chicago. Pursuing a career in Psychiatry at that time was and still is today wrought with stigma. The stigma not only stems from the community we serve but also from our own colleagues.
Dr. Carl Bell forged past these long-standing stigmas and brought insight, wisdom, dedication, and a passion for mental health care treatment into the room of every patient he treated. He practiced medicine and he conducted his expansive research knowing that we cannot confine individuals to the simplicity of diagnostic manuals. He knew that in order to advance and evolve the field of Psychiatry, doctors have to acknowledge and research the cultural impacts of poverty. Dr. Bell understood the impacts of social inequality on the mental health of African-Americans.
During his career as an adult psychiatrist in Chicago he wrote countless articles about community psychiatry. His collective research was published in one of his infamous works, The Sanity of Survival. In his book he wrote “It has always been my great concerns that as African-Americans, we don’t know very much about ourselves because we don’t spend adequate time looking at ourselves. Instead, we’re constantly defined by others…I think this is a tragedy. We need to start taking a good, long look at where we are. “
His research included understanding the importance of a broader scope of mental health care treatment in America. He selflessly gave his time and expertise to many patients, trainees, and colleagues. Dr. Bell dedicated years of work at Community Mental Health Council treating thousands of patients on the south-side of Chicago. He developed intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs for the chronically mentally ill. Dr. Bell’s clinical focus was always rooted in improving public health. “I have observed that, unfortunately, not a great deal of progress has been made in addressing the health needs of the poor and underserved, many of whom are African-Americans.”
Dr. Carl Bell was named the director of the Institute of Juvenile Research (IJR) in Chicago in 2010. He thoroughly recognized the value and importance of healthy neurodevelopment and education in African-American communities. Much of his research was also dedicated to fetal alcohol syndrome and the increased exposure of fetuses to illicit substances and alcohol in the African-American community. While serving the west and north side communities as clinical professor at IJR, Dr. Bell trained fellows to adequately assess and treat individuals living with the many neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities that occur due to the overabundance of toxic and illicit substances in our communities.
He leaves us with an abundance of research published in the Journal of The National Medical Association, several books, speeches, teachings, and priceless moments of inspiration that will never be replaced.
I am thankful to have had the privilege to train with Dr. Bell for over 7 years. His teachings as a mentor and professor surpassed all others during residency and fellowship training. As heartbroken as our community is at this time his legacy gives us hope and encouragement to continue his teaching and advocacy.
Dr. Bell shared the following poem with me during mentorship and it exemplifies his approach to life and living. I will continue to strive to live by these words always in his memory.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
