Giving Compass' Take:

• Carol Graham discusses research showing that economics and ambition play a part in the reason why black Americans suffering from poverty are more likely to be optimistic than white Americans.

• Desperation, stress, and worry are closely linked to a greater risk of premature death, regardless of income or race. How can donors help support mental health and fight poverty? 

• To learn about advocating for the mental health of black women in America, click here.

America has seen a dramatic increase in the number of so-called "deaths of despair." Caused by opioid addiction, alcohol or drug overdose and suicide, these deaths have hit middle-aged white people without a college education particularly hard. The trend is extensive enough to have driven up the overall mortality rate, with the U.S. in the unusual position of being a rich country where life expectancy is falling rather than going up.

Amid all this is a perhaps unexpected reality—the people who are most optimistic about their future are the most disadvantaged: poor black Americans, who are even slightly more optimistic than rich black people. And by poor, we mean a household of four earning less than $24,000 per year, which is effectively the official U.S. poverty line.

Very different outlooks are revealed when black and white people are asked about their wellbeing. To measure the differences, we use an 11-point scale, where 0 is desperate and 10 is very optimistic.

Read the full article about optimism among poor dividing along racial lines by Carol Graham at Brookings.