For African Americans (AA) who experience discriminatory events or interactions, this can lead to psychological and physiological responses, producing adverse changes in mental health. Factoring in race, mental health disorders such as, depression among AAs is more pronounced, accounting for inadequate treatment, comorbid medical and psychiatric illnesses, socio-ecological status, and joining cultural factors. Highlighting the relationship between race, sex and depression, African American women (AAW)—who encounter multiple oppressions such as sexual objectification and gendered racism—are most vulnerable to depressive symptoms and ineffective coping behaviors such as desensitization and internalization. Within the AA female population is a sub group of women navigating their dual minority status, in addition to the identity of a professional. African American Professional Women (AAPW) encounter differential professional experiences when compared to their white female counterparts, experiencing the weight of social inequity and objectification both in and out of the workplace. The experience of mental health concerns such as depression among AAPW, exposes the unique intersections of racism, sexism, oppression, power, and resilience. To further analyze depression among AAPW, resilience theory and stress theory will serve as the primary guiding frameworks, supported by the historical theoretical grounding of black feminist theory and critical race theory. This grounded theory study seeks to build a conceptual framework, exploring and explaining the risk and protective factors for depression among 15 AAPW from a large Midwestern city, withholding high status occupations because of their high achieving academic history. This study conclusively seeks to contribute to research on the experience of mental health constraints among an underrepresented yet growing population.
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