Interlocking systems, intersecting identities: A case study of family, violence, masculinity, and mental health in the life of one Black gay man

Black men in the United States face disproportionate exposure to community violence, overrepresentation in the criminal justice system, and significant barriers to mental health care. These disparities are further compounded for Black gay men, who navigate the additional psychosocial burden of intersecting racial, gender, and sexual minority stressors. This paper presents an intrinsic qualitative case study of one Black gay man whose life history illuminates how interlocking family, neighborhood, and institutional systems shape experiences of violence, incarceration, and mental health across the life course. Drawing on an integrated theoretical framework combining Anderson’s code of the street, family systems theory, and intersectionality, we analyzed interview data using reflexive thematic analysis informed by an interpretative phenomenological sensibility. Three interrelated themes emerged: Family as Foundation and Fracture, Negotiating Masculinity at the Intersection of Race, Sexuality, and Street Culture, and Violence as Environment, Institution, and Pathway. Findings reveal how structural racism, neighborhood disadvantage, and carceral violence produced interconnected developmental harms while sustained family connection and redirected personal agency enabled remarkable post-release resilience. The case ultimately demonstrates that individual outcomes cannot be fully understood apart from the systemic forces that produce them. Implications for trauma-informed, culturally responsive social work practice and reentry policy are discussed.