A few years ago the R&B singer Angie Stone wrote a song “Black Brother” dedicated to African American men. (It went something like, “Black brother, I love you. I’ll never try to hurt you.” Remember that song.) The song spoke of the virtue of Black men and their importance to the greater good of all communities. The song was a hit with young and old alike. However, the song’s uplifting message and the reality for many African American men and their health don’t always match up.
Like when a popular song fades, it seems so has African American men’s health fallen off the public radar. Well, like an “oldie, but goodie” that never goes out of style, Health Watch wants to put African American men’s health back in current rotation. So yesterday Health Watch sought to answer the questions, “Can a brother get some love?”- Is African American Men’s Health on the public agenda? Joining us to talk about the issue is a leading researcher in African American Men’s Health, Dr. Henrie Treadwell from the Morehouse College of Medicine.
Dr. Treadwell recently gained public attention when she wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama in response to the establishment of the White House Council on Women and Girls. Although Dr. Treadwell praised the Obama administration for focusing much-needed attention on the status of women and girls in all public sectors, she was disheartened by the fact the same level of attention was not focused on men and boys, particularly those of color including African Americans.
Dr. Treadwell shared with our Health Watch listeners the state of African American men’s health in the United States. Whereas, the health status of American men is woefully less than national averages, for African American men the situation is often far worse. Much of this Dr. Treadwell attributes to how the public health and healthcare sectors, in general, treat African American men. Such systems do not engage African American men, but instead ignore them and their health, acting as if neither exists. (There are interesting parallels between Dr. Treadwell’s description and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.)
Beyond health systems not seeing African American men (other than stereotypic images related to violence and sex) Dr. Treadwell further shared how they are also not being heard. When asked what the recent upsurge in young African American men committing suicide is telling us (either young men taking their own lives or putting themselves in harm’s way so their lives can be taken by others), Dr. Treadwell’s response was haunting. She told us that many young African American men are telling the nation that their hope is gone. Health Watch listeners were definitely hearing and feeling what Dr. Treadwell was saying. It was a Health Watch you would not have wanted to miss.
Despite the seemingly “bad news” about African American men’s health in the United States, Dr. Treadwell shared that she sees many rays of hope. These rays of hope look like community-based, male-friendly care being provided by Morehouse School of Medicine and Project Brotherhood in Chicago, IL. Rays of hope also are evidenced in the expanded use of community health workers, patient navigators, integrated systems of care and other approaches. Many of these are becoming standard practice in healthcare. Hope looks like national foundations putting greater emphasis on racial health equity and Men’s Health. Dr. Treadwell is also encouraged by what she sees African American men doing themselves by organizing African American Men’s Health Conferences and other initiatives to support health, as a personal and political issue. However, sharing the hope Dr. Treadwell sees with many African American men who are without hope is the next step.
Dr. Treadwell told us that spreading hope means creating more opportunities and spaces for African American men to speak and be heard. It also means increasing the ranks of public health and healthcare leadership with men of color, who can support policies that make healthcare accessible to them and all populations. It is also includes affirming the fullness of African American manhood, for there are many African American men who are making a tremendous difference (yet go unrecognized), while supporting those who need help. Dr. Treadwell gave our Health Watch listeners some much needed food for thought last night.
If you are interested in reading more about Dr. Treadwell, her research, and her thoughts about African American Men’s Health, then check out these links:
http://www.aframnews.com/html/interspire/authors/58/Dr.-Henrie-M.-Treadwell
http://www.communityvoices.org/
http://www.msm.edu/Centers_and_Institutes/National_Center_for_Primary_Care_(NCPC).htm
Brothers of all colors, including African American ones, are worthy of the best our healthcare systems can provide. When we keep talking about and working towards health equity, we make sure they get the love they deserve. Health Watch will keep doing its part. We hope you do the same. Until next time remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on!”
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