Black men’s health and well-being focus of town hall at ASU Downtown Phoenix campus

The health and well-being of Black men in Arizona will be the focus of an event hosted by Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University and partners on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus.

“What’s Good? Black Men’s Wellness Town Hall” is set for 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 27, in the First Amendment Forum at the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. The event is free to all who register. Information booths and free blood pressure screenings will be available for attendees.

Olga Davis, associate dean of Barrett, The Honors College at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus and a professor and researcher in the ASU Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, focuses her work on critical cultural communication, health disparities and health equity research to improve the health outcomes of underserved populations, particularly the African American community.
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Those who cannot physically attend will be able to participate in the town hall via Zoom and YouTube.

Highlighting the power of dialogue and in the spirit of a town hall meeting, this event brings together ASU and community-engaged partners for an impactful discussion of Black men’s health and wellness.

In addition to Barrett, The Honors College and the Cronkite School, the event is supported by the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovations, College of Health Solutions, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and the Global Sport Institute at ASU. Additional support comes from the Mayo Clinic and the R.W. Turner Lab.

A panel of community members, university researchers and local partners will discuss current issues of trust, health care, education and racial equity, and lead a question and answer session. The panel will be moderated by Marion Kelly, director of the Office for Community Affairs at the Mayo Clinic.

Olga Davis, associate dean of Barrett, The Honors College at the Downtown Phoenix campus, said the town hall will focus on three areas: expanding knowledge and raising awareness of issues surrounding the health and well-being of Black male communities; promoting community engagement; and having an open dialogue with hopes of an annual discussion each year.

“We need to have a continual discussion, a discourse, around physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellness of African American men and to develop trust among community members in order to create pathways for healthy engagement with this population,” said Davis, who also a professor and researcher in the ASU Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. 

“Let’s dialogue, let’s exchange ideas, let’s work on issues and solutions to promote wellness in the Black community,” added Davis, whose work focuses on critical cultural communication, health disparities and health equity research to improve the health outcomes of underserved populations, particularly the African American community.

She works with the Phoenix-based Coalition of Blacks Against Breast Cancer and has created a narrative play, “The Journey: Living Cancer Out Loud,” based on lived experiences of African American survivors and caregivers of breast cancer which has been performed in various community and hospital venues in Phoenix and Scottsdale. She also engages with Black barbershops to raise awareness of health literacy and of cardiovascular disease among African American men in Phoenix.

“We hope this town hall event and dialogue manifests with personal connections between like-minded people who are committed to advocating for their health and well-being,” said Shea Alevy, director of staff operations at Barrett, The Honors College at the Downtown Phoenix campus, who is helping coordinate the event.