Committee Message from the Health and

We are fathers, sons, spouses, uncles, nephews, grandfathers, cousins, friends. We are Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated united by our aims “manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind”. We are black men. We are black men living in America. We are black men dying in America because of the 400 year painful and deadly schism of racism and the subsequent injustices perpetuated against African Americans in this country. diseases, particularly as they relate to our individual family histories, as these diseases may have a greater impact on our mortality. We, as African American men, are at greater risk for prostate cancer and have higher complications and mortality from it. According to the Office of Minority Health, a division of Health and Human Services, African Americans are 40% more likely to have hypertension than whites and less likely to have it controlled when compared to whites. Message from the Health and Wellness Committee

I Can’t Breathe

As I compose this article, we are in the midst of radical protests across the the country, protests that began peacefully and now have morphed into more violent demonstrations borne from sentiments of anger, disgust, trauma, and emotional fatigue related to the strangulation and murder of another unarmed black man at the hands, and this time at the knee, of an unchecked law enforcement officer and his associates who passively watched in silence the committal of this heinous crime. Sadly, preliminary autopsy reports suggest that Mr. George Floyd died due to complications of pre-existing health conditions and possibly from illegal substances in his system, suggesting that he was responsible, the one to blame, for his untimely death at the hands of the police. For the last several months, our lives, our daily routines, our financial security, our mental and physical health and wellbeing have been threatened by “the invisible enemy” of COVID19, the coronavirus. Our country has lead the global pandemic in the number of positive cases as well as mortality, as over 100,000 people to date have succumbed to this incurable disease. A disproportionate number of deaths are attributed to the African American community due to the high prevalence of pre-existing conditions in the black community. The message from the highest governmental officials and leaders of this country has again suggested that they, the deceased, too, were to blame for the health disparities, their preexisting conditions, that lead to their deaths from the coronavirus. The month of June is designated as Men’s Health Month. June 10 - 16, 2020, is Men’s Health Week and Fathers’ Day will be celebrated Sunday, June 21, 2020. June is also National Safety Month. As we wrestle with the plight of racism, social injustices, and health disparities, let us be intentional in having a greater awareness of our own health and risk factors for Brothers, let us take the time to invest in ourselves, protecting our families, as we preserve ourselves, to continue to be as an instrumental part of our family fabric, by knowing our numbers. Let us be cognizant of blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol, as these relate to cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke; prostate specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal exam (DRE) as this test and exam are needed to evaluate for prostate cancer; and colonoscopy for detection of colorectal cancer. Earlier this month, Brothers Samuel Armstrong and Anthony Moore presented a virtual Let’s Talk Health and Wellness series on the subject of mental health. It is imperative that we acknowledge the pain and disability that can be associated with depression, posttraumatic stress, and even moral distress, particularly in light of police brutality on men of color that we are so vividly witnessing and experiencing today. Give yourself permission to allow your mental health to have tantamount importance to that of your physical health. As we move forward in this perilous era of uncertainty and as we strive for social justice, health equity, and financial independence, we must not allow the malicious partisan vitriol to shake us. We are people of talent, intellectual prowess, strength, and resilience. However, in order to continue as the Kings that we are, we must take care of ourselves. Below is a link to the Office of Minority Health; its contents are enlightening and educational. https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov

Brothers, be blessed and stay safe.

First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All.